Rabbit and Deer Resistant Plant Ideas

Plant List

The following plants are typically deer proof – but remember, there are no absolutes when it comes to deer. This list includes annuals, perennials, bulbs and flowering shrubs. I’ve also included a list of

deer proof ferns, grasses and groundcovers. Source: Deer Proof Gardens

Annuals

Common Name	Latin Name
Ageratum	Ageratum houstonianum
Angel’s Trumpet	Brugmansia sp. (Datura)
Anise	Pimpinalla anisum
Annual Vinca	Catharanthus rosea
Dusty Miller	Centaurea cineraria
False Camomile	Matricaria sp.
Flowering Tobacco	Nicotiana sp.
Forget-Me-Not	Myosotis sylvatica
Heliotrope (questionable)	Heliotropium arborescens
Larkspur	Consolida ambigua
Poppy	Papaver sp.
Pot Marigold	Calendula sp.
Rosemary	Rosmarinus officinalis
Snapdragon (questionable)	Antirrhinum majus
Snow-on-the-Mountain	Euphorbia marginata
Spider Flower	Cleome sp.
Strawflower	Helichrysum
Sweet Alyssum (questionable)	Lobularia maritima

Perennials

Common Name	Latin Name
Anise Hyssop	Agastache sp.
Basket of Gold	Aurinia saxatilis
Bigleaf Goldenray	Ligularia dentata
Bleeding Heart	Dicentra spectabilis
Butter & Eggs	Linaria vulgaris
Buttercup	Ranunculus sp.
Cactus	Cactaceae sp.
Catmint	Nepeta sp.
Common Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare
Corydalis	Corydalis sp.
Dame’s Rocket	Hesperis matronalis
European Ginger	Asarum europaeum
False Indigo	Baptisia australis
Forget-Me-Not	Myosotis sp.
Fringed Bleeding Heart	Dicentra eximia
Garden Sage	Salvia officinalis
Germander	Teucrium Chamaedrys
Greek Jerusalem Sage	Phlomis sp.
Horehound	Marrubium vulgare
Horseradish	Armoracia rusticana
Hyssop	Hyssopus officinalis
Iris	Iris sp. (may eat buds)
Jack-in-the-pulpit	Arisaema triphylum
Lamb’s Ear	Stachys byzantina
Lavendar	Lavandula sp.
Lavender-Cotton	Santolina chamaecyparissus
Lemon Balm	Melissa officinalis
Lenten or Christmas Rose	Helleborus sp.
Lungwort	Pulmonaria sp.
Marjoram	Majorana
May Apple	Podophyllum
Meadow Rue	Thalictrum sp.
Mint	Mentha sp.
Monkshood	Aconitum sp.
Oregano	Oreganum sp.
Ornamental Onion	Allium sp.
Peony (questionable)	Paeonia sp. (may eat buds)
Potentilla, Cinquefoil	Potentilla sp.
Purple Rock-Cress	Aubretia deltoidea
Rock-Cress	Arabis caucasica
Rocket Ligularia	Ligularia ‘The Rocket’
Rodgers Flower	Rodgersia sp.
Rose Campion	Lychnis coronaria
Rue	Ruta sp.
Russian Sage	Perovskio atriplicifolia
Siberian Bugloss	Bruneria macrophylla (Brunnera)
Silver Mound	Artemisia sp.
Small Globe Thistle	Echinops ritro
Spurge	Euphorbia sp. (except ‘Chameleon’)
Statice	Limonium latifolium
Tarragon	Artemisia dracunculus
Threadleaf Coreopsis	Coreopsis verticillata
Thyme	Thymus sp.
Wild Ginger	Asarum canadense
Yucca	Yucca filimentosa
Foxglove (technically, a biennial)	Digitalis purpurea

Bulbs

Common Name	Latin Name
Autumn Crocus	Colchicum sp.
Bluebell (questionable)	Endymion sp.
Crown Imperial, Fritilia	Fritilaria imperialis
Daffodil	Narcissus sp.
Ornamental Onion	Allium sp.
Siberian Squill	Scilla siberica
Snowdrops	Galanthus nivalis
Winter Aconite	Eranthus hyemalis

