Woody Ornamental Plants Rarely Damaged by Deer and Elk
| American holly |
Common boxwood |
Colorado blue spruce |
| Drooping leucothoe |
Japanese pieris |
Juniper |
| Paper birch |
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Herbaceous Plants Rarely Damaged by Deer and Elk
Annuals and biennials:
|
| Ageratum |
Blanket flower |
Blue salvia |
| Cleome |
Dahlia |
Dusty miller |
| Edging lobelia |
Forget-me-not |
Four O'clock |
| Foxglove |
Heliotrope |
Marigold |
| Morning glory |
Parsley |
Polka-dot plant |
| Poppy |
Snapdragon |
Sweet alyssum |
| Sweet basil |
Thorn apple |
Verbena |
| Wax begonia |
Zonal geranium |
|
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Perennials
|
| American bittersweet |
Amsonia |
Anemones |
| Angelica |
Astilbe |
Avens |
| Baby's breath |
Balloon flower |
Barrenwort |
| Basket of gold |
Bishop's weed |
Bittersweet |
| Beebalm |
Bergenia |
Bishop's weed |
| Bleeding heart |
Boltonia |
Bugbane |
| Bugleweed |
Buttercup |
Butterfly bush |
| Candytuft |
Catmint |
Christmas fern |
| Cinnamon fern |
Cinquefoil |
Clematis |
| Columbine |
Coreopsis |
Crown imperial |
| Daffodil |
Dead nettle |
Evening primrose |
| False indigo |
Feverfew |
Forget-me-not |
| Garlic chives |
Gas plant |
Globe thistle |
| Goatsbeard |
Goldenrod |
Hay-scented fern |
| Heath |
Heather |
Hellebore |
| Hungarian speedwell |
Interrupted fern |
Jack-in-the-pulpit |
| Jacob's ladder |
Japanese pachysandra |
Joe-pye weed |
| Knapweed |
Kirengeshoma |
Labrador violet |
| Lamb's ear |
Lavender |
Lily-of-the-valley |
| Lupine |
Lungwort |
Mint |
| Mullein |
New York fern |
Oregano |
| Ornamental onion |
Ostrich fern |
Oriental poppy |
| Painted daisy |
Partridgeberry |
Pennyroyal |
| Perennial blue flax |
Plumbago |
Primrose |
| Purple coneflower |
Queen-of-the-prairie |
Rhubarb |
| Ribbon grass |
Rosemary |
Royal fern |
| Sage |
Scilla |
Sensitive fern |
| Shasta daisy |
Soapwort |
Spike gayfeather |
| Statice |
Sundrops |
Sweet Cicely |
| Sweet William |
Sweet Woodruff |
Tansy |
| Tiger lily |
Toadflax |
Turtlehead |
| Tussock bellflower |
Wisteria |
Wormwood |
| Yarrow |
Yucca |
|
Woody Ornamental Plants Seldom Severely Damaged by Deer and Elk
| American bittersweet |
American sweet gum |
Arborvitae |
| Australian fuchsia |
Austrian pine |
Aloe |
| Barberry |
Beautybush |
Bigleaf maple |
| Bitter cherry |
Black locust |
Bottlebrush |
| Boxwood |
Bridal veil broom |
Broom Brush |
| Cherry |
Busy Lizzie |
Butcher’s broom |
| California fuchsia |
Cape honeysuckle |
Carolina jassamine |
| Century Plant |
Chinese holly |
Chinese junipers |
| Chokecherry |
Clematis |
Coleonema |
| Common lilac |
Common sassafras |
Corkscrew willow |
| Cotoneaster |
Currant |
Gooseberry |
| Cypress |
Daphne |
Dusty miller |
| Elderberry |
English hawthorn |
English Ivy |
| Escallonia |
Eucalyptus, gum |
European beech |
| European white birch |
European larch |
Euryops |
| Evergreen eunomymus |
Fatcherdera |
Ferns |
| Firs (Abies species) |
Flowering Maple |
Forsythia |
| Guinea gold vine |
Grape Ivy |
Grevillea |
| Griselinia |
Gunnera |
Halimium |
| Hawthorn |
Hazelnut |
Heath |
| Hollyhock |
Honey locust |
Honey Bush |
| Hop Bush |
Inkberry |
Incense cedarIochroma |
| Japanese flowering cherry |
Japanese maple |
Japanese rose |
| Japanese wisteria |
Lavender |
Lilac, common |
| Lion’s tail |
Lodgepole pine |
Loropetalum |
| Lupine |
Kinnikinnik |
Kousa dogwood |
| Magnolia |
Maidenhair tree |
