Deer Resistant Plants

This list provides a guide and was developed from a variety of sources which may not all be equally reliable. Note that no plant is completely "deer proof", particularly when deer densities are high.

1. WOODY Ornamental Plants RARELY Damaged by Deer

Common boxwood

Spruce

2. HERBACEOUS Plants RARELY Damaged by Deer

Annuals/Biennials
Ageratum	Blanket flower	Blue salvia
Cleome	Dahlia	Datura
Dusty Miller	Edging Lobelia	Forget-me-not
Four o'clock	Heliotrope	Marigold
Morning glory	Nicotiana	Parsley
Polka-dot plant	Poppy	Snapdragon
Sweet alyssum	Sweet basil	Verbena
Wax begonia	Zonal geranium
Perennials
Amsonia	Anemones	Angelica
Astilbe	Avens	Baby's breath
Balloon flower	Barrenwort	Basket of gold
Beebalm	Bergenia	Bleeding heart
Boltonia	Bugbane	Buttercup
Butterfly bush	Candytuft	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
Goldenrod	Hay-scented fern	Heath
Heather	Hellebore	Hungarian speedwell
Interrupted fern	Jack-in-the-pulpit	Japanese pachysandra
Joe pyeweed	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
Partridgeberry	Pennyroyal	Perennial blue flax
Plumbago	Primrose	Purple coneflower
Queen-of-the-prarie	Ribbon grass	Royal fern
Sage	Scilla	Shasta daisy
Spike gayfeather	Statice	Sundrops
Sweet Cicely	Sweet William	Sweet woodruff
Tiger lily	Turtlehead	Tussock bellflower
Wisteria	Wormwood	Yarrow

3. WOODY Ornamental Plants SELDOM Severely Damaged by Deer

American bittersweet	Austrian pine	Beautybush
Chinese junipers	Common sassafras	Corkscrew willow
English hawthorn	European beech	European white birch
Forsythia	Honey locust	Inkberry
Japanese flowering cherry	Japanese wisteria	Kousa dogwood
Mugo pine	Pitch pine	Red osier dogwood
Red pine	Redvein enkianthus	Scots pine
White spruce

4. WOODY Ornamental Plants OCCASIONALLY Damaged by deer

Allegheny serviceberry	Anthony water spirea	Basswood
Border forsythia	Bridalwreath spirea	Bush cinquefoil
Carolina hemlock	Chestnut oak	Climbing hydrangea
Common horsechestnut	Cranberry cotoneaster	Dawn redwood
Deciduous azaleas	Doublefile viburnum	Downy serviceberry
Eastern hemlock	Eastern red cedar	Eastern white pine
European larch	Greenspire littleleaf linden	Japanese flowering quince
Japanese tree lilac	Judd viburnum	Koreanspice viburnum
Leatherleaf viburnum	Northern red oak	Oldfashion weigelia
Panicled dogwood	Paperbark maple	Red maple
Rockspray cotoneaster	Rosebay rhododendron	Rose of Sharon
Saucer magnolia	Smokebush	Smooth hydrangea
Staghorn sumac	Sugar maple	Sweet cherry
Sweet mock orange	Trumpet creeper	Virginia creeper
White fir	White oak	Willows

5. HERBACEOUS Plants OCCASIONALLY Damaged by Deer

Annuals & Biennials
Pansy	Sunflower
Perennials
Coneflower	Cranesbill geranium	Iris
Meadow rue	Peony	Sedum
Wood hyacinth

6. WOODY Ornamental Plants FREQUENTLY Severely Damaged by Deer

American arborvitae	Atlantic white cedar	Apples
Atlantic white cedar	Balsam fir	Catawba rhododendron
Cherries	Clematis	English yew
English/Japanese hybrid yew	European mountain ash	Evergreen azaleas
Frazer fir	Hybrid tea rose	Japanese yew
Pinxterbloom azalea	Plums	Rhododendrons
Wintercreeper

7. HERBACEOUS Plants FREQUENTLY Damaged by Deer

Annuals & Biennials
Hollyhocks	Impatiens
Perennials
Cardinal flower	Crocus	Daylily
Goatsbeard	Hosta	Lilies
Phlox	Roses	Tulips

Contact

Katie Oakes
Horticulture Educator, Master Gardener & Master Food Preserver Program Coordinator
klo54@cornell.edu
585-798-4265 ext. 125

Last updated July 9, 2024

Gardening

Find Your Zone!

The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map helps gardeners and growers determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.