Cornell Cooperative Extension

Orleans County
Beautiful Morning Glory by Swaminathan
Image by Swaminathan

Morning glory is an herbaceous annual that is rarely damaged by deer.

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

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2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map

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