Mattress vine |
| Mayten tree |
Mountain laurel |
Monkey flower |
| Mugo pine |
Myoporum |
Norway spruce |
| Oleander |
Oregon Grape |
Pitch pine |
| Raoulia |
Red osier dogwood |
Red pine |
| Redvein enkianthus |
Redwood sorrel |
Rockrose |
| Rosemary |
Salal |
Santolina |
| Scots pine |
Shrubby Cinquefoil |
Star jasmine |
| Sugar bush |
Silk tree |
Silverberry |
| Smoke tree |
Snowberry , common |
Spurge |
| Sweet hakea |
Tanbark oak |
Trailing African daisy |
| Trailing latana |
True myrtle |
Vine Maple |
| Wax Myrtle |
Western hazlenut |
Western Red Cedar |
| Wild Lilac |
White pine |
Whitebark pine |
| White spruce |
|
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Woody Ornamental Plants Occasionally Severely Damaged by Deer and Elk
| Allegheny serviceberry |
Anthony water spirea |
Basswood |
| Border forsythia |
Bradford callery pear |
Bridalwreath spirea |
| Bush cinquefoil |
Carolina hemlock |
Carolina rhododendron |
| Chestnut oak |
China girl/boy holly |
Climbing hydrangea |
| Common horsechestnut |
Common pear |
Common witchhazel |
| Cranberry cotoneaster |
Dawn redwood |
Deciduous azaleas |
| Doublefile viburnum |
Douglas fir |
Downy serviceberry |
| Eastern hemlock |
Eastern red cedar |
Eastern white pine |
| European larch |
Firethorn |
Greenspire littleleaf linden |
| Japanese cedar |
Japanese flowering quince |
Japanese holly |
| Japanese tree lilac |
Judd viburnum |
Korean spice viburnum |
| Late lilac |
Leatherleaf viburnum |
Northern red oak |
| Old fashion weigelia |
Panicled dogwood |
Panicled hydrangea |
| Paperbark maple |
Persian lilac |
Privet |
| Red maple |
Rhododendron |
Rockspray cotoneaster |
| Rosebay rhododendron |
Rose of Sharon |
Rugosa rose |
| Saucer magnolia |
Silver maple |
Smokebush |
| Smooth hydrangea |
Staghorn sumac |
Sugar maple |
| Sweet cherry |
Sweet mock orange |
Trumpet creeper |
| Virginia creeper |
White fir |
White oak |
| Willows |
|
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Herbaceous Plants Occasionally Damaged by Deer and Elk
Annuals and biennials
Pansy
Sunflower
Perennials
| Coneflower |
Cranesbill geranium |
English ivy |
| Iris |
Meadow rue |
Peony |
| Sedum |
Wood hyacinth |
|
Woody Ornamental Plants Frequently Severely Damaged by Deer and Elk
| American arborvitae |
Atlantic white cedar |
Apples |
| Balsam fir |
Catawba rhododendron |
Cherries |
| Clematis |
Cornelian dogwood |
Emerald Cedar |
| English ivy |
English yew |
English/Japanese hybrid yew |
| European mountain ash |
Evergreen azaleas |
Frazer fir |
| Hybrid tea rose |
Japanese yew |
Norway maple |
| Pinxterbloom azalea |
Plums |
Pyramid Cedar |
| Rhododendrons |
Wintercreeper |
|
Herbaceous Plants Frequently Damaged by Deer and Elk
Annuals and biennials
| Hollyhocks |
Impatiens |
Mexican sunflower |
Perennials
| Cardinal flower |
Crocus |
Day lily |
| Hosta |
Rose |
Tulips |
| Vegetables??? |
|
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Trees and Shrubs
Although deer may not eat your tree, its young trunk or stem may need protection from damage caused when deer rub their antlers and break new stems or strip off protective bark in the fall.
| Note: (spp. = species) |
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Abelia
Abies (true firs)
Acer (maples)
Deer safe varieties include big leaf,
vine and Japanese but not the expensive
hybrid forms
Acer negundo (box elder)
Araucaria araucana (monkey puzzle tree)
Bamboos spp.
