Deer resistant plants

When we bought our own house, with acre of field around it, I had my first chance at landscaping from scratch. I quickly learned that the most important factor in the success of a plant living more than a week in my yard was whether the deer were interested in it as a food source or head scratching post. The deer around here are numerous and voracious, as there are no natural predators on this island. An occasional bear swims over from the mainland, but apparently cougars do not. This is good news for small dogs, but not for garden plants. I then pondered long lists of "deer proof" plants in various books and came up with some to try. The following are plants that have been successful for me even while accessible to the deer. There are many others on those lists that I haven't tried, and I'm sure other gardeners here can add plants from their experience. Please do! (not sure I have all these names spelled correctly)

Trees:
Eucalyptus parvifolia
Pistacia chinensis (nibbled a little, but not killed)
Thuja plicata (fenced until large enough to withstand head rubbing)
Sequoiadendron (same as thuja)

Shrubs:
Berberis stenophylla
Calycanthus floridus
Callistemon
Ceanothus (put in raised bed for good drainage)
Choisya ternata
Escallonia (nibbled back, but it outgrew the damage)
Juniperus
Mahonia
Nandina
Osmanthus

Perennials, small shrubs, groundcovers:
Achillea (a little chewed, but not killed)
Agapanthus
Aquilegia
Arctostaphylos uva ursi
Armeria maritima
Aubretia
Calluna
Carex
Cerastium
Dianthus
Erica
Euonymus fortuneii
Euphorbia
Hebe
Helichrysum italicum
Helleborus
Hemerocallis
Heuchera
Lavandula
Lithodora
Nepeta
Origanum
Oxalis
Phlox sublata
Phormium
Rosmarinus
Salvia
Sedums
Sempervivum
Senecio
Stachys bizantina
Stipa tenuissima (mexican feather grass)
Teucrium
Thalictrum
Thymus

Bulbs: Alliums
Crocosmia
Crocus
Iris
Narcissus
Liatris

Euryops has been a success for me. They have never, ever touched it. It is marked Deer Resistant here.
Also, they will not touch either Datura or Brugmansia.

think they won't touch holly?? THINK AGAIN!! LOL
I have seen them eating the new growth off my hedgehog holly.

I too am having to come to terms with having them around.

You can add Dahlias, Peony, Iris, Rudbekia, Coneflower. They will eat all most anything when it is new growth.

Come to think of it, they haven't eaten my rudbeckia or my stachys lanata at all. And I have hebe, azalea, barberry, and poppies out front that they haven't touched, either. They nibbled on my clethra buds, but have left it alone since. Hmm.

Last night they ate my sedums up the driveway but didn't eat the foxtail lily right in front of it. Erumurus.

Sedum - really!?#$$ They haven't touched mine yet. Glad your lily made it.

Yep, my sedum has been chomped on this week too!!!

All I can think is that my neighbors' oak leaf hydrangeas are keeping everyone over there. Although I did catch a youngun' Friday night at about 6:30 when I got home for work. He was very slowly heading for my remaining pansies. He really didn't want to leave.

Hey - it was still Happy Hour at 6:30...

:-) If I find a "Happy Hour at Kathy's 6:30 on Fridays" sign, I'll have to put my foot down.

Charge an entry fee!

Now there's an idea. But you know those deer, they tend to cheat. And the raccoons, well, I won't even go into what thieves they are . . . closed the garage door tonight, so I hope the bag of cat food will be safe.

The raccoons tore up all the plants in my pond trying to get the goldfish. No deer don't eat poppies either.

I think I have been having raccoons in my pond, but they don't seem to do anything to the plants. I know there is somethign suspicious when my plastic thermometer is up on the side of the pond! Don't know who else would be playing in the pond overnight.

The deer really enjoy the new ebony huechera in my yard by leave alone the lime rickey huechera.

Really - there's a heuchera they don't touch? Mine don't ever get to bloom - but, come to think of it, I don't have any Lime Rickey out there. May have to experiment.

I have to agree on the Heuchera too. I haven't found a type that doesn't get chomped down as soon as I plant it, unfortunately. I have wondered if it might be the rabbits around here, though. It's a wild kingdom out there.

I will add Artemisia Schmidtiana, Alchemilla Mollis, Acanthus Mollis,and Cynara Cardunulus to the list of deer resistant too. Anything fuzzy or smelly seems to work against them...just wish the slugs would stay away too!

Add daphne, lupine, daisys, skimmia, pieris. They do eat asters. They also do not eat Potentilla.

This message was edited Jun 2, 2008 4:00 PM

This message was edited Jun 2, 2008 5:43 PM

Was just at the neighbour's, doing some watering for them. Apparently, deer like to eat off the top of the jalapeno plants!!!! : - 0

They might like the tops of the jalapenos, but you should see 'em when they eat a chiltepin or Caribbean red pepper (they look just like little tomatoes). I love the deer, but sometimes ya just gotta teach 'em a lesson!

and we should all be grateful that slugs do not come super-sized.
You know, the size of a Deer.
ooooooooh - the slime trails....

LOL!

I had a bunch of newly divided Heuchera Brownies and they definitely ate a lot of leaves, but since I've been spraying again with Liquid Fence they've left them alone and the plants are reviving.

I wish they would eat Horsetail, Nettles, and Thistle.

I guess I've been lucky with the Heuchera so far. It is planted under a large Ceanothus shrub, which has a resinous smell that the deer do not favor.

OK - it's late and i read that wayyyy too fast:
"spraying the Heuchera with Liquid Brownies."
I think I'd better mozey on to bed...

Thay have eatten my daylily flowers. Heidi

I thank my lucky stars, I have no deer here. but I think the slugs make up for it LOL they are eating everything even with Sluggo. I am finding little bitty babies, everywhere !! I don't think they can eat the pellets, to big for them. Got to buy the big guns, "Dead Line" hate using it, the pets like to lick it, will make cages so they can't. at a loss here.

Taken today

Good to have you back. Love all your pictures.

Good to have who back?


Why would they a put mix lable on a package to say there are mix when they all are the same. I see all the same but 2, that is not right LOL

Katye, lol!! I just now read your "liquid brownie" thing!

That was to Funny, LOL