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Deer Resistant Plants
- Painters Greenhouse
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Hate to break it to ya. Deer resistant is not deer proof. No plant is deer proof. Seriously. No. plant. is. deer. proof. When hungry, they will eat anything to survive. (I'm looking at you, wintertime evergreens...)
Deer will joyfully nosh on almost everything in spring when there is tender new growth. They especially relish flower buds. Over-fertilized and over-watered plants are particularly lush and appealing to deer. So what's a gardener to do?!
Before you throw up your hands and pave the yard, know that there are some strategies to deter these friendly, furry plant scourge.
Aroma
Deer tend to avoid plants with fragrant leaves making herbs a great choice, like rosemary, sage and lavender. Flowers like salvia and peonies, which have a strong scent, are also unappealing to deer. Shrubs like Lilac Chaste Tree and Caryopteris are extremely resistant to deer and rabbits due to their fragrant blooms and foliage. We highly recommend them and consistently stock them for this reason. (Bonus - they are also great substitutes for butterfly bush - while also not native, they are not invasive, and pollinators love them!)
SALE NOTE: Unfortunately, our caryopteris (below right) sold out within the first week of our fall season!
Texture, Spines, or Fuzz
Deer are not fond of the feel of mullein or lamb's ear. Deer stay away from plants that have prickly textures, such as boxwood and bearberry, or coneflowers with their hairy leaves and stems are unappealing to deer. Magnolias and Leucothoe are generally rock solid in deer deterrence because of their growth habits and leathery leaves. Find a great selection of both genera at Painters during any season. We are currently carrying Umbrella, Fraser and Sweetbay Magnolias--great native options--as well as several other super cultivars. And always popular, the natives and the varieties of Leucothoe axillaris and Leucothoe fontanesiana move quickly!
Toxic plants
Deer generally steer clear of toxic plants, including daffodils and bleeding heart. Yews, although toxic, are a bit more complicated. The Japanese plum yew, Cephalotaxus, is considered to be quite resistant to deer. (Although, again, if they are without options, they can eat this too!) But do not confuse a Japanese plum yew with the common yew or English yew, Taxus, which are deer magnets!! Rutgers University classified these as “frequently severely damaged” on their list of Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance. If you are looking to deter deer from your garden, opt for a plant belonging to the Cephalotaxus genus and avoid Taxus yews.
Ferns and Grasses generally have great resistance to deer.
Whether you love big statement plants like ostrich ferns or royal ferns, or you are looking for some gorgeous color with Autumn ferns or Painted ferns, you have many varieties to try. The deer generally won't! Same goes for those gorgeous grasses! Little Bluestem, Blue Fescue, Fountain Grass, Switch Grass, Northern Sea Oats, Feather Reed Grass, Pink Muhly, Big Bluestem... and the list goes on and on. Scroll all the way down to download our list of favorites!
And don't forget to use tools where you can.
Physical barriers are helpful. Young trees are most at risk--fencing and wire caging can help during the early growth. Similarly, vegetables, fruit trees, and bushes can be covered with netting during the growing season (this might help with more than just deer!)
Or try our favorite product for deer and rabbit deterrence: Green Screen. A mixture of bone meal, blood meal, and a pepper blend, it's 100% organic and non-toxic and we find that it really works! (We don't currently have any stocked at Painters, but you can buy direct from their website if you don't find it locally.)
And the Availability Lists at Painters allow you to sort for some of our most deer resistant plants. Use the search tool at the top of the chart in our Growing List or the Tree and Shrub Availability list. We've done our best to mark those with higher success.
Another angle of research would be to make sure to know which plants you want to steer clear of--read up on common plants that are perfectly delicious to deer! You can anticipate some munching if you have deer neighbors and daylilies, hostas, arborvitae, strawberries, or more in your yard... download our most requested handout!
And finally, in the end, take a deep breath. Give it your best shot. And know that all rules can be broken, guidelines are just guidelines, and plants are greens--which just might mean food.