There are many plants that deer don’t like to eat, but there are no deer proof plants that deer will not eat. There are a few generalizations that can be made about plants that deer do not like:
- Plants with aromatic foliage
- Plants with thorns or sharp foliage
- Toxic plants
- Fuzzy leafed plants
Meadows Farms does offer a deer proofing service through our Lawn Care division as well as carry many different products including organics at our Garden Centers to deter deer. All these are a humane solution to potential deer damage.
The following is a selection of plants that are rarely damaged or seldom severely damaged
Deer Resistant Trees
- Arborvitae, Green Giant
- Arborvitae, Zebrina
- Amelanchier
- Birch, River
- Beech
- Cedar, Blue Atlas & Weeping
- Cherry, Flowering varieties
- Cypress, Hinoki
- Dogwood, varieties
- Gum, Sweet
- Gum, Black
- Holly, American
- Holly, Nellie Stevens
- Honey Locust
- Magnolias, Sweetbay
- Magnolia, Royal Star
- Magnolia, Saucer varieties
- Oaks, varieties
- Pine, Black
- Pine, White
- Redbud varieties
- Spruce, Colorado
- Spruce, Dwarf Alberta
- Sycamore
- Zelkova
Shrubs
- Althea (Rose of Sharon)
- Barberry varieties
- Boxwood varieties
- Butterfly Bush
- Caryopteris
- Clethra
- Cotoneaster varieties
- Cypress, Goldthread
- Dogwood, Red Twig
- Forsythia
- Holly, Inkberry
- Lilac varieties
- Nandina varieties
- Pieris Japonica
- Spirea varieties
- Vitex varieties
Perennials
- Achillea
- Agastache
- Aquilegia
- Baptisia
- Coreopsis
- Dianthus
- Dicentra
- Digitalis
- Echinacea
- Eupatorium
- Euphorbia
- Ferns
- Gaillardia
- Geum
- Grasses
- Helleborus
- Heuchera
- Iris
- Lavender
- Monarda
- Nepeta
- Peony
- Pulmonaria
- Stachys
Annuals
- Ageratum
- Cleome
- Coleus
- Dianthus
- Dusty Miller
- Gomphrena
- Marigold
- Nicotiana
- Salvia
- Snapdragon
- Verbena
- Vinca
- Zinnia
This list is hardly comprehensive, and you might experience different results. Deer have a notorious reputation for being poor readers, therefore, plants that are not thorny, distasteful or smelly might be considered fair game for dinner!