Sunday, April 24, 2016

Plants that deer and rabbits can resist

If hungry enough, deer will eat nearly anything growing in your yard. But planting things they don't like so much, can help them be strong and resist grazing in your yard.
The plants that have the best chance of surviving the foraging of deer, are flowers and plants that have a pungent scent; fuzzy, coarse or spiny leaves or an unpleasant or bitter taste. Deer don't usually eat herbs because of their pungent scent.

Flowers that are usually left alone by deer, most of these are perennials
Alyssum - annual
Amaranth - annual
Black-eyed Susan
Butterfly bush
Butterfly weed
Calendula
Carnation
Catmint
Columbine
Cone flower
Cosmos - annual
Delphinium
Echinacea
Evening primrose
Forget-Me-Knot
Four O' Clock
Geraniums
Heliotrope
Hen and chicks
Hibiscus
Lavender
Lupine
Marigold - annual
Morning Glory
Nasturtium
Peony
Poppy
Salvia - annual
Snapdragon - annual
Statice
Trillium
Zinnia - annual

Deer resistant herbs
Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Spearmint and Thyme

Deer resistant vegetables
I have found that deer will eat jalapenos when hungry enough, but that's not their first choice. They don't usually eat onion, potato, squash and tomato plants or parsley or other herbs.

Renee's Garden.com has a list of deer resistant plant varieties, Also check with the Michigan State County Extension office

Deer love hostas, green beans, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, carrots, peas and broccoli, beets and other greens. Rabbits like most of those too.
Rabbits are attracted to most of the same things as deer. One of their favorites is young tulip shoots. In the winter, rabbits nibble on landscape plants, roses, raspberries, apple, cherry and plum trees.

Deer leave torn leaves with jagged edges, while rabbits and other rodents will make a clean cut, often at an angle. Sometimes you can see deer or rabbit tracks, or rabbit excrement to pinpoint the perpetrator.
Deterring small and large (deer) rodents is not easy. We have a joke about deer bathing with Irish Spring soap at our house, but it seems to keep the bunnies away if I cut it in pieces and spread around the plants. I planted marigolds around the perimenter of our garden and that helped throw rodents off the scent of our vegetables. Our garden which is also fenced, was not disturbed by rodents that year. There are also products available to repel deer, called "Deer Away" and "Hinder." I haven't tried them.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.