The creeping broom are the two yellow plants in foreground.

After nearly a year of using Bobbex deer repellent spray, I am happy to report that it actually works!

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised, because until I tried Bobbex I wasn’t much of a fan of sprays. I really dislike the smell of PlantSkyd, and the homemade cayenne pepper sprays never worked very well in my garden.

Last spring I planted six creeping broom (genista) groundcover shrubs, having been assured by my local garden center that the deer would not touch broom. Well, my deer had not been informed of that and they continually nibbled the new spring growth. When I mentioned this to the garden center owner, he encouraged me to try Bobbex.

I was resistant to trying yet another spray; my experience over the years has been that sprays are a lot of work for very little results. To overcome my resistance, my guy offered me half a bottle of Bobbex for free.

I went home and sprayed my poor bald, stubby broom plants with Bobbex. It smelled bad (like strong garlic) but not nearly as bad as PlantSkyd. To my surprise, the deer lost interest in the broom and the plants started to gain some size. The deer have never touched the broom since.

My sister-in-law lives right next door to me so we “enjoy” the same herd of deer. At my suggestion, she tried Bobbex on her patio planters. It worked! With reapplication about every two weeks, my sister-in-law was able to enjoy mixed planters containing annuals such as allyssum, lobelia and impatiens — all plants that deer normally devour.

I’m now a Bobbex convert, and will be buying the big one gallon concentrate to use this Spring.

These deer-damaged Thuja occidentalis are too damaged to grow back

If you’ve got deer in your neighborhood, it’s important to choose the right hedging material before putting out hundreds of dollars on hedge trees.  If you don’t do your research, you’ll end up with a hedge that looks like a row of lamps like the one pictured here.

I think it’s a crime that garden centers even sell Thuja occidentalis (commonly sold as ‘Pyramidalis’ cedar) without asking if it’s going in a fenced yard. Garden center staff should warn customers that the hedging is not deer proof and will have to be enclosed within a tall fence. There are countless examples of these goofy looking half-eaten hedges in my neighborhood, and I really feel sorry for the owners.

5 deer resistant evergreen hedges

Thuja plicata is deer-resistant

1) Thuja plicata (arborvitae) is mentioned on the British Columbia Environment Ministry website as being resistant to deer browse and also shade tolerant.

Keep in mind that Thuja plicata is a forest giant, so you are best to plant a dwarf cultivar to get it to be in scale for the home garden. There are not many of these to choose from on the market at any one time, because unlike T. occidentalis it has not given off a quantity of variants. An alternative to searching out dwarf cultivars of Thuja plicata is to keep it  pruned to prevent it from attaining its full potential.

IMPORTANT: Be careful which Thuja you purchase: there are many different varieties and while some are deer resistant, many are not. For example, as mentioned above, Thuja occidentalis (commonly sold as ‘Pyramidalis’ cedar) is notorious for being eaten heavily in winter by deer.  The resulting skinny-on-the-bottom shape is really dreadful looking. Unfortunately, the trees will never recover their natural shape, even if you protect them after the damage has been done.

2) Leylandi cypress is a beautiful hedging tree and completely deer proof. Once established (by about the third year) it is extremely fast growing, which is a mixed blessing. In my previous home we had a gorgeous Leylandi cypress privacy hedge, but it was a big job to prune it every spring. It requires a lot of space (minimum of 10 feet), even if you are diligent about pruning it.

Some people love Leylandi Cypress for its size and fast growth, others loathe it for exactly the same reasons. Here’s a lively discussion about the pros and cons of Leylandi Cypress as a hedge.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshimo'

3) Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar) ‘Yoshino’ is a fast-growing evergreen tree that makes an absolutely stunning hedge. However, given that it is fast-growing, you will need to keep up with the pruning to keep it in scale. I’ve seen one local  ‘Yoshino’ specimen tree which has grown to about 7′ diameter by 20′ tall in 22 years with no attempt to restrain its growth. If you find it too tall in 10 to 15 years, just cut it off at the base. New shoots will emerge so just pick the strongest one and start again.

4) Italian Buckthorn cultivar ‘John Edwards’ is a narrow evergreen shrub  that is reliably deer resistant. This is a truly beautiful shrub that fills the increasing need for fast-growing, easy care, moderately-tall-yet-narrow plants that will work in today’s smaller urban lot size. The leaves are small and the tiny flowers at the base of the outermost leaves are a noticeable orange-red which open to pale yellow. In good soil with very moderate watering and a southern exposure, it can triple in height in two years yet remain less than 2′ around. Only hardy to zone 8.

Choisya ternata

5) Choisya ternata (Mexican Orange Blossom) is an attractive shrub with glossy green leaves that grows quickly to a maximum height about six feet tall. It has fragrant white blooms in late spring and responds well to pruning. The deer never touch it. It can’t be grown in extremely cold climates, as it is only cold hardy to zone 8.

