QUESTION: The deer have really enjoyed eating our shrubbery and we want to spruce up our yard this fall. What can we plant that won't be a tasty treat for the deer?ANSWER: This is a big problem, affecting rural, suburban and even urban areas where deer follow streams into the city. Since the landscape season is in full tilt and you have a problem, here are some suggestions that landscapers have recommended over the years.Shrubs: Yaupon holly, Korean and English boxwoods, Japanese pieris, most magnolias, clethra, yucca and viburnums.Perennials: Lenten rose, daffodils, astilbe, bleeding hearts, salvias, asters, thyme, lavender, mint, most ferns, common sedums, amaryllis, irises, candytuft, dusty miller, lantana, larkspur, crocosmia, Russian sage, coneflower, zinnias and purple fountain grass.A number of popular plants, including pansies, hostas, rhododendrons, are highly appealing to deer.Plant selection is one strategy, but the Humane Society of the United States (www.hsus.org) recommends other things as well, including protective sleeves or wrapping for young tree trunks, fences, repellants and scare techniques, such as lights operated by motion detectors.

QUESTION: I have some wonderful Persian shields plants in front of my house. I planted them in the past but they failed to return the following year. What can I do so they will come back next year?ANSWER: Persian shields (Strobilanthes dyerianus) are tropical plants that will not survive freezing weather in the Piedmont. They get their name from the beautiful foliage flushed with purple and silver. They love hot weather, which is why they do so well here in the summer. If the plants aren't too big — but I bet they are — consider digging up the plants this month and replanting them in a pot that is a size you can manage indoors through the winter and the cooler weeks of spring.They will require a warm, sunny spot. If you cannot handle the pots, consider taking cuttings of the softer growth on stems. Place them in water to root, then plant in small pots kept in a warm spot all winter. This is not foolproof in the cool days of autumn and winter, but you are attached to those plants and seem willing to try some techniques that could get your plants through the winter.By MCT News Service