Deer-Resistant Plants (2024)

Oh, dear! Do you have problems with deer eating your garden plants? See our list of deer-resistant plantsto encourage Bambi to walk on by. Think salvia, sweet alyssum, snapdragons, poppies, globe amaranth, lantana, and cleome. Choose the right plants, and you can have color despite the darndeer!

Let’s be frank: there are no absolutely 100% deer-proof plants. Iffood is scarce enough, hungry deer have been known to eat almost anything. The heaviest browsing by deer will occurfrom October through February, especially during the difficult wintermonths.

That said, there are many plants that are much less palatable to deer. Would you eat your least favorite food if your favorite sweets were around the corner? Well, don’t grow deer’s favorites (like tender hosta)! Instead, get to know which plants are NOTdeer’stop choice on the menu so the hungry herds walk by to choose more appetizing choices. They will only choose your plants if they’redesperate.

Which Plants Deer Like toEat

Some plants qualify as “deer candy.”We certainly don’t want to be laying out a deer buffet with our hard-earneddollars.

• Avoid plantingnarrow-leafed evergreens, especially arborvitae and fir.
• Deer also show a particular preference for hostas, daylilies, and English ivy, according to researchers from the University of Rhode Island, who have studied white-tailed deer damage tonurseries.

Interestingly, several participants in the study noted that deer seem to prefer plants that have been fertilized to those thathaven’t.

Which Plants Deer Don’t Want toEat

Not surprisingly, deer tend to stayaway frompoisonous plants.daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers that deeravoid.

• Deer also tend toturn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents.Herbs such as sages,ornamental salvias, andlavender, as well as flowers likepeoniesand bearded irises, are just “stinky” todeer.
• Would you want to eat something prickly? Neither do deer (unless they’re desperate). Plants such as lamb’s ear are not on their preferredmenu.

Deer-Resistant Plants forShade

• One of our favorite deer-resistant perennials are bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, aka Dicentra spectabilis).
• Astilbeare also deer-resistant plants that grow well in the shade.Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, ‘Visions’, and ‘Fanal’ make a nicemix.

Deer-Resistant Plants forSun

• Coreopsis verticillata’Zagreb’ attracts butterflies but not deer and offers a long season of bloom from MaythroughSeptember.
• Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’ or Blazing Star is also a sun-loving perennial that isn’t a popular choice on the deerbuffet.
• Echinacea purpureais one of our favorite native flowers and a magnet forpollinators!
• Another sun-lover is Salvia x sylvestrisor WoodSage.
• Finally, the popularLeucanthemum x superbum’Becky’ is a popular variety of Shasta Daisy that deer do notfavor.

List of Top Deer-Resistant Plants, Flowers, andShrubs

Research has shown which plants are less likely to be eaten by deer and can be labeled “deer-resistant.” Here’s a list popular plants that deer rarely or seldom severely damage.Again, keepin mind that the first rule in deer-proofing is that there are nocompletely deer-proofplants.

Credit:Outwitting Deer by Bill AdlerJr.

Note: Even “resistant” varieties can be vulnerable in the first few weeks after planting, when their leaf tissue is especially nitrogen-rich. If you have major deer problems, werecommend spraying new plants with a deer repellent for 3 to 4 weeks after planting to prevent them from being nibbled on and damaged. Even if they are feasted on, as long as the root systems of the plants are not damaged, the plants shouldsurvive.

Click to read more tips on how to deter deer in the garden!