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The Garden Plot for November 23, 2007
3:55 PM - 4:00 PM
[Program Website]
Today's Highlight: “Deer-Resistant Plants”
Deer are the great equalizers in Montana gardens. They invade gardens of all sizes, types, and levels of care. Are some plants avoided by deer? There is little scientific evidence evaluating deer preference for particular plants. Lacking good scientific evidence, we have turned to tried and true observation. The following list of deer “less preferred” plants was compiled from a survey of Montana landscapers with 15 –30 years of trial and error, planting tasty treats for deer all over Montana. Not surprisingly, there is disagreement about which plants deer really avoid.
The unanimous list of deer-resistant picks is short. It includes Blue Flax (Linum), Blanket Flower (Gailardia), Lavender (Lavendula), Daffodils (Narcissus), plants in the mint family such as Beebalm (Monarda), Astilbe, Yarrow (Achillea), and Foxglove (Digitalis).
In Whitefish Jennifer Byers of Living Color Designs swears by Purple Coneflower (Echinacea), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis), Rudebeckia, and species with silvery, grey leaves such as Sage brush (Artemisia) and Lamb’s Ear (Stachys). Some of the most successful deer-resistant plants according to Billie Gray Landscape Design in Missoula, include Siberian bugloss (Brunnera), Iris, Bleeding Heart (Dicentra), Korean and Japanese Barberry (Berberis) and Snapdragons. Joni Peterson of Bitterrooot Nursery in Corvallis recommends Catmint (Nepita), African Yellow Daisy (Anthemis tinctoria), Golddrop Potentilla.
Several Montana native shrubs seem to be less preferred by deer, including Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), Rabbit Brush (Chrysothamnus), Hawthorn (Crataegus), Oakleaf Sumac (Rhus trilobata), and Snowberry (Symphorocarpus).
The only truly deer-resistant plant is one behind a 7-8 foot woven wire fence. Across the United States deer fence is the best deterent to feeding. Creative gardeners have designed into their landscapes attractive fencing and arbors sporting vines. Others, like me, have effective, but ugly deer fences reminiscent of prison fencing. If fencing seems too expensive or offensive, there are several spray-on feeding deterent materials on the market. These materials contain bad-tasting and bad-smelling ingredients such as hot pepper, bloodmeal, ammonium soaps, and a sulfur compound with a rotten-egg-like smell. Several of these materials are available in Montana, including Liquid Fence, Deer Away, Hinder, Repel, Plantskydd, This One Works, and Repellex. The trick to using these materials is to spray weekly while plants are growing and developing new foliage that needs protection. Once plants finish their main growth for the season, monthly spraying should suffice. Landscapers in Livingston report that after a year of conscientious repellant use, these materials may only need to be sprayed on the perimeter of your property.
Deer damage runs the gamut from cutting off the heads of Tulips and Day Lillies just before they bloom, to pulling small, new transplants out of freshly dug holes during taste-test patrol, and the final insult: mowing down the entire foliage of “deer-candy” plants. Even plants that are usually avoided may prove too tempting to deer when young, succulent, and early in the spring. Plants from which deer eat only the buds are good candidates for a spray-on deterent. Otherwise, your best bet is to try a combination of fencing, spray-on deterrents, and choosing plants from the least-preferred list.
A Partial List of Deer-Resistant Garden Plants
GROUND COVERS
Botanical Name Common Name
Lamium spp. Dead Nettle
Brunnera macrophylla Siberian bugloss
FLOWERS
Botanical Name Common Name
Achillea spp. Yarrow
Aquilegia spp. Columbine
Astilbe spp. Astilbe
Coreopsis spp. Tickseed
Dianthuss spp. Pinks
Dicentra spp. Bleeding Heart
Digitalis spp. Foxglove
Echinacea spp. Purple Coneflower
Epimedium spp. Epimedium
Geranium spp. Cranesbill, Geranium
Helleborus spp. Hellebore
Helianthus spp. Sunflower
Iris spp. Iris
Lavendula spp. Lavender
Liatris spicata Gay-Feather
Linum lewisi Blue Flax
Pulmonaria spp. Lungwort
Rudbechia spp. Coneflower
Veronica officinalis Speedwell
Antirrhinum Snapdragons
SHRUBS
Botanical Name Common Name
Berberis Koreana Korean Barberry
Berberis thunbergii Japanese Barberry
Juniperus chinensis Chinese Juniper
Juniperus chinensis “Hetzii” Hetz Juniper
Juniperus communis Vase common Juniper
Juniperus horizontalis Compact Andorra Juniper
Juniperus Sabina Von Ehron Savin Juniper
Philadelphus spp. Mockorange
Rosa rugosa Rugose rose
Rhus trilobata Fragrant Sumac
Sheperdia argentea Buffaloberry
Spiraea spp. Bridalwreath
Syringa vulgaris Common Lilac
Yucca filamentosa Adam’s Needle
BULBS
Botanical Name Common Name
Narcissus spp. Daffodil
Helen Atthowe's new short program of gardening tips
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