Ferns

Common Name	Latin Name
Christmas Fern	Polystichum arcostichoides
Cinnamon Fern	Osmunda cinnamomea
Hayscented Fern	Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Holly Fern	Cyrtomium falcatum
Japanese Painted Fern	Athyrium goeringianum (nipponicum)
New York Fern	Thelyptens noveboracensis
Ostrich Fern	Matteuccia struthiopteris
Royal Fern	Osmunda regalis
Sensitive Fern	Onoclea sensibilis
Wood Fern	Dryopteris marginalis

Ground Covers

Allegheny Spurge	Pachysandra procumbens
Barrenwort	Epimediurn sp.
Bearberry	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Bishop’s Weed	Aegopodium podagaria
Bugleweed	Ajuga reptans
Lily of the Valley	Convallaria majalis
Pachysandra	Pachysandra terminalis
Spotted Deadnettle	Lamium sp.
Sweet Woodruff	Galium odoratum (Asperula odorata)

Shrubs

Common Name	Latin Name
Arrowwood Viburnum	Viburnum dentatum
Barberry	Berberis sp.
Bayberry	Myrica pensylvanica
Blue Mist Shrub	Caryopteris clandonensis
Broom	Cytisus sp.
Bush Cinquefoil	Potentilla fruticosa
Butterfly Bush (questionable)	Buddleia sp.
Common Boxwood	Buxus sempervirens
Daphne	Daphne sp.
Devil’s Walking Stick	Aralia spinosa
Drooping Leucothoe (questionable)	Leucothoe fontanesiana
Fragrant Sumac	Rhus aromatica
Heath	Erica sp.
Heather (questionable)	Calliuna sp.
Japanese Pieris, Andromeda	Pieris japonica
Japanese Plum Yew	Cephalotaxus harringtonia
Japanese Skimmia	Skimmia japonica
John T. Morris Holly	Ilex x ‘John T. Morris’
Leatherleaf Mahonia (questionable)	Mahonia bealei
Lydia Morris Holly	Ilex x ‘Lydia Morris’
Moonglow Juniper	Juniperus scopulorum ‘Moonglow’
Mountain Pieris	Pieris floribunda
Oregon Grape Holly (questionable)	Mahonia aquifolium
Prince of Wales Juniper	Juniperus horizontalis ‘Prince of Wales’
Red Elderberry	Sambucus racemosa
Russian Cypress	Microbiota decussata
Russian Olive	Elaeagnus angustifolia
Sweet Box	Sarcoccoca hookeriana

Ornamental Grasses

Common Name	Latin Name
Big Bluestem	Andropogon sp.
Blue Fescue	Festuca glauca
Blue Oat Grass	Helictotrichon sempervirens
Clump Bamboo	Fargesia sp.
Feather Reed Grass	Calamagrostis sp.
Fountain Grass	Pennisetum alopecuroides
Giant Japanese Silver Grass	Miscanthus floridulis
Giant Reed	Arundo donax
Golden Bamboo	Phyllostachys aurea
Hakonechloa	Hakonechloa macra
Hard Rush	Juncus Effusus
Indian Grass	Sorghastrum nutans
Japanese Blood Grass	Imperata cylindrica
Japanese Sedge	Carex sp.
Japanese Silver Grass	Miscanthus sinensis
Japanese Sweet Flag	Acorus sp.
Large Blue June Grass	Koeleria glauca
Little Bluestem	Schizachyrium scoparium
Lyme Grass	Leymus arenarius glaucous
Northern Sea Oats	Chasmanthium latifolium
Oriental Fountain Grass	Pennisetum orientale
Pampus Grass	Cortaderia selloana
Purple Moor Grass	Molinia caerulea
Ravenna Grass	Erianthus ravennae
Switch Grass	Panicum virgatum
Variegated Purple Moor Grass	Molinia caerulea ‘Variegata’
Varigated Oat Grass	Arrhenatherum elatius
Weeping Love Grass	Eragrostus curvula

Vines

None (unfortunately)

Trees

American Holly	Ilex opaca
Bottlebrush Buckeye	Aesculus parviflora
Dwarf Alberta Spruce	Picea glauca ‘Conica’
Japanese Black Pine	Pinus thunbergiana
Katsura Tree (questionable)	Cercidiphyllum japonicum
Mimosa	Albizia julibrissin
Paper Birch	Betula papyrifera
Pawpaw	Asimina triloba
Pitch Pine	Pinus rigida
Red Pine	Pinus resinosa
River Birch	Betula nigra

