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A listing of flowers, vines, shrubs and trees that deer don't prefer to eat.


MontGuide fact sheet MT199521 AG 6/2001

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Deer-resistant Ornamental Plants for Your Garden

by R.E. Gough, MSU Extension Horticulture Specialist

Deer can wipe out your garden faster than almost any other pest. Two species common in Montanathe white-tailed deer and the mule deereat flowers and foliage in summer and browse on tender buds in winter. Even urban gardens are vulnerable to deer damage.

Through the years frustrated gardeners have tried different remedies to keep the pests away from their plants. Painting tree trunks with sulphonated linseed oil worked sporadically but the concoction couldn't be used on tender perennials and on the buds and thin shoots of trees. Hanging bars of heavily perfumed soap, items of old sweaty clothing, or linen bags filled with human hair from the tips of tree branches sometimes works for a week or so until the deer become accustomed to the scent. Unfortunately your festooned trees will look ridiculous. Dried blood or blood meal sprinkled around the garden border also works for a few days until the deer get used to the smell, but it must be reapplied after a heavy rain. Commercial rabbit repellents affect deer too. Spray the plants as soon as new spring growth begins and at weekly intervals throughout the season. Some deer get used to the smell and bitter taste of the fungicide thiram, the active ingredient in the repellent, and will resume browsing.

A fence around the garden is a more permanent solution, but it must be at least eight feet high and slant outward from the protected area at a 45-degree angle. You may want to top it with another foot or two of electric fence, but this has the effect of turning your garden into a fortress and is exceedingly difficult to work pleasingly into the landscape.

Most of Montana is deer country and you'll fight a battle you cannot win if you insist on planting species the deer love to eat. The best way to solve your deer problems is to plant things deer don't prefer. There are many ornamental plants that will grow in our state that fall into this category. If you feel this limits your planting scheme intolerably, then place plants deer love to eat close to the house and those they don't prefer farther out in the yard where the animals are more apt to wander. Unfortunately, I've had deer on my front porch. Remember, no plant is safe if the deer are hungry enough.

Following is a list of plants that generally grow well in our state and that deer will usually ignore if their natural food supply is sufficient. I've supplied the species where it is known, but many references list only the genus. In that case I've given the genus followed by "spp.," the abbreviation for the plural of "species." Some species of a particular genus will grow under our conditions; some will not. For example, according to the USDA Hardiness Zone rating, Aquilegia canadensis, the American columbine, is a Zone 2 plant and will grow here but Aquilegia bertolonii, the Alpinerock Columbine, a Zone 6 plant, won't. It's up to you to plant only those perennial species that are adapted to Zones 2 and 3 in eastern Montana gardens, Zones 3 and 4 in central Montana gardens, and Zones 4 and 5 in western Montana gardens.
 
 

A Partial List of Deer-resistant Garden Plants

Botanical Name Common Name

Ground Covers

Ajuga reptans Carpet Bugle

Convallaria majalis Lily-of-the-Valley

Lamium spp. Dead Nettle

Pachysandra terminalis Pachysandra

Vinca major Large Periwinkle

Vinca minor Periwinkle

Flowers

Achillea spp. Yarrow

Aquilegia spp. Columbine

Astilbe spp. Astilbe

Coreopsis spp. Tickseed

Dianthus spp. Pinks

Dicentra spp. Bleeding Heart

Digitalis spp. Foxglove

Echinacea spp. Purple Coneflower

Epimedium spp. Epimedium

Eupatorium purpureum Bluestem Joe-Pye-Weed

Geranium spp. Cranesbill, Geranium

Helleborus spp. Hellebore

Helianthus spp. Sunflower

Iberis spp. Candytuft

Iris spp. Iris

Lavendula spp. Lavender 

Liatris spicata Spike Gay-Feather

Lychnis coronaria Rose Campion

Narcissus spp. Daffodil

Pulmonaria spp. Lungwort

Rudbechia spp. Coneflower

Solidago spp. Goldenrod

Veronica officinalis Speedwell

Yucca filimentosa Yucca

Vines

Celastrus spp. Bittersweet

Clematis spp. Clematis

Hedera helix baltica Baltic Ivy

Lonicera spp. Honeysuckle

Shrubs

Amorpha canescens Lead Plant

Berberis Koreana Korean Barberry

Berberis thunbergii Japanese Barberry

Caragana arborescens

'Sutherland' Sutherland Caragana

Caragana arborescens

'Lorbergi' Fernleaf Caragana

Caragana aurantiaca Pygmy Caragana

Caragana frutex Russian Caragana

Caragana frutex Dwarf Russian

globosa Caragana

Caragana Maximowicz

maximowicziana Caragana

Caragana pekinensis Pekinese Caragana

Ceanothus velutinus Snowbush Ceanothus

Cornus sericea Red Osier Dogwood

Cornus stolonifera Osier Dogwood

Eleagnus angustifolia Russian Olive

Eleagnus commutata Silverberry

Halimodendron halodendron Siberian Salt Tree

Juniperus chinensis Chinese Juniper

Juniperus chinensis 'Hetzii' Hetz Juniper

Juniperus communis

'Vase Shape' Vase common Juniper

Juniperus horizontalis

plumosa Compact Andorra Juniper

Juniperus horizontalis

'Lividus' Lividus Creeping Juniper

Juniperus sabina

'Von Ehron' Von Ehron Savin Juniper

Kolkwitzia amabilis Beautybush

Lonicera spp. Honeysuckle

Philadelphus spp. Mockorange

Prunus americana American plum

Prunus fruticosa Groundcherry

Prunus tenella Dwarf Russian Almond

Rosa rugosa Rugose rose

Rosa virginiana Virginia Rose

Rosa wichuraiana Memorial Rose

Rosa 'Betty Bland' Betty Bland Rose

Rosa 'Haidee' Haidee Rose

Rhus trilobata Fragrant Sumac

Rhamnus cathartica Common Buckthorn

Sheperdia argentea Buffaloberry

Spiraea spp. Bridalwreath

Syringa villosa Late Lilac

Syringa vulgaris Common Lilac

Viburnum opulus Highbush Cranberry

Yucca filamentosa Adam's Needle

Trees

Acer platanoides Norway Maple

Acer saccharinum Silver Maple

Betula papyrifera Paper Birch

Betula pendula European White Birch

Crataegus spp. Hawthorn

Gleditsia tricanthos Honey Locust

Picea abies Norway Spruce

Picea glauca White Spruce

Picea pungens Colorado Blue Spruce

Pinus nigra Austrian Pine

Pinus mugho Mugo Pine

Pinus sylvestris Scotch Pine

Tsuga canadensis Canada Hemlock
 
 
 


Copyright 2001 MSU Extension Service
We encourage the use of this document for non-profit educational purposes. This document may be linked to or reprinted if no endorsement of a commercial product, service or company is stated or implied, and if appropriate credit is given to the author and the MSU Extension Service (or Experiment Station). To use these documents in electronic formats, permission must be sought from the Ag/Extension Communications Coordinator, Communications Services, 416 Culbertson Hall, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, MT 59717; (406) 994-2721; E-mail - publications@montana.edu.

The programs of the MSU Extension Service are available to all people regardless of race, creed, color, sex, disability or national origin. Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, David A. Bryant, Vice Provost and Director, Extension Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717.

File under: Horticulture

A-9 (Ornamentals)

Reprinted June 2001

(1362000601 ST)

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