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Deer Resistant Plants

While deer will eat anything when they are hungry, they tend to shy away from plants that have a strong aroma, are poisonous, or have prickly foliage.  We’ve compiled this list from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Best Deer Resistant Plants List and Deer Resistant Landscape Nursery’s website.  If you have information to add from your own experience, we’d be glad to hear it.

Deer Resistant Plants

PERENNIALS

ACHILLEA
ACONITUM
ACTAEA
AGASTACHE
AJUGA
ALCHEMILLA
ALLIUM
AMSONIA
AQUILEGIA
ARTEMISIA
ASCLEPIAS tuberosa
ASTER lateriflorus
ASTER oblongifolius
AUBRIETA
BAPTISIA
BRUNNERA
CALAMINTHA
CAMPSIS radicans
CERASTIUM
CHELONE
CLEMATIS paniculata
CONVALLARIA
COREOPSIS
DIANTHUS gratianopolitanus
(the Deer don’t but the Bunnies do!)
DICENTRA
DIGITALIS
DRACOCEPHALUM
EPIMEDIUM
ERYNGIUM
EUPHORBIA
GALIUM odoratum
GERANIUM x cantabrigiense
GERANIUM macrorrhizum
GERANIUM sanguineum
HELENIUM
HELLEBORUS
HEUCHERA
X HEUCHERELLA
HYPERICUM
IRIS
KALIMERIS

LAMIASTRUM
LAMIUM
LAVANDULA
LEUCANTHEMUM
LIATRIS
LIGULARIA
LINUM
LYCHNIS
LYSIMACHIA
MONARDA
NEPETA
OENOTHERA
OPUNTIA
ORIGANUM
PACHYSANDRA
PAEONIA
PAPAVER
PEROVSKIA
PODOPHYLLUM
POLEMONIUM
POTENTILLA
PULMONARIA
PYCNANTHEMUM
RUDBECKIA
SALVIA
SISYRINCHIUM
SOLIDAGO
STACHYS byzantina
TANACETUM coccineum
TEUCRIUM
THYMUS
TIARELLA
VERBASCUM
VERONICA
VINCA minor
YUCCA

FERNS

In general, most ferns are deer resistant.
ADIANTUM
ATHYRIUM
DRYOPTERIS
MATTEUCCIA
ONOCLEA
OSMUNDA
POLYSTICHUM

 

GRASSES

CALAMAGROSTIS
CAREX
CHASMANTHIUM
DESCHAMPSIA
FESTUCA
HAKONECHLOA
KOELERIA
MISCANTHUS
PANICUM
PENNISETUM
SACCHARUM
SCHIZACHYRIUM
SPOROBOLUS

HERBS

ANISE-HYSSOP
BASIL
BORAGE
CHAMOMILE
CHIVES
CILANTRO
DILL
FENNEL
HOREHOUND
LAVENDER
MARJORAM
MELISSA
MINT
MYRRH
OREGANO
PARSLEY
ROSEMARY
RUE
SAGE (Not Pineapple)
SAVORY, Winter
SWEET ANNIE
SWEET WOODRUFF
TARRAGON
THYME

VEGGIES

ARTICHOKE
ASPARAGUS
FENNEL
GARLIC
LEEK
ONIOIN
PARSLEY Root
*PUMPKIN
RHUBARB
*SQUASH

*Plant is deer resistant. Fruit is not!