Deer-resistant native plants
Deer browse by smell and texture, and they consistently pass over plants that are aromatic, fuzzy, bitter, or toxic. These natives fall into those groups. Resistant is not proof: a hungry enough deer in a hard winter will sample nearly anything, and new transplants get tested regardless of species. Treat this as the list that survives ordinary browsing pressure, not a fence.
Bedfellow lists 1156 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 1156 in search.
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
- Large Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus)
- Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)
- Tufted Evening Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa)
- Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
- Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
- Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
- Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
- Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
- Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
- Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
- Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
- Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
- American Holly (Ilex opaca)
- California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
- Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)