Deer Resistant Plants
Showing 9–16 of 146 results
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Ajuga genevensis Geneva Bugle Z 4-9
True blue 6” spikes in spring and early summer
Ajuga genevensis Geneva Bugle Z 4-9
True blue 6” spikes in spring and early summer. Great groundcover.Size: 6” x 12”
Care: full sun to shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: Europe
Wildlife Value: Tolerates foot traffic. Deer and rabbit resistant.William Robinson, father of the mixed perennial garden, called this “among the best.” (1933). In gardens before 1753.
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Allium cernuum Nodding onion Z 4-8
Umbels of arching stems with nodding bells of lilac shading to pink
Allium cernuum Nodding onion Z 4-8
Umbels of arching stems with nodding bells of lilac shading to pink, June – July.Size: 12”-18”x 3-6”
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil, Deer resistant
Native: Canada to Mexico, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesCernuum is Latin meaning “nodding.” Many groups of 1st Americans ate the bulbs raw, roasted or dried for winter storage or as flavoring for soups and gravies. Cherokee used this plant medicinally to cure colds, hives, colic, “gravel & dropsy,” liver ailments, sore throats, “phthisic,” and feet in “nervous fever.” Those in the Isleta Pueblo were not quite as creative as the Cherokee and used this only for sore throats and infections. Collected for garden cultivation by 1834.
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Allium senescens Corkscrew allium, German garlic, Greater mountain garlic Z 4-9
Lavender balls, up to 30 of them, atop thin, bluish, strap-like, twisting foliage – mid-summer day’s dream.
Lavender balls, up to 30 of them, atop thin, bluish, strap-like, twisting foliage – mid-summer day’s dream.
Size: 6-12” x 6-12”
Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: Siberia
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies & bees, deer & rabbit resistantCultivated before 1753. According to Philip Miller’s 1768 Dictionary, “planted in gardens for the variety of their flowers.”
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Allium sphaerocephalon Drumstick allium Z 4-11
Claret colored, egg shaped flower heads
Claret colored, egg shaped flower heads top leafless stems in June to July. Good see through plant to intermingle with purple coneflowers or tickseed. Good cut flower. You get a clump of a 3-4 plants with this order. Self-sows
Size: 2-3’ x 2-3”
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Deer resistant
Native: Mediterranean, Caucasus & EuropeIn gardens before 1750. Used as an edging around vegetables at Mount Vernon.
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Amsonia orientalis syn. Rhazya orientalis European bluestar Z 5-8
Purplish blue flowers that are larger and longer lasting than other Amsonia. Yellow foliage in Fall.
“Immensely tough and useful filler” “100 Plants Every Gardener Should Grow,” Gardens Illustrated No. 231
Purplish blue flowers that are larger and longer lasting than other Amsonia. Yellow foliage in Fall.Size: 12-20” x spreading
Care: sun to light shade in moist well-drained soil
Native: TurkeyDeer resistant, salt and heat tolerant. Classified as critically endangered as it is losing its native habitat and was over harvested. Collected before 1844.
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Amsonia tabernaemontana Willow bluestar Z 4-10
Sky blue star shaped panicles
Sky blue star-shaped panicles from May to June. In fall foliage turns sunny yellow.
Size: 24”x 18”
Care: full sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant
Native: Pennsylvania to FloridaAmsonia named for 18th century colonial physician Charles Amson. Tabernaemontana named for a physician who lived in the 1500’s, Jakob van Bergzabern who changed his name to Tabernaemontanus! Listed in The Wild Flowers of America, 1879. A 1910 book describes the “leaves are willow-like, the flowers small bluish bells in terminal panicles.”
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Andropogon scoparium Little bluestem Z 5-9
Blue gray foliage turns plum orange in fall
Blue gray foliage turns plum orange in fall with wispy, feather-like seed heads
Size: 18" x 12"
Care: full sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: all No. America, Wisconsin nativeDiscovered by French plant hunter André Michaux (1746-1802) in America’s prairies. Comanche used it to relieve syphilitic sores. Lakota made soft wispy seed heads into liners for moccasins.
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Anemone cylindrica Thimbleweed Z 4-7
Pristine pure white petal-like sepals frame many golden anthers in June. Erect cylinders persist summer and fall.
Pristine pure white petal-like sepals frame many golden anthers in June. Erect cylinders persist summer and fall.
Size: 2’ x 12”
Care: full sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil.
Native: on the east – Maine to Delaware & west – British Columbia to Arizona. WI nativeHoChunk put masticated fuzz from the seeds on boils or carbuncles, opening them after a day. Collected from the wild before 1880’s. Plant emits allelopathogin that inhibits seed germination of other plants. Leaves, if eaten, cause mouth irritation, so that critters (rabbits & deer) leave it alone. The name Anemone is Greek for the wind, “so called, because the flower is supposed not to open, except the wind blows.” The Gardeners’ Dictionary, 1768.