Deer and Rabbit Resistant Plants

As gardeners, we are often faced with the task of keeping deer and rabits out of our gardens. This is often a fruitless task, as once these animals find something they enjoy eating they will keep coming

back for more. Your garden will soon become a salad buffet. Following are lists of plants deer and rabbits tend to avoid. I have planted some of these plants along the perimiter of my gardens, with
decent success at deterring both deer and rabbits. Russian Sage, one of my favorite plants disliked by deer, also makes a great backdrop when planted en-mass.

Keep in mind that during a harsh season, deer and rabbits may resort to eating these plants if nothing else is available. They have also been known to nibble on the fresh new growth of many garden plants,
including some of these listed. Source: Lewis Gardens

Deer Resistant Plants:

Achillea
Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle)
Allium species (ornamental onions)
Agapanthus (african lily)
Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)
Astilbe species
Begonia semperflorens (Wax Begonia)
Buxus (Boxwood)
Centaurea cineraria (Dusty Miller)
Convallaria majalis (Lilly of the Valley)
Coreopsis
Cotinus coggygria (Smoke Tree)
Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
Dictammus albus (Gas Plant)
Echinacea (Coneflower)
Euphorbia marginata (Snow on the Mountain)
Ferns
Forsythia
Gypsophila paniculata (Baby's Breat)
Heuchera (Coralbells)
Iris
Juniper
Liatris (Gayfeather)
Linum (Flax)
Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
Lupinus (Lupine)
Mentha species (mints)
Narcissus (Daffodil)
Oregano
Ornamental Grasses
Paeonia (Peony)
Papaver orientalis (Oriental Poppy)
Perovskia atriplicifilia (Russian Sage)
Picea
Potentilla
Rosemary
Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed-Susan)
Salvia (Sage)
Sedum
Spirea
Stachys byzantina (lamb's ears)
Syringa (Lilac)
Tagetes (Marigold)
Thymus (Thyme)
Trollius europaeus (globe flower)
Veronica (Speedwell)
Viburnam
Vinca (Periwinkle)
Yucca
Zinnia


Rabbits tend to avoid plants that have a prickly, rough, or fuzzy texture.

Rabbit Resistant Plants:

Acanthus species (bear's breeches)
Aconitum species (monkshood)
Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle)
Allium species (ornamental onions)
Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily)
Antirrhinum (snapdragon)
Aquilegia species (columbine)
Artichoke, globe and Jerusalem
Astilbe species
Bergenia species (elephant's ears)
Brunnera macrophylla
Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass)
Corydalis species
Crocosmia species
Cyclamen species (hardy cyclamen)
Dahlia (dahlias)
Digitalis species (foxgloves)
Doronicum species (leopard's bane)
Echinops species (globe thistle)
Eryngium agavifolium (sea holly)
Hemerocallis (day lily)
Lamium species (dead nettles)
Malva moschata (musk mallow)
Melissa officinalis (bee balm)
Mentha species (mints)
Muscari species (grape hyacinth)
Myosotis (forget-me-not)
Narcissus (daffodil)
Nepeta × faassenii (catmint)
Origanum vulgare (marjoram)
Paeonia species (paeonies)
Polemonium species (Jacob's ladder)
Polygonatum × hybridum (Solomon's seal)
Primula vulgaris (primrose)
Pulmonaria species (lungwort)
Rhubarb
Salvia × superba
Stachys byzantina (lamb's ears)
Trollius europaeus (globe flower)
Tulipa species (tulips)
Verbascum thapsus (mullein)
Verbena species
Viola odorata (violet)

Critter resistant plants.pdf

Copied the information here because Websites have a way of disappearing.

Susceptibility of plants to Rabbit Damage

I thought these plants would be good to try either around the entire garden or for individual gardeners to line their plots with them as a Deer Fence, because we are not allowed to put up an 8 foot fence in our plot and I am not sure we could afford or would be granted an 8 foot fence. If we were it would probably be a Chain-link fence and that might make it look like a prison garden :P