Choosing flowers that rabbits and deer don't love to eat
Do you have trouble with deer and rabbits in your garden? Here鈥檚 a list of pest-resistant plants that these common garden pests won鈥檛 touch, plus a few favorite low-maintenance and extra-hardy options.
The trick is finding plants that these critters avoid. I like flowers that I don鈥檛 have to deadhead, too. A confession: I鈥檓 really a lazy gardener!
Pest-Resistant Plants List
Most munchers usually avoid plants with thorny or fuzzy foliage and those with strong aromas, like lavender. To save your most valued flowers, situate them in the center of beds closest to the house or against the house. Why? Deer and rabbits nibble on the outside edges of plantings furthest away from buildings.
Rabbits
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Rabbits avoid calendulas, chrysanthemums, columbines, four o鈥檆locks, foxglove, gladiolus, hollyhocks, impatiens, iris, larkspur, morning glories, nicotiana, snapdragons, sweet peas, and verbena.
Deer
Deer steer clear of ageratum, begonias, chrysanthemums, columbines, coreopsis, cosmos, foxglove, iris, lavender, monarda, purple coneflower, rudbeckia, salvia, Shasta daisies, verbena, vinca, yarrow, zinnias. See more deer-resistant plants.
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Surround your favorite blooms with ones deer and rabbits hate to protect them. Photo courtesy of the National Garden Bureau.
No or Low Maintenance Plants
Begonia, ageratum, lobelia, coleus, and alyssum need no deadheading. Neither do Flower Carpet and Knock-Out roses.
鈥淧ow Wow鈥 echinacea or coneflower is a tough, reliable bloomer in almost every climate. Photo courtesty of Ball Seed Co.
Plants That Grow in Any Climate
Cleome, impatiens, petunias, marigolds, and zinnias are annuals that perform well everywhere. Perennials that are guaranteed to bloom all over the country include 鈥楢utumn Joy鈥 sedum, coneflowers, coreopsis, rudbeckia, and yarrow.
Two of my favorite flowers also grow everywhere and are tough. 鈥楽ilver Tidal Wave鈥 petunia is one of the first in the Tidal Waves series. Its lavender-white flowers deadhead themselves, they need no pinching to grow lushly, and the plants spread themselves. Stems grow a couple of inches each day, creating three-foot-tall hedges ablaze with blooms.
My favorite perennial is 鈥楳ardi Gras鈥 helenium, a plant-and-forget perennial covered with orange flowers from July until frost. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and yellow finches love this punch of powerful color.
Do you have any favorite pest-resistant plants? Let us know in the comments below!
Doreen G. Howard
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Hello, its kind of crazy
I麓m Uruguayan (EXCUSE ME THE MISTAKES PLEASE) and I work in a turistic ranch.
We pretend to have turkeys and a beatuifull garden, things that seems... imposible.
I spent half afternoon looking for information and tips about this issue whitout (almost) any reslut.
So, in part of this articule you name the turkeys but it doesnt apear anti turkey plants. Can you give me some names.
Cordiales saludos.
We have chipmunks what perennials could I plant that they won't dig up I live in N.C. thanks, you say what deer and rabbits don't like what about chipmunks?
need help in finding more perennials that chipmunks will not eat...
they love pansies. what about Lupine?? i live in the mountains of Colorado at 9000 ft.
See answer below. Most critters don't like plants that have fuzzy leaves or strong fragrance. With chipmunks, it's often best to protect plants. For example: Surround the garden area with a plant-free gravel border. Plant flower bulbs beneath a wire or plastic screen ground cover or in bulb cages. Set live traps. Use commercial repellents.
I live in Colorado at 8,500 ft. I use old fashioned wooden and wire rat traps set inside a live trap (the live trap is not set but keeps the dog, cat and birds from getting snapped). Rat traps are like a normal mouse trap but are 4"x6". I bait them with peanut butter. People who don't live around chipmunks (or prairie dogs which I have in my pasture) don't realize how destructive they are. My little fir tree I planted 7 years ago is dead this year because they tunneled all under the roots this summer. Where I am, the field mice can carry the Hanta virus and the chipmunks and prairie dogs can carry the Bubonic Plague, both deadly to humans. I maintain that if chipmunks and prairie dogs had long pointy noses like their cousins, sewer rats, people would not think they were cute! I don't poison mine, although that would be easier, because hawks, coyotes, badgers, and my own dog could die from eating a poisoned rodent. And I need every rodent predator I can get. I also try to keep the ground damp around their burrows. They don't dig in the wetland areas of the pastures. Be really careful to not let your cat or dog play with a dead rodent and pick them up with a shovel, not your hands. Plague is transmitted by the rodent's fleas or with Hanta, the feces and urine. Good luck. As long as we are in this drought, the pests will be a real problem.
I'd left a message erleiar this week about the bare-root perennials I bought at the plant sale. They had some clear crystals around them and I planted them around the plants in my garden upstate. Recently I noticed that the crystals had turned into kind of a gooey mass. Should I just leave them there and assume they'll eventually be absorbed into the soil?Many thanks!
The crystals are water absorbers..they are fine!..great even..will help to keep your soil moist. If you buy the crystals, be sure to use them sparingly.
Chipmunks won't touch daffodils (they love tulips), hyacinth and lilies. Coneflowers,dianthus, coreopsis,heuchera and most other perennials are good, too. It's the tulip bulbs they like due to size. Try ringing tulips with a triple layer of daffodils. That works many times.
I have many many chipmunks in my yard. Which bulbs or perenials would be good to plant? Shade and sun, please. Thanks
Timely advice, Doreen.
