Deer and Rabbit Resistant Perennials and Shrubs

Posted by Aaron Barton on Mar 4th 2023

Deer and Rabbit Resistant Perennials and Shrubs

Interested wildlife can be kept away from perennials with harmless repellent options that use scent and taste as a deterrent. Options include foliar sprays like Hot Pepper Wax, Liquid Fence, or Repels All, granular options like Shake Away Coyote or Fox Urine, and systemic options like Repellex, available in both tablet and granular formulations. Fencing and other physical barriers are also a foolproof way to keep critters out of the garden. Note that animal resistant does not always mean animal proof.

Check out this blog for more tips on keeping our furry friends away from the garden!

Full Sun (6+ Hours Direct Sun)

  • Achillea (Yarrow)
  • Aconitum (Monkshood)
  • Agastache (Anise Hyssop)
  • Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle)
  • Allium (Ornamental Onion)
  • Amsonia (Bluestar)
  • Anemone (Windflower)
  • Artemisia (Wormwood)
  • Asclepias (Milkweed/Butterfly Weed)
  • Astilbe (False Goatsbeard)
  • Astrantia (Masterwort)
  • Aquilegia (Columbine)
  • Baptisia (False Indigo)
  • Campanula (Bellflower)
  • Chrysanthemum (Hardy Mum/Dendranthema)
  • Clethra (Summersweet)*
  • Coreopsis (Tickseed)
  • Cotinus (Smokebush/Smoketree)*
  • Delphinium (Larkspur)
  • Deschampsia (Tufted Hairgrass)
  • Dianthus (Pinks)
  • Echinops (Globe Thistle)
  • Eryngium (Rattlesnake Master/Sea Holly)
  • Eutrochium (Joe Pye Weed)
  • Forsythia (Goldenbells)*
  • Fothergilla (Witch Alder)*
  • Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)
  • Galium (Sweet Woodruff)
  • Geranium (Cranesbill)
  • Geum (Avens/Prairie Smoke)
  • Grasses
  • Heliopsis (False/Oxeye Sunflower)
  • Hibiscus (Hardy Hibiscus)
  • Iberis (Candytuft)
  • Iris
  • Juniperus spp. (Juniper)*
  • Larix (Larch/Tamarack)*
  • Leucanthemum (Shasta Daisy)
  • Liatris (Blazing Star/Gayfeather)
  • Lobelia (Cardinal Flower/Great Blue)
  • Lupinus (Lupine)
  • Microbiota (Siberian/Russian Cypress)
  • Monarda (Bee Balm/Wild Bergamot)
  • Mukdenia
  • Nepeta (Catmint)
  • Paeonia (Peony)
  • Papaver (Poppy)
  • Penstemon (Beardtongue)
  • Perovskia (Russian Sage)
  • Philadelphus (Mockorange)*
  • Physocarpus (Ninebark)*
  • Pinus mugo (Mugo Pine)*
  • Platycodon (Balloon Flower)
  • Polemonium (Jacob’s Ladder)
  • Potentilla (Cinquefoil)*
  • Pycnanthemum (Mountain Mint)
  • Ratibida (Prairie/Gray-Headed Coneflower)
  • Rhus (Sumac)*
  • Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
  • Salvia (Meadow/Woodland Sage)
  • Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower)
  • Sedum (Stonecrop)
  • Sempervivum (Hen and Chicks)
  • Solidago (Goldenrod)
  • Stachys (Lambs’ Ears/Betony)
  • Syringa (Lilac)*
  • Thymus (Creeping Thyme)
  • Trollius (Globe Flower)
  • Veronica (Speedwell)
  • Viburnum*
  • Yucca (Adam’s Needle)

Note: Many of these plants will grow in part sun exposure but will bloom best in full sun.

* Woody tree or shrub

Part Sun/Shade (0-6 Hours Direct Sun)

  • Actaea (Bugbane/Black Cohosh)
  • Aralia (Golden Spikenard)
  • Aruncus (Goatsbeard)
  • Asarum (Wild Ginger)
  • Bergenia (Pigsqueak)
  • Brunnera (Siberian Bugloss/False Forget-Me-Not)
  • Chelone (Turtlehead)
  • Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
  • Diervilla (Northern Bush Honeysuckle)*
  • Epimedium (Barrenwort)
  • Eurybia (Large-Leaved Aster)
  • Ferns
  • Heuchera (Coral Bells)
  • Ligularia (Ragwort)
  • Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal)
  • Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
  • Tiarella (Foam Flower)

Note: Many of these plants will grow in shady conditions but will bloom best in part sun.

* Woody tree or shrub

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