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