"Oh no! My Hostas!"
While deer may eat almost any plant if food is scarce, selecting deer-resistant plants can help protect your landscape. Plants with spiny or fuzzy foliage, strong fragrances, or natural toxins are generally less appealing to deer. Incorporating deer-resistant trees, shrubs, and perennials—such as lavender, onion, or Russian Sage—can reduce browsing damage and keep your garden thriving.
The following plants tend to be deer resistant
Perennials
Anise Hyssop (Agastache)
Aster
Baby's Breath (Gypsophila)
Bachelor Button (Centaurea)
Beardtongue (Penstemon)
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Bittersweet
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)
Boston Ivy
Brunnera
Bugleweed (Ajuga)
Catmint (Nepeta)
Chocolate Vine (Akebia)
Cinquefoil (Potentilla)
Clematis
Corydalis
Cranesbill (Geranium)
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera)
False Indigo (Baptisia)
Ferns
Foxglove (Digitalis)
Gas Plant (Dictamnus)
Gayfeather (Liatris)
Goat's Beard (Aruncus)
Grasses
Grape
Columbine (Aquilegia)
Coral Bells (Heuchera)
Peony
Pig Squeak (Bergenia)
Lenten Rose (Hellebore)
Honeysuckle
Iris
Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium)
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium)
Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla)
Lamb's Ear (Stachys)
Lavender
Ligularia
Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
Meadow Sweet (Filipendula)
Monkshood (Aconitum)
Myrtle (Vinca)
Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra)
Painted Daisy (Tanacetum)
Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa)
Pinks (Dianthus)
Poppy (Papaver)
Russian Sage (Perovskia)
Sage (Salvia)
Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum)
Silvermound (Artemisia)
Snakeroot (Cimicifuga)
Sneezeweed (Helenium)
Soapwort (Saponaria)
Speedwell (Veronica)
Spurge (Euphorbia)
Thyme
Yarrow (Achillea)
Silver Lace Vine
Trumpet Vine
Virginia Creeper
Annuals
Ageratum
Blue Salvia
Castor Bean
Cleome
Cosmos
Dahlia
Datura
Dianthus
Dusty Miller
Geraniums
Grasses
HeliotropeHerbs (most)
Lantana
Lobelia
Marigolds
Morning Glory
Polka-dot Plant
Poppy
Snapdragons
Sweet Alyssum
Verbena
Wax Begonia
Trees & Shrubs
Barberry
Beech*
Birch
Boxwood
Butterfly Bush
Cypress
Dawn*
Dogwood Shrub
Dogwood*
Forsythia
Ginkgo
Hemlock*
Holly
Honey Locust
Inkberry Holly
Juniper*
Katsura
Kerria
Lilac
Little Leaf Linden
Mahonia-Oregon Grape
Maple*
Mugo Pine
Pieris
Redwood
Smokebush
Spirea
Spruce
Sweetgum
Sweetshrub
Tulip Poplar
Witch Hazel*