Deer Resistant Garden Shrubs
Perennial Shrubs For High Deer Traffic Areas
While no plant is one hundred percent deer-proof, these shrubs will deter most deer from snacking and sampling the foliage and destroying your garden landscape.
Deer Resistant Shrubs to Deter Deer From Your Garden
Barberry (Berberis) - Zones 3-9 depending on the cultivar - check the label! Barberry shrubs are not only a great four-season shrub for the garden landscape, but also have plenty of prickly thorns that help prevent deer from over-snacking on the leaves and branches. Fragrant flowers make them a nice addition to a scent garden, and attractive dark berries hold interest during the fall. Barberry shrubs have beautiful silhouettes to lend architectural interest to a winter garden as well. Japanese barberry is considered an invasive plant in some areas so be sure to check labels carefully or contact your county extension office if there are concerns.
Dogwood (Cornus spp.) - Zones 2-8 (varies). Dogwoods are ornamental shrubs or small trees that are often left untouched by roaming deer as they browse your garden for a quick bite to eat. Dogwoods are also an important part of a four-season garden as many cultivars have attractive or colored bark that stands out in a winter landscape. With new dogwood varieties available each year gardeners can now select variegated foliage, pleasing silhouettes, colorful bark and gorgeous flowers for their landscape.
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) - Zones 5-9. Several varieties of butterfly bushes are available for gardeners with large, flower spikes that are perfect for butterfly gardens. The deer-resistant nature of these butterfly bushes are just an added bonus for gardeners with deer plagued landscapes. Butterfly bushes are medium to large sized shrubs and tolerate late winter or early spring pruning very well to control growth and size.
Tree Peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) - Zones 4-9. Tree peony shrubs are beautifully ornamental shrubs that produce large flowers in the early summer. Once the tree peony is established a gardener may find this deer-resistant shrub repeat blooms sporadically throughout the rest of the summer months. Plant your tree peony in full sun or part shade zones on the southern edges of the tree peony's tolerance. Be aware that the best flowering display may not appear until two or three years after planting the tree peony as it can take the shrub awhile to become well established. Consider planting the deer resistant flowering shrub in the fall.
Rockrose or Rock Rose (Cistus spp.) - Zones 8-10. These tender perennial shrubs make a great addition to the deer resistant garden in warm southern zones, or in container plantings for colder climate gardeners. Fragrant flowers and evergreen foliage make rockrose shrubs a lovely addition to any landscape. The delicate looking, but nicely scented flowers are usually available in white or pink tones but tend to have bicolored markings on the petals that add lots of subtle interest to a mixed border or perennial planting.
