Oh Deer!
It happened again. You splurged on some beautiful new plants for your garden. You lovingly planted them (with leaf compost and BioTone starter fertilizer, of course), and watered them deeply and thoroughly (at the base, not overhead). You stood back and admired your hard work, snapped some pics for social media, smiled, and went to sleep.
The next morning your hard work was ripped out, chewed up, and strewn all over the ground… by Bambi and friends! NOT CUTE.
At Himmel’s, we have experienced some painful [and expensive!] failures with plants we thought were deer resistant. As it turns out, there really is no such thing as completely deer resistant. If the animal is hungry, it will eat what is available, and unfortunately, what works one year might change the next.
However, we have had consistent results with a few fantastic selections, and we want to share our list with you!
Thanks to our great friend Eileen P. for helping us compile this list after years of trial and error. For additional resources, check out Rutger’s ‘Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance’: https://njaes.rutgers.edu/deer-resistant-plants/
Evergreen Screening Trees:
- Eastern Red Cedar [Juniperus virginiana] including the ‘Burkii’ and ‘Emerald Sentinel’ cultivars
- Use these in place of ‘Emerald Green’ and ‘Green Giant’ Arborvitae in heavy deer traffic areas
- Japanese Cedar [Cryptomeria japonica] ‘Radicans’ and ‘Yoshino’
Small, Ornamental Trees:
- Crape Myrtle [Lagerstroemia indica] ‘Magic’ Series
- Japanese Maple [Acer palmatum]
- Weeping Redbud [Cercis canadensis] ‘Pink Heartbreaker’ and ‘Ruby Falls’ varieties
Small Shrubs:
- Arborvitae [Thuja occidentalis] including ‘Anna’s Magic Ball’, ‘Bobozam’, and ‘Fire Chief’ varieties
- ‘Blue Rug’ Juniper and other [Juniperus horizontalis] cultivars
- Deutzia [Deutzia x.] ‘Nikko’ and ‘Yuki Cherry Blossom’ varieties
- ‘Sargent’ Juniper [Juniperus chinensis]
Medium Shrubs:
- Dwarf Mugo Pine [Pinus mugo var. pumilio]
- ‘Goshiki’ Osmanthus [Osmanthus heterophyllus]
- Spirea [Spirea japonica] including ‘Candy Corn’, ‘Goldmound’, and ‘Shirobana’
- Threadleaf False Cypress [Chamaecyparis pisifera] ‘Gold Mop’
Large Shrubs:
- Cherry Laurel [Prunus laurocerasus], including ‘Majestic Jade’, ‘Schipkaensis’, and ‘Otto Luyken’ varieties
- Dappled Willow [Salix integra] ‘Hakuro Nishiki’
- Japanese Hollies [Ilex crenata] including ‘Hoogendorn’, ‘Helleri’, ‘Compacta’, ‘Brass Buckle’ [variegated], and ‘Soft Touch’ varieties
- Silverberry [Eleagnus ebbengei]
- Viburnum [Viburnum nudum] ‘Winterthur’ and ‘Brandywine’ varieties
Perennials:
- Actaea hybrid ‘Chocoholic’
- Catmint [Nepeta racemosa] – all varieties
- Coral Bells [Heuchera x.] ‘Zipper’, ‘Paris’, ‘Green Spice’, ‘Southern Comfort’, and ‘Rio’ varieties
- False Indigo [Baptisia australis]
- Ferns – all varieties [native and otherwise]
- Lavandula [Lavandula x intermedia] ‘Phenomenal’
- Lenten Rose [Helleborus orientalis] – all varieties
- Russian Sage [Perovskia atriplicifolia] – all varieties
- Sedums and Stonecrops – select the creeping groundcover varieties for best results
- Spurge [Euphorbia martini]
Bulbs:
- Alliums
- Daffodils
- Snowdrops
- Squill
Native Perennials, Sedges, Grasses, and Shrubs:
- Black-Eyed Susan [Rudbeckia fulgida] Perennial
- Bleeding Heart ‘Dicentra canadensis’ Perennial
- Carex appalachica (Appalachian sedge) Sedge
- Carex pensylvanica Sedge
- Clethra [Clethra alnifolia] ‘Hummingbird’ and ‘Ruby Spice’ varieties Shrub
- Coneflower [Echinacea purpurea] ‘Magnus’ Perennial
- Coreopsis [Coreopsis verticillata] Perennial
- Inkberry [Ilex glabra] Shrub
- Northern Bayberry [Myrica pensylvanica] Shrub
- Red Twig and Yellow Twig Dogwood [Cornus sericea] Shrub
- Sea Oats [Chasmanthium latifolium] Grass
- Sweetspire [Itea virginica] Shrub
- Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Standing Ovation’ Grass
- Viburnum [Viburnum dentatum and Viburnum nudum] Shrub
- Winterberry Holly [Ilex x verticillata] Shrub
Plants to Avoid [in high deer-traffic areas]:
- Azalea and Rhododendron varieties
- Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua
- Hosta fortunei
- Tulips Bulbs
- Yew [Taxus sp.]
Deer Deterrent:
We use Deer Snap granular repellent as part of our landscape maintenance program.
The best results combine granular and spray applications. ‘I Must Garden’ Deer Repellent products are available at Himmel’s Landscape and Garden Center in spray and granular applications.
Stop in and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable staff to learn about deer resistant plants and products!
Schedule a free landscape consultation and let our professional and detail-oriented team install a new deer-resistant landscape or…. an 8’ fence around your entire property. That will definitely keep the deer out!
