Okay, we all know what they SAY is deer resistant and then there are those that really ARE deer resistant. The deer in our area are particularly hungry this year and they've eaten my sage, fennell, gaura, agapanthus, astilbe...even my olive trees...even my ferns. The honest to goodness truly deer resistant plants are as follows: Rosemary lavender artemesia asparagus ferns lamium lambs ears russian sage mint thyme What has survived in your neck of the woods?
In my area, NE Pa, it continues to be a learning event & each spring I have to go see what did/did not survive! So far both the deer & the black bear won't touch Rosemary, Lambs Ear, Marigolds, Thyme, Peppers, Black Eyed Susans,Barberry Bushes and really anything that is 'smelly', plus they haven't eaten my various Spruce & Juniper during the season. However, last winter they ate my 2 different types of Spruce & my Blue Rug Juniper....I'm just glad they managed to come back this past spring. When there is food available in the woods, they don't come near my garden, but come winter when there is a ton of snow on the ground, they'll eat anything! I have learned that I need to wrap my evergreens with some burlap 'cause the stupid deer don't know to look under the snow!! Plus they have 4 stomachs - like a cow - so can digest anything. :no: :no:
Oleandars, but be warned they are also poisonous to horses, cows, humans etc.. if something eats on it, it either dies or gets so extremely sick it wouldnt consider another bite....
I think deer have their own individual preferences just like people do. Here , after 25 years , we have pretty much deer proofed the garden by trial and error. I plant just one small sample plant, then if that survives I'll get more. I have a large collection of hostas which in all the time we've been here have never been touched. They are supposed to be a favorite of deer but not here evidently. They do nibble on the photinias, the azaleas and the rose of sharon bushes.They also eat one particular heather but never touch any of the others, can't think why. They have never touched the lavender,iris, daylilies,goatsbeard,jupiters beard,solomons seal,beautyberry, rhodies,hollyhocks,japanese anenomes, tickweed, rodgersia, comphrey,astilbe,penstemon,lupin,ladies mantle,butterfly bush, sweet williams, honeysuckle,clematis,barberry,virburnam,lychnis,peonies or any of the herbs.They will nibble on the dogwood but not too badly and also the hydranga bushes get a bit of a haircut now and then. We have lots of other plants they don't bother including the low growing landscape roses although they love roses if they can get them. They don't seem to bother the climbers either but they do the regular roses, which is why I put them in the veg garden behind a tall fence.
