Deer resistant plants and trees.

If you need to plant trees and shrubs that can resist deer, here is a list of garden / landscape plants that increase the deer resistance in your yard.

No garden is 100% deer resistant because different deer have different preferences. The idea of "deer proof" is more of a figure of speech than reality. Sometimes a plant or tree will be unpalatable when it's older, but may be palatable to deer when that plant is young.

Deer eat foliage as well as berries or fruit. One year, I performed 2 days of pruning around a home in Central Point, Oregon, on a 2 acre property. The branches were brought downhill through a gate, to burn piles on the lower half of the property, outside the fence. Less than 15 minutes after the branch piles began to grow, a "pack" of about 12 deer converged on the piles and fed on the foliage of landscape tree and shrub foliage on the cut limbs. The deer fed from the piles for days.

If you want a small garden of susceptible plants in a deer-rich environment, consider using a hedge or fence to enclose a landscape area - maybe a 5' high barrier that can't be seen through. Apparently, deer don't like to jump over a barrier that prevents them from seeing the other side. An enclosed landscape area like this could have virtually any kind of landscape design.

This will give you a head start. Feel free to look-up these plants in a gardening book or plant encyclopedia to see what zones they grow in, as well as water and shade requirements. For a few, I included common names. In a garden book, when you look for care and climate needs, you will find common names.

The plants listed below are considered a good choice for "deer country". The genus or species names are listed first; the common name second.

A partial or severe shortage of forage food can cause deer to devour almost any plants including the ones generally known to be deer resistant.

Trees

Abies - Fir (Balsam fir may not be a good choice)

Acer circinatum - Vine maple

Acer palmatum - Japanese maple

Acer rubrum

Albizia

Betula - Paper Birch, European white birch, Heritage Birch

Cedrus

Celtis

Cercis occidentalis - Western redbud

Chamaecyparis

Cornus florida

Cornus kousa

Crataegus - Hawthorn

Cupressus - Cypress

Fagus sylvatica - European beech (Tricolor shown)

Fagus grandifolia

Fig - Edible fig

Fraxinus - Ash

Ginko

Gleditsia triacanthos - Honey locust

Magnolia

Palms

Picea - Spruce

Pinus - Pine

Podocarpus

Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas fir

Quercus - Oak

Rhamnus - Buckthorn

Rhus - Sumac

Salix matsudana T. - Corkscrew willow

Sequoia sempervirens - Coast redwood

Tamarix

A wire or mess cage may be the only certain way to grow these trees, or, buy a taller specimen.

Shrubs

Abelia grandiflora

Arctostaphylos - Manzanita / Kinnickinnick (the latter is ground cover)

Bamboo

Berberis - Barberry

Buddleia - Butterfly bush

Buxus - Boxwood

Calluna vulgaris - Scotch heather

Ceanothus

Chaenomeles - Quince

Choisya ternata - Mexican orange

Cistus - Rockrose

Cotinus - Smoke tree / bush

Cotoneaster

Daphne

Eleagnus

Erica - Heather

Escallonia

Gaultheria - Salal

Genista - Broom

Hybiscus syriacus - Rose of Sharon

Ilex - Holly

Juniperus - Juniper (Moonglow juniper shown)

Kerria

Lantana

Lavatera

Lavendula - Lavender

Leucothoe

Mahonia - Oregon Grape / Cascade Mahonia

Myrica californica - Pacific wax myrtle

Nandina

Nerium - Oleander (toxic to horses & domestic birds)

Perovskia - Russian sage

Pieris

Plumbago

Potentilla

Pyracantha

Rhododendron

Rhus - Sumac

Ribes - Currant

Rosmarinus - Rosemary

Salvia - Sage

Sarcococca

Spiraea (Including Anthony Waterer Spiraea too)Syringa - Lilac

Vaccinium ovatum - Evergreen huckleberry

Viburnum

Low plants / ground cover / vines

Ajuga

Bergenia crassifolia

Caryopterus - Bluebeard

Frageria - Wild strawberry

Hedera - Ivy

Hypericum - St. John's wort

Jasminum - jasmine

Lantana

Pachysandra

Solanum

Vinca

Perennials, bulbs

Acanthus mollis - Bear's breach

Achillea

Amaryllis belladonna - Naked lady

Aquilegia - Columbine

Armeria - Thrift / Sea pink

Artemisia

Aster

Astilbe

Begonia

Campanula

Canna

Carex - Sedge

Cephalanthus - Honey balls

Coreopsus

Crocosmia

Crocus

Dahlia

Dicentra - Bleeding heart

Digitalis - Foxglove (can reseed itself substantially)

Echinacea

Erodium - Cranesbill

Erysimum cheiri - Wallflower

Eschscholzia californica - California poppy

Euphorbia

Ekuryops

Ferns

Festuca ovina (an ornamental grass) - Blue fescue including variety 'Elijah Blue' and others

Freesia

Geranium

Helleborus

Hemerocalis - Daylily

HERBS (most, but excluding Basil)

Heuchera

Iberis - Candy tuft

Iris

Kniphofia

Liriope

Lithodora

Lupinus

Mentha - Mint

Mimulus

Miscanthus sinensis (an ornamental grass)

Narcissus

Paeonia - Peony

Papaver - Poppy

Pennisetum alopecuroides (an ornamental grass)

Phlox

Phormium - New Zealand flax

Rheum - Rhubarb

Rudbeckia

Salvia

Santolina

Saxifraga

Scabiosa

Stachys bysantina - Lamb's ear

Tagetes - MarigoldThymus

Verbena

Viola

Zantedeschia