Sunday, June 8, 2014

Plants that deer don't like, as much

First of all, deer absolutely love hostas. If you like watching deer in your backyard, plant a whole bunch of hostas.
But if hungry enough, deer will eat nearly anything growing 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 and/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

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.
Their favorites as I know from personal experience, are green beans, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, carrots, peas and broccoli, beets and other greens.


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


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.
Yesterday, I noticed some damage on phlox which is most likely from rabbits. 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 at our house, but it seems to keep the bunnies away if cut in pieces and spread around the plants. I planted marigolds around the perimenter of our garden and that helped throw off their scent. Our garden which is also fenced, was not disturbed by rodents that year. There are products available to repel deer, called "Deer Away" and "Hinder"

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