Deer-Resistant Perennials and Bulbs

Reality check: No plant is absolutely deer-proof. Hungry herds eat almost anything. But many plants are far less palatable—build your garden around these.

Why Deer Avoid Certain Plants

• Fuzzy/woolly leaves
• Pungent foliage (catmints, mints, lavenders, agastache, salvias)
• Foul taste or toxicity
• Spines/thorns (barberry)—though even rugosa roses get browsed

Young deer sample and spit—daffodils and foxgloves (both toxic) get torn up as fawns learn. Regional preferences vary; consult local extension and neighbors. Deer also target fertilized plants—go easy on nitrogen.

Long-Term Solution: Fencing

6–7' tall, secure at ground level (deer wiggle under). California trick: two 4' fences 4' apart—deer avoid potential traps.

Deer-Resistant Plant Lists (Northeast Research)

Full to Part Sun Perennials

Agastache, ajuga, amsonia, anemone, aquilegia, artemesia, asarum, asclepias, baptisia, boltonia, buddleia, calamintha, calluna, campanula, centaurea, ceratostigma, chrysanthemum (sometimes nipped), cimicifuga, coreopsis, delphinium, echinacea, echinops, erica, eupatorium, euphorbia, geranium (esp. G. macrorrhizum), ornamental grasses (calamagrostis, miscanthus, pennisetum, festuca, hakonechloa), gypsophila, helenium, iberis, iris sibirica, lavandula, liatris, linum, lupinus, monarda, nepeta, oenothera, paeonia, perovskia, platycodon, potentilla, rosmarinus, salvia, solidago, stachys, thymus, verbascum, veronica, wisteria, yucca

Full or Part Shade Perennials

Asarum, bergenia, convallaria, dicentra, digitalis

Ferns: Adiantum, athyrium 'Ghost', athyrium 'Pictum', dennstaedtia, matteuccia, onoclea, osmunda (cinnamomea, claytoniana, regalis), polystichum

Geranium, helleborus, kirengeshoma, lamium, primula, pulmonaria

Bulbs Rarely Damaged

Allium, chionodoxa, colchicum, fritillaria imperialis, galanthus, hyacinthus, narcissus, scilla