Osteospermum (African Daisy or Cape Daisy) is deer resistant

One of the things I most look forward to in late Spring is getting my hanging baskets planted up. Of course, with my deer population I have to think about what annual flowers deer don’t like

The good news

First, the good news: there are some annual flowers that deer don’t eat. Anything in the daisy family will be fine. A good choice is osteospermum (African daisy), which is pictured here.  Other deer-proof annuals include marigolds, mimulus (commonly known as Monkey Flower), ageratum, calenduala, dusty miller, poppies, black-eyed susan, and nicotiana (flowering tobacco).

All herbs are deer proof

All herbs are fine, and lavender, sage and thyme make lovely additions to hanging baskets. Sage has many different varieties – just look for the latin name ‘salvia’ in the plant name and you know that you’ve got a sage. For planting in hanging baskets, be sure to get the dwarf variety of plants such as sage and nicotiana that come in different heights.

Geraniums are borderline. Depending on the year, sometimes my geraniums make it through, other times they don’t. the stronger scented geraniums are safest, as deer don’t like a strong herbal smell.

The bad news

Next, the bad news: deer do eat many, many annual flowers.

Hanging basket flowers that deer love to eat include pretty much everthing that isn’t listed above as deer-safe. In particular, deer love to eat the hanging basket favorites lobelia, petunias, allyssum, snapdragon, and begonia.

Preventative measures

The good thing about hanging baskets is by definition, they hang. You can have anything in your hanging baskets if you hang them high enough that the deer can’t reach them. But be aware that deer have been known to stand on their hind legs to reach tasty morsels!

Another preventative measure is to spray your hanging basket flowers with something that is unpalatable to deer. Common sprays include Bobbex (which actually works), cayenne pepper sprays and PlantSkyd.

A big disadvantage of sprays is that they wash off with water. So if your hanging baskets are in a place where they get rained on, you’ll have to reapply the spray after every rain. This may or may not be an issue for you, depending on how often you get rain in your area. And if your hanging baskets are under cover – such as on a porch or under the eaves – you may not need to reapply the spray as often.

As far as PlantSkyd goes – I absolutely detest the smell. Honestly, it smells like an abbatoir and nothing would make me spray that on my plants.

Japanese Painted Fern

Ferns are a good choice for a deer proof garden. I grow about 15 varieties of hardy outdoor ferns and the deer seldom touch them. My favorite fern is the Japanese Painted Fern (pictured here) which has beautiful silver and burgandy coloring.

Ferns thrive in moist shady conditions. A mulch such as well-rotted leaves or cedar chips under and around your ferns will help keep the moisture in the soil. Ferns will also grow in dry shade but will not be as lush.

Here is a list of ferns that are reliably deer proof in the landscape.

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

To find out what is deer proof in your neighbourhood, look at your neighbours’ landscapes. Are there any particular plants that the deer tend to leave alone? That will give you a good idea of what the deer will leave alone in your neighbourhood.   Ask around and see if there is a general consensus among your neighbours before investing in a particular plant.

And even still, there’s no guarantee when it comes to those fickle deer. I’ll give you an example: my neighbour across the street has a gorgeous 10 foot tall Beauty Bush that suffers virtually no deer damage. You’d think I’d be safe planting a Beauty Bush, right? Think again. Any leafy growth on my poor little Beauty Bush gets nibbled back almost as fast as it appears.  I’ve now got it wired off and will leave it that way for a few years to let it gain some height.

Another important issue to consider is where do the deer travel? Look around for deer pathways, and try to avoid planting any “borderline” plants directly on their route. Deer are creatures of habit, thus they tend to travel the same pathways.

For example, I can grow the North American native plan salal (Gaultheria shallon) in most areas of my landscape, except for a certain pathway that the deer travel everyday. Any salal along that route gets nibbled, especially the tender new growth.

Here is a complete list of deer resistant plants.

Boxwood: deer proof evergreen shrub

Is boxwood deer proof? The answer is “yes”.

Keep in mind, though,  that if deer have the run of a property, they will taste just about anything new that appears.  As one writer remarked: “They’re in the restaurant and they’re going to try the entire smorgasbord.”

Boxwood is a slow-growing evergreen deer proof shrub. It can be grown “natural” (see photo of untrimmed boxwood shrub below) or trimmed into a variety of shapes (see photo of trimmed boxwood).

Boxwood is available in most local nurseries. If you prefer mail order, reputable mail order nurseries for shrubs include Rare Find Nursery, Fairweather Gardens, and Roslyn Nursery.

Generally speaking, boxwoods are slow growing. However, there are different varieties and some grow faster than others.  Check with your nursery staff.

Untrimmed boxwood

Boxwood trimmed into a shape

Some people will tell you that there is no such thing as “deer proof.”

While it’s true that deer will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough, there are some plants that are safe from deer damage (i.e. the deer rarely eat them), some plants that are unsafe (i.e. the deer always eat them), and some plants where it just depends (e.g. they may eat yours but leave your neighbour’s alone, or they may eat just the tender tips but leave the rest of the plant alone).