Deer in the Garden

Nothing is more frustrating for the gardener than to see their hard work and money gobbled up by free loading deer. A little planning and understanding can help to reduce losses.

Deer are browsing animals that often follow regular paths and eat as they are underway. They will test most plants but have preferences for certain varieties which they can quickly destroy. Some deer repellents work by giving the plant a bad taste, but have to be reapplied as new growth appears or the product wears off. These products are only practical in getting a plant established to a size that can withstand some browsing.

Deer also have a very acute sense of smell to warn them of danger. If this sense is impaired by other smells, they become nervous and will leave the area. This can be achieved by using a blood meal fertilizer, fragrant soap (Irish Spring), scented Bounce sheets or ‘Plantskydd’ animal repellent.

Fencing is the ultimate solution, but can be expensive and unsightly. Low fences may change their paths, but if they know food is behind the fence, they can jump quite high or crawl under low wires. The construction does not have to be strong, as they will not push their way through a fence. Temporary fences can be put up using black plastic netting that is not very visible and held up with garden stakes.

The best solution is to select plants that are not favoured by the deer. They avoid plants with unusual characteristics such as strong flower or foliage fragrance or fuzzy/spiny leaf textures. Below is a list of plants that we feel deer will leave alone, but with the caveat that a deer will have the final say. They have been known to try any plant and will switch to less favoured plants when other foods become unavailable. But using this list will ensure you a high degree of success in having your garden coexist with deer.

We list the botanical genus name which will cover all plants starting with that name. e.g. Pinus is the Pine genus and means that all the hundreds of Pine varieties are resistant.

Disclaimer: These lists are subject to "approval" by your local deer! Use these lists to improve your chances of success in a garden shared with deer.

Deer Resistant Trees

Botanical Name	Common Name	Botanical Name	Common Name
Araucaria araucana	Monkey Puzzle Tree	Picea	Spruce, all
Cedrus	Cedars (Needle forms)	Pinus	Pine, all
Chamaecyparis	Cypress, all	Rhus	Sumac
Cupressocyparis leylandii	Leylandii Cypress	Thuja plicata	Western Cedar only
Juniperus	Junipers, all

Flowering and Shade Trees

Deer will browse up to about shoulder height (5 ft.). Most flowering and shade trees begin to branch above that height and can avoid deer damage. Trees should be pruned to keep all branches out of reach of deer.

Fruit Trees

Fruit trees are also subject to browsing damage on the tips of their branches. They should be trained to branch high, out of reach of the deer. If the tree is not tall enough, it should be fenced until it grows beyond the reach of the deer.

Deer Resistant Shrubs

This Green Colour - indicates "Some Browsing possible"

Botanical Name	Common Name	Botanical Name	Common Name
Abelia	Abelia	Kerria japonica	Kerria
Bamboo		Lavatera	Lavatera
Berberis	Barberry	Leucothoe	Rainbow Shrub
Buddleia	Butterfly Bush	Mahonia	Oregon Grape
Buxus	Boxwood	Nandina	Heavenly Bamboo
Calluna	Summer Heather	Pachysandra	Japanese Spurge
Ceanothus	California Lilac	Phormium	New Zealand Flax
Choisya ternata	Mexican Orange Blossom	Picea	Spruce
Cistus sp.	Rock Rose	Pieris	Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub
Cortaderia selloana	Pampas Grass	Pinus	Pines
Cotinus	Smoke Bush	Potentilla	Potentilla
Daphne	Daphne	Pyracantha sp.	Firethorn
Elaeagnus	Silverberry	Rhododendron	Rhododendron
Erica	Winter Heather/Heath	Ribes	Flowering Current
Ferns	(some varieties)	Rhus sp.	Sumac
Forsythia sp.	Forsythia	Rosmarinus	Rosemary
Gaultheria sp.	Salal	Sarcococca	Himalayan Sweet Box
Genista		Senecio greyii	Senecio
Gunnera	Chilean Rhubarb	Spiraea	Spiraea
Hamamelis	Chinese Witch Hazel	Symphicarpos	Snowberry
Hypericum	St. John’s Wart	Syringa sp.	Lilac
Ilex	Holly	Vaccinium sp.	Huckleberry
Jasmine nudiflorum	Winter Jasmine	Viburnum davidii	David’s viburnum
Juniperus	Juniper, all	Yucca	Yucca

Deer Resistant Vines

Botanical Name	Common Name
Akebia	Akebia
Celastrus	Bittersweet
Clematis
Lonicera	Honeysuckle
Parthenocissus	Virginia Creeper, Boston Ivy
Polygonum	Silver Lace Vine
Wisteria

Deer Resistant Perennials

Botanical Name	Common Name	Botanical Name	Common Name
Acanthus mollis	Bears Breech	Helleborus	Christmas & Lenten Rose
Achillea	Yarrow	Iberis sempervirens	Candytuft
Aconitum	Monkshood	Iris	Iris
Agapanthus	African Lily	Lychnis coronaria	Rose campion
Ajuga	Ajuga	Kniphofia	Red-hot Poker
Alchemilla	Monkshood	Lamium	Lamium or False Salvia
Anemone	Windflower	Lavandula	Lavender
Aquilegia	Columbine	Linaria	Toadflax
Arabis	Rock Cress	Lirope	Lily Turf
Armeria	Thrift	Lychnis	Rose Champion
Artemesia	Wormwood	Monarda	Beebalm
Asarum	Wild Ginger	Myosotis	For-get-me-not
Aster	Aster	Nepeta	Catmint
Astilbe	Astilbe	Pachysandra	Japanese Spurge
Aubretia	Rock Cress	Paeonia	Peony
Bergenia cordifolia	Bergenia	Papaver	Poppy
Campanula	Canterberry Bells	Penstemon	Penstemon
Cerastium tomentosum	Snow-in-Summer	Perovskia	Russian Sage
Cheiranthus	Wallflower	Phlox sublata	Creeping Flox
Convallaria	Lily-of-the-Valley	Polemonium	Jacob’s Ladder
Coreopsis	Tickweed	Rheum	Ornamental Rhubarb
Cornus Canadensis	Bunchberry	Rudbeckia	Black-eyed Susan
Crocosmia	Montbretia	Salvia	Sage
Chrysanthemum	Garden Mum, Shasta Daisy, etc.	Santolina	Lavender Cotton
Cyclamen	Cyclamen	Saponaria	Soapwort
Delphinium	Delphinium	Scabiosa	Scabiosa
Dianthus	Pinks	Sedum	Stonecrop
Dicentra	Bleeding Hearts	Sempervivum	Hens and Chicks
Digitalis	Foxgloves	Solidago	Goldenrod
Echinacea	Coneflower	Stachys	Lamb’s Ears
Echinops	Globe Thistle	Sisyrinchium	Blue-eyed Grass
Epimeium	Barrenwort	Thalictrum	Meadow Rue
Erigeron	Fleabane	Tiarella	Foam Flower
Euphorbia	Wood Spurge	Thymus	Thyme
Flipendula	Meadowsweet	Tradescantia	Spiderwort
Fragaria	Wild Strawberry	Verbascum	Mullein
Gallardia	Blanket Flower	Verbena	Verbena
Galium	Sweet Woodruff	Veronica	Speedwell
Gentiana	Gentian	Vince	Periwinkle
Geum	Geum	Viola odorata	Sweet Violet
Geranium var.	Hardy Geranium	Zantedeschia	Calla Lily

Deer Resistant Annuals

Botanical Name	Common Name	Comments
Ageratum	Floss Flower	Good for borders
Anthirrhinum	Snapdragon
Artemisia	Silver Mound	Basket stuffer
Artichoke		Also a vegetable
Aster		Cut flower
Begonia – Fibrous		Easy to grow, sun or shade
Begonia – Tuberous		May browse
Brachycome	Swan River Daisy	Basket stuffer
Bougainvillia		Tender, woody vine
Calendula	Pot Marigold	Very easy, self seeds
Campanula	Bell Flower
Cardoon	Cardoon	Large, vigorous clump
Chrysanthemum		Best for fall flowers
Centaurea
Cleome	Spider Flower
Clarkia amoena	Godetia
Cosmos		Easy to grow, bushy
Dahlia		Very colourful
Datura/Brugmansia	Angles Trumpet	Tender shrub
Dianthus	Pinks
Dusty Miller		Can over-winter
Euryops		Needs sun
Felicia blue	Blue Marguerite
Gaillardia	Basket Flower
Gzania		Needs full sun
Geranium – Scented
Herbs		Most culinary types
Helianthus	Strawflower	Good for drying
Heliotrope
Iopmoea	Moonflower
Lamium	Dead Nettle
Lantana
Lobelia
Lobularia martima	Alyssum
Marigolds	Marigolds	Some browsing, ‘Gems’ best
Matthiola	Stocks
Mimulus	Monkey Flower
Marguerite Daisy
Myosotis	Forget-Me-Not
Nepeta	Creeping Charlie	Basket stuffer
Nicotiana	Flowering Tobacco
Osteospermum	African Daisy
Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’	Red Fountain Grass
Ricinus	Castor Oil Plant	Seeds are very poisonous
Rudbeckia	Black Eyed Susan
Salvia ‘Victoria Blue’
Scabiosa	Pincushion Flower
Scaevola	Blue Fan	Basket stuffer
Senecio	Dusty Miller
Solanum jasminoides	Potato Vine
Statice	Statice
Verbena	Verbena	Basket stuffer
Zinnia	Zinnia	Needs heat, cut flower

Deer Resistant Bulbs – Spring

Botanical Name	Common Name	Comments
Amaryllis belladonna	Naked Lady	May be tender outdoors
Anenome
Begonia – Tuberous		May brouse
Brodiaea	Grass Nut, Queen Fabiola
Dahlia
Freesia
Iris
Ixia	African Corn Flower
Oxalis	Shamrock

Deer Resistant Bulbs – Fall

Botanical Name	Common Name	Comments
Allium	Ornamental Onion
Anenome
Brodiaea	Grass Nut, Queen Fabiola
Chiondoxa	Glory-of-the-Snow
Colchicum	Autumn Crocus
Crocus
Cyclamen
Eranthis	Winter aconite
Freesia
Fritillaria
Galanthus	Snowdrops
Hyacinth
Iris
Ixia	African Corn Flower
Leucojum	Snowflake
Muscari	Grape Hyacinth
Narcissus	Daffodil	Must have in any “Deer Garden”
Ornithogalum	Star of Bethlehem
Oxalis	Shamrock
Puschkina
Scilla	Bluebell
Triteleia uniflora	Spring Star Flower	Also called Ipheion uniflorum

Deer Favourites

Plants that should not be considered in a deer garden are Roses, Japanese Azaleas, Tulips, Pansies, Primroses.

Updated: January 14, 2008