Deer Resistant Plants

Facts Sheet No. GH001

Deer Resistant Plants
J.  Robert Nuss, Professor Of Ornamental Horticulture


It must be remembered that a plant's resistance to deer feeding is related to 
the availability of other more desirable food in the area.  If natural food 
supplies are low, or unusual amounts of snow have covered all available 
foodstuffs, then deer can be expected to do a little more than just browse 
around the garden.  There are few, if any, plant species that are totally 
resistant to deer.  Therefore, supply and demand of its food supply, its 
palatability, the alternatives and the intensity of the deer population all 
enter into the resistance of plants to deer feeding.

The use of deer resistant plants offers some advantages to the home gardener.  
High deer fences protecting the home landscape would not only be expensive but 
unsightly.  Deer repellents and noise makers, which scare the animals off, may 
also be out of place in the home grounds.  Some repellents offer limited 
protection, depending on the deer pressure.

SOME COMMON DEER RESISTANT PLANTS

Scientific Name    Common Name  Scientific Name       Common Name
Abies sp.  +      fir           Heder helix g.c.      English ivy
Acer negundo +    box-elder     Ilex sp.  =           holly
Ageratum*         flossflower   Iris sp.  *           iris
Ajuga*            bugle weed    Juniperus sp.=        juniper
Aquilegia*        columbine     Kerris japonica =     Japanese rose
Berberis sp.=     barberry      Larix decidua +       European larch
Buxus=            boxwood       Lupinus sp.*          lupine
Catalpa sp.  +    catalpa       Maclura pomifera +    Osage orange
Cercis sp.  +     redbud        Narcissus sp.*        Narcissus
Chamaecyparis sp= false-cypress Paeonia suffruticosa= tree peony
Clematis sp.*     clematis      Papaver orientalis *  Oriental poppy
Cotinus coggygria +smoketree    Picea sp.  +          spruce
Crataegus sp.  +  hawthorn      Pinus sp.  +          pine
Cytisus scoparius=Scotch broom  Rhododendron sp.      rhododendron
Daphne sp.        daphne        Robinia pseudoacacia+ black locust
Delphinium*       larkspur      Symphoricarpos albus= snowberry
Digitalis*        foxglove      Syringa vulgaris=     lilac
Ginkgo biloba + maidenhair tree Tulipa sp.*           tulips
Gymnocladus dioica+ Kentucky coffee tree Yucca*       Yucca	
_____________________________________________________________________
+ tree or tree-like
* herbaceous plant
= shrubby
g.c.   ground cover


PREFERRED DEER FOODS

Deer are browsing animals feeding on leaves, buds and twig ends of certain 
plants.  Field studies have shown that deer normally prefer certain plants and 
dislike or will not eat others -- at least not until the best foods have been 
eliminated.

Please note: The above listing has been developed from several sources.  The 
original information was available from California where most of the deer are 
blacktails or mule deer.  A similar list has also been available from Cornell 
University in New York.

March 1982

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Where trade names are used, no discrimination is intended and no endorsement 
by Cooperative Extension is implied.

 
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J. R. Nuss, Prof. of Ornamental Hort
Department of Horticulture
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
103 Tyson Bldg., University Park, PA  16802
(814) 865-2571