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.
Related posts: