Which Plants Deer Won't Eat (Unless Desperate!)
Oh, dear! Do you have problems with deer eating your garden plants? See our list of deer-resistant plants to 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 darn deer!
Let’s be frank: No plant is absolutely 100% deer-proof. If food is scarce enough, hungry deer have been known to eat almost anything. Deer’s heaviest browsing occurs from October through February, especially during the difficult winter months.
That said, many plants 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 NOT deer’s top choice on the menu, so the hungry herds walk by to choose more appetizing choices. They will only choose your plants if they’re desperate.
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Which Plants Deer Like to Eat
Some plants qualify as “deer candy.” We certainly don’t want to be laying out a deer buffet with our hard-earned dollars.
- Avoid planting narrow-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 to nurseries.
Interestingly, several participants in the study noted that deer seem to prefer plants that have been fertilized to those that haven’t.
Which Plants Deer Don’t Want to Eat
Not surprisingly, deer tend to stay away from poisonous plants. Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers that deer avoid.
- Deer also tend to turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents. Herbs such as sages, ornamental salvias, and lavender, as well as flowers like peonies and bearded irises, are just “stinky” to deer.
- Would you want to eat something prickly? Neither do deer (unless they’re desperate). Plants such as lamb’s ear are not on their preferred menu.
Deer-Resistant Plants for Shade
- One of our favorite deer-resistant perennials is the beautiful bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis, aka Dicentra spectabilis).
- Astilbe are also deer-resistant plants that grow well in the shade. Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, ‘Visions’, and ‘Fanal’ make a nice mix.
Deer-Resistant Plants for Sun
- Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’ attracts butterflies but not deer and offers a long season of bloom from May through September.
- Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’ or Blazing Star is also a sun-loving perennial that isn’t a popular choice on the deer buffet.
- Echinacea purpurea is one of our favorite native flowers and a magnet for pollinators!
- Another sun-lover is Salvia x sylvestris or Wood Sage.
- Finally, the popular Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Becky’ is a popular variety of Shasta Daisy that deer do not favor.
List of Top Deer-Resistant Plants, Flowers, and Shrubs
Research has shown which plants are less likely to be eaten by deer and can be labeled “deer-resistant.” Here’s a list of popular plants that deer rarely or seldom severely damage. Again, keep in mind that the first rule in deer-proofing is that there are no completely deer-proof plants.
| Botanical name | Common name |
| Achillea filipendulina | Yarrow |
| Aconitum sp. | Monkshood |
| Ageratum houstonianum | Ageratum |
| Allium sp. | Onion |
| Amelanchier laevis | Allegheny Serviceberry |
| Antirrhinum majus | Snapdragon |
| Armoracia rusticana | Horseradish |
| Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon |
| Artemisia sp. | Silver Mound |
| Arisaema triphylum | Jack-in-the-pulpit |
| Asarum canadense | Wild Ginger |
| Asparagus officinalis | Asparagus |
| Aster sp. | Aster |
| Astilbe sp. | Astilbe |
| Berberis sp. | Barberry |
| Borage officinalis | Borage |
| Buddleia sp. | Butterfly Bush |
| Buxus sempervirens | Common Boxwood |
| Helleborus sp. | Lenten or Christmas Rose |
| Cactaceae sp. | Cactus |
| Calendula sp. | Pot Marigold |
| Caryopteris clandonensis | Blue Mist Shrub |
| Centaurea cineraria | Dusty Miller |
| Centaurea cyanus | Bachelor’s Buttons |
| Cleome sp. | Spider Flower |
| Colchicum sp. | Autumn Crocus |
| Consolida ambigua | Larkspur |
| Convallaris majalis | Lily of the Valley |
| Coreopsis verticillata | Threadleaf Coreopsis |
| Corydalis sp. | Corydalis |
| Cytisus sp. | Broom |
| Daphne sp. | Daphne |
| Dicentra spectabilis now classified as Lamprocapnos spectabilis | Bleeding Heart |
| Digitalis purpurea | Common Foxglove |
| Dryopteris marginalis | Wood Fern |
| Echinacea purpurea | Purple Coneflower |
| Echinops ritro | Small Globe Thistle |
| Endymion sp. | Bluebell |
| Eranthus hyemalis | Winter Aconite |
| Euphorbia marginata | Snow-on-the-Mountain |
| Euphorbia sp. (except ‘Chameleon’) | Spurge |
| Festuca glauca | Blue Fescue |
| Fritilaria imperialis | Crown Imperial, Fritilia |
| Galanthus nivalis | Snowdrops |
| Gypsophila sp. | Baby’s Breath |
| Helichrysum | Strawflower |
| Heliorope arborescens | Heliotrope |
| Hyssopus officinalis | Hyssop |
| Ilex opaca | American Holly |
| Ilex verticillata | Winterberry Holly |
| Iris sp. | Iris |
| Juniperus | Juniper |
| Lantana sp. | Lantana |
| Lavandula sp. | Lavender |
| Limonium latifolium | Statice |
| Lobularia maritima | Sweet Alyssum |
| Marrubium vulgare | Horehound |
| Melissa officinalis | Lemon Balm |
| Mentha sp. | Mint |
| Monarda didyma | Bee Balm |
| Myosotis sp. | Forget-Me-Not |
| Myrica pensylvanica | Bayberry |
| Narcissus sp. | Daffodil |
| Nepeta sp. | Catmint |
| Ocimum basilicum | Basil |
| Osmunda | Fern |
| Pachysandra terminalis | Pachysandra |
| Paeonia sp. | Peony |
| Papaver | Poppy |
| Perovskio atriplicifolia | Russian Sage |
| Picea glauca ‘Conica’ | Dwarf Alberta Spruce |
| Pimpinalla anisum | Anise |
| Pinus | Pine |
| Potentilla | Cinquefoil |
| Ranunculus sp. | Buttercup |
| Rhus aromatica | Fragrant Sumac |
| Rosmarinus officinalis | Rosemary |
| Rudbeckia sp. | Black-Eyed Susan |
| Ruta sp. | Rue |
| Salix | Willows |
| Salvia officinalis | Garden Sage |
| Stachys byzantina | Lamb’s Ear |
| Syringa vulgaris | Common Lilac |
| Tanacetum vulgare | Common Tansy |
| Teucrium chamaedrys | Germander |
| Thumus sp. | Thyme |
| Yucca | Yucca |
| Viburnum dentatum | Arrowwood Viburnum |
| Zinnia | Zinnia |
Credit: Outwitting Deer by Bill Adler Jr.
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, we recommend 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 should survive.
Click to read more tips on how to deter deer in the garden!
What are your favorite deer-resistant plants?
Catherine Boeckmann
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My wife has planted quite deer resistant plants and deer have eaten before and after they’ve bloomed. There is no such thing as a completely deer resistant plant.
I have heard from old time Vermonters that deer hate the human smell. People I know place human hair in porous bags filled with human hair. Hanging in posts around the gardens. Barber shops would gladly supply cut hair. May have to replenish at times, also can be a fertilizer when spent.
Oh...wouldn't that be attractive & lovely to look at.
Thanks for the tip, Tom!
I live in eastern Ontario, Canada, and this area is polluted with white-tailed deer. I have several vegetable garden patches, some fenced, some not. The only safe annual crops I have found that I can plant outside the fence are garlic, onion, and sunflowers. Deer sometimes nibble on young sunflowers and will decapitate a few, but they mostly leave them alone. I have found sweet corn to also be reasonably deer safe. They will take some leaves from the young plants, but not many and they rarely touch the cobs. Raccoons are the main threat to my corn. For perennials, deer have never bothered my hops, rhubarb, or raspberries.
Northern WI--they EAT EVERYTHING. Only solution is high fencing (and be sure it is VERY sturdy by late winter). Nothing and I mean NOTHING stops them. Boy was I fooled at the garden center "these are very deer resistant" or "will be poisonous, toxic, belly aches", etc.--and the deer ran up to them like candy with no visible bad effects. Ate everything RIGHT WHEN flowing too, which was ultra depressing! No sprays, no spices, no commercial stuff-NOTHING STOPS THEM.
Bullets stop them. Kill one and put its head on a pike near your garden. They seem to stay away with this method.
Yes Indeed Harry!!!! That’s the only thing that keeps them out of my garden!!!!
I think that an electrified wire fence should do the trick. I know it works for horses and cattle. You buy a fence charger at a place like
tractor supply. I was planning on putting out an ornamental iron short fence around the flower garden. The electrify it. The deer touch it \
and they get a nasty shock.
I have found it fascinating that I read so many articles from many different people and publications that tell me how deer will not eat fragrant type plants such as sage, etc. Well, I live at 9,000 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and I have many wildlife come through eating about everything that I've ever planted, plus various species that grow around my home.
I'm here to tell you that what deer will not eat may go for whitetail deer but not mule deer! I haven't found but a very few things that mule deer will not eat! They graze my chives and winter onions to the ground. I have 3 different types of mountain sage in my yard area and they brouse on those frequently. Camas and iris fall prey to them when blooming. And, I've even watched them browse the tender branch end needles off yellow pine, for, and spruce. I've even seen them tearing up on hind legs to get at mistletoe that has attacked my yellow pine! I would think that would be deadly to them, but they seem to have no problem with it.
All these plus more, the deer will eat even when browsing plants, grasses, and trees are readily available! I would enjoy hearing your take on this.
