Plants That Deer Don't Like

Deer are beautiful to watch and they certainly have a right to live near us, but when they start destroying the gardens you have labored over it can be pretty annoying! They have a right to live near us, so the best course of action if you have a deer problem is to adjust your practices.

No plant is 100% deer proof. If deer are hungry, they will eat anything that looks slightly green. However, there are many Michigan native plants that are resistant to deer browsing because of texture, aroma and/or flavor.

If you have a high population of deer, in addition to planting deer resistant plants you can also use an organic natural deterrent around the perimeter of your garden. Products like "Plant Skydd" or "Liquid Fence" utilize predator urine, dried blood and other scents to repel deer, ground hogs, rabbits, etc. (Note: we are not endorsing the use of any specific product.)

Baneberry

Actea pachypoda, A. rubra

*Yellow Giant Hyssop

*Nodding Wild Onion

Allium cernuum

Thimbleweed

Anemone virginiana

Angelica

Angelica atropurpurea

*Columbine 

Aquilegia canadensis

Jack-in-the-pulpit 

Arisaema triphyllum

Wild ginger 

Asarum canadense

*Milkweed species 

*Asclepias tuberosa, A. syriaca,

A. verticillata, A. incarnata

Wild Blue Indigo 

Baptisia australis

False boneset

Brickellia eupatorioides

Marsh marigold

Caltha palustris

Harebell 

Campanula rotundifolia, C. americana

*Turtle head

Chelone glabra

Black snakeroot 

Cimicifuga racemosa

*Coreopsis spp

*Coreopsis lanceolata, C. palmata, *C. tripteris

Purple prairie clover

Dalea purpurea

Dutchman’s breeches

Dicentra cucullaria

*Purple coneflower 

Echinacea purpurea, E. pallida

*Rattlesnake master 

Eryngium yuccifolium

*Joe-pye weed 

Eupatorium maculatum, *E. purpureum, E. fistulosus

Boneset 

Eupatorium perfoliatum

Flowering spurge 

Euphorbia corollata

Wild geranium 

Geranium maculatum

*Prairie smoke 

Geum triflorum

Sneezeweed

Helenium autumnale

*False sunflower 

Heliopsis helianthoides

Alum Root 

Heuchera americana

Virginia waterleaf 

Hydrophyllum virginianum

*Blue Flag Iris

*Iris virginica, I. versicolor

*Blazing Star 

*Liatris scariosa, L. aspera, L. spicata

*Cardinal flower

Lobelia cardinalis

*Blue lobelia 

Lobelia siphilitica

Virginia bluebells 

Mertensia virginica

*Bee balm 

Monarda fistulosa

Horsemint 

Monarda punctata

*Beardtongue (Penstemon sp.) 

*Penstemon digitalis, *P. hirsuitis

Obedient plant

Physotegia virgiana

May Apple 

Podophyllum peltatum

Solomon’s Seal 

Polygonatum biflorum

*Black-eyed Susan 

*Rudbeckia fulgida, R. hirta

Bloodroot 

Sanguinaria canadensis

Ragwort 

Senecio aureus, S. obovatus

*Goldenrods (showy, Riddell’s)

*Solidago riddelli, *S. speciosa, *S. flexicaulis

Celandine (wood) poppy 

Stylophorum diphyllum

Meadow Rue (spp tall, early)

*Thalictrum dasycarpum, *T. dioicum

Spiderwort 

Tradescantia ohioensis

*Vervain species 

Verbena hastate, V. stricta

*Ironweed 

Veronia missourica

*Culver’s-root 

Veronicastrum virginicum

Golden Alexanders 

Zizia aurea

*Big bluestem

Andropogon gerardii

Sedges (Carex spp)

Carex grayi, C. pennsylvania, C. plantaginea, C. platyphyllla,  C. vulpinoidia

*Purple love grass

*Eragrostis spectabilis

Switch grass

*Panicum virgatum

*Little Bluestem

*Schizachyrium scoparium

Blue-eyed grass 

Sisyrinchium angustifolium

*Prairie dropseed

*Sporobolus heterolepis

*Eastern red-bud

Cercis canadensis

Hawthorns

Cratageus spp

Tamarack

Larix laricina

Red pine

Pinus resinosa

Tag alder

Alnus incana 

Witch hazel

Hammamelis spp

Winterberry

Ilex verticillata

*Shrubby Cinquefoil

Potentilla fruticosa

Beech

Fagus grandifolia

Paper birch

Betula papyrifera

Balsam fir

Abies balsamea

Serviceberry

Amelanchiere spp

*Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Eastern red cedar

Juniperus virginiana

Common juniper

Juniperus communis

*Spicebush

Lindera benzoin

*Elderberry (American and Red-Berried)

*Sambucus candadensis, S. racemosa

*Nannyberry

Viburnum lentago