Most varieties are safe from deer
Berberis
Betula (birches)
Boxwood
Buddleja (butterfly bush)
Usually not eaten by deer
Catalpa bignonioides (common catalpa)
Choisya ternata (Mexican mock orange)
Cistus
Cornus kousa (Kousa dogwood)
Coptinus coggygria (smoke tree)
Crataegus (English hawthorn)
Cryptomeria (plume cedar)
Cupressus, Chamaecyparis (cypress)
Cytisus (broom)
Daphne
Epimedium (barrenwort)
Eucalyptus
Fremontodendron
Genista monosperma (broom) |
|
Hypericum
Safe from deer in its shrub form
Ilex (American holly)
Deer will eat the variegated forms
Juniperus spp. (junipers)
Kerria japonica
Laburnum
Liquidambar spp. (sweet gums)
Mahonia (Oregon grape)
Magnolia
Manzanita
Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo)
Deer will eat the hybrid forms
Picea (spruce)
Pieris japonica (lily-of-the-valley-bush)
Pinus (pine)
Robina pseudoacacia
Rhododendrons
Stems need protection in fall
Sequoia sempervirens (redwood)
Spartium junceum (Spanish broom)
Symphoricarpos albus (snowberry)
Taxus (yew)
Thuja (cedar)
Sometimes deer will eat them in winter
Trachycarpus (windmill palm)
Walnut
Wisteria
Weigela
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Perennials
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Achillea (yarrow)
Aconitum (Monkshood)
Very poisonous but occasionally eaten
Ageratum spp. (flossflower)
Agapanthus (lily of the Nile)
Ajuga reptans (carpet bugle)
Alliums (flowering onions)
Alcea rosea (hollyhock)
Anemone
Anthemis tinctoria (perennial marguerite)
Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon)
Deer will eat them at the end of
the season when water is in
short supply
Aquilegia (columbine)
Sometimes left alone by deer
Arctotis stoechadifolia (African daisy)
Artemisia spp. (wormwood, tarragon)
Armeria maritima (sea pink)
Asters
Some fall species are safe from deer
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Bellis (English daisy)
Bergenia
Blackberries
Borage
Cactacese spp. (cactus)
Calendula officinalis (pot marigold)
Callistemon spp. (bottlebrushes)
Calycanthus occidentalis (sweet shrub)
Ceanothus sanguineus (wild lilac)
Deer eat the hybrid cultivars
Centaurea
(mountain bluet or perennial cornflower)
Cerastium (snow-in-summer)
Chives
Chrysanthemum maximum (shasta daisy)
Cordyline australis
Cortaderia spp. (Pampas grasses)
Daffodils
Daphne spp. (daphnes)
Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart)
Digitalis spp. (foxglove)
Doronicum (leopard's bane daisy)
Dryopteris spp. (wood ferns)
Epimedium (barrenwort)
Eschscholzia (California poppy)
Euphorbia (spurge)
Festuca spp. (fescues/grasses)
Fritillaria spp.
Galanthus (snowdrops)
Galium (sweet woodruff)
Gaultheria (salal and wintergreen)
Geranium sanguinium and
G. macrorrhizum
Grasses (including Panicum, Miscanthus,
Calamagrostis, Festuca, Pennisetum)
Helianthus spp. (sunflower)
Helleborus spp. (hellebore)
Herbs
Deer will avoid all strong smelling herbs
and those with gray/silver leaves
Humulus (hops)
Hypericum calycinum (Aaron's beard or
creeping St. John's wort) |
|
Impatiens
Deer will only avoid them if lots of
food and water are available
Iris spp. (iris)
Jasminum officinale (jasmine)
Juglans regia (English or Persian walnut)
Juncus tenuis (wire grass)
Kniphofia uvaria (red hot poker)
Lamium (dead nettle)
Lantana montevidensis (trailing lantana)
Laurentia fluviatilis (blue star creeper)
Lavandula spp. (lavender)
Lupinus spp. (lupine)
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Mimulus spp. (monkey flower)
Mints
Myosotis spp. (forget-me-not)
Narcissus spp. (daffodil)
Nepeta (catmint)
Oenothera (evening primrose)
Oregano
Osteospermum (African daisy)
Sometimes safe from deer
Oxalis oregana (redwood sorrel)
Pachysandra procumbens
Papaver nudicaule (Welsh, Icelandic,
Shirley poppies)
Papaver orientale (Oriental poppy)
Papaver somniforum
(opium or peony poppy)
Parsley
Pelargoniums (scented geraniums)
Peony
Deer eat the foliage in late summer
Perovskia atriplicifolia
(Russian sage)
Phormium (New Zealand flax)
Polystichum spp. (sword ferns)
Potentilla fruticosa (shrubby cinquefoil)
Primula
Rheum spp. (rhubarb, pie plant)
Romneya coulteri
Rosemary
Ruta graveolens (rue)
May irritate sensitive skin
Rudbeckia (gloriosa daisy)
Sambucus racemosa (red elderberry)
Santolina spp.
Senecio cineraria (dusty miller)
Solanum spp. (nightshade)
Stachys byzantina (lamb's ear)
Tagetes (marigolds)
Teucrium fructicans (germander)
Trillium spp.
Thyme
Umbellularia californica
(Californian bay or Oregon myrtle)
Valeriana spp. (Valerian)
Vinca major, V. minor
(vinca, myrtle or periwinkle)
Deer eat variegated varieties
Woodwardia spp. (chain ferns)
Yucca spp. (yucca, Spanish bayonet)
Zantedeschia spp. (calla lily) |
