At Least Moderately Deer Resistant Plants
Just when we think that we have found the perfect plant that has been touted as “deer resistant”, we walk out one morning to see that it was eaten down during the night. No plant is entirely deer resistant, which is so very frustrating to us who love to garden! Deer tend to avoid aromatic, sticky or prickly plants, but if they are hungry, they will at least nibble on most anything.
We hope that this list will provide you with flowers and foliage that you and our pollinator friends can enjoy, and that are not consumed by local wildlife.
FERNS, GRASSES, AND SEDGES –
most tend to be unpalatable to deer
WILDFLOWERS
Allegheny monkeyflower Mimulus ringens
American yarrow Achillea borealis
Aromatic or shale barrens aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
beardtongues Penstemon (all)
bee balm/ bergamot Monarda (all)
black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis
blue (and yellow) wild indigo Baptisia australis (B. tinctoria)
blue mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum
Canada Mayflower Maianthemum canadense
cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis
cliff stonecrop Sedum glaucophyllum
wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis
coral bells Heuchera americana
dense blazing star Liatris spicata
eastern prickly-pear Opuntia humifusa
fire pink Silene virginica
foam flower Tiarella cordifolia
grass-leaved goldenrod Euthamia graminifolia
great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
green-and-gold Chrysogonum virginianum
iris Iris (all)
Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
Joe-Pye weeds Eutrochium (all)
milkweeds Asclepias (all)
mints Blephilia ciliate, Pycnanthemum(s)
narrowleaf sundrops Oenothera fruticosa
New York ironweed Vernonia noveboracensis
nodding onion Allium cernuum
phlox, moss Phlox subulata
phlox, woodland Phlox divaricata
plantain pussytoes Antennaria plantaginifolia
purple giant hyssop Agastache scrophulariifolia
rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
smooth oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides
threadleaf coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata
violet Viola (all)
Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica
white snakeroot Ageratina altissima
wild pink Silene caroliniana
wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium
wild stonecrop Sedum ternatum
Shrubs
arrowwood viburnum Viburnum dentatum (Other viburnums are less deer tolerant.)
buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis
chokeberry, red/black Aronia arbutifolia/melanocarpa
mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia
northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera
rhus aromatic Rhus aromatica
silky dogwood Cornus amomum
spicebush Lindera benzoin
winterberry Ilex verticillata
Trees
American holly Ilex opaca
black gum Nyssa sylvatica
cucumber magnolia Magnolia acuminata
dogwood, pagoda Cornus alternifolia
downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea
eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana
paw-paw Asimina triloba
pine, eastern white Pinus strobus
sassafras Sassafras albidum
sycamore, American Platanus occidentalis
tulip poplar Liriodendron tulipifera
umbrella magnolia Magnolia tripetala
witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana
Vines
Dutchman’s pipe Isotrema macrophyllum
virgin’s bower Clematis virginiana
Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia
