Deer Proof?
Living in the Texas Hill Country, most of us have encountered deer in and around our yards. With abundant populations of both whitetail and axis, gardening can feel like an uphill battle. Before you shout, “This is why we can’t have nice things!!”, let’s chat about what “deer-resistant” means and look at some tips for gardening success.
A request we get frequently at Friendly Natives is for DEER PROOF plants. We realize that term is used often on many gardening blogs or other plant resources, but those simply don’t exist, at least here in Central Texas. It seems the deer around here will eat ANYTHING in the right conditions. What are those conditions that make plant browsing more common? Well, that’s a tough one. Sometimes it really does seem random, and all we can do is our best to thwart their attempts to ruin things. Here are a few factors to consider:
Deer-resistant means that deer generally prefer to leave it alone once it becomes established. It does NOT mean that they won’t sample it or even pull the whole thing out of the ground just after you’ve planted it. To combat that, we do recommend having some deer repellent spray on hand to use on new plantings. We carry Bobbex and IMustGarden brands. You may be tempted to write off a “deer-resistant” plant after you plant one and it disappears after the first night, but sometimes if you give it time, the deer are unlikely to return to it.
Characteristics that typically put a plant on a “deer-resistant” list include fragrant leaves and/or fuzzy or rough textured leaves. However: the pesky deer don’t read those rules! They don’t necessarily know they won’t want to eat the plant until after they try it. If you start with a small, tender plant, one sample can potentially destroy it.
Oversaturation of one plant seems to dull its resistance. This might be anecdotal, but we’ve noticed an uptick in complaints that deer are eating lantana (commonly recommended for deer resistance), which appears to coincide with that particular plant gaining popularity and being planted around the Hill Country.
For the record, we recommend the Texas native lantana, Lantana urticoides, and contend that it is the best choice for hardiness, pollinators, and deer resistance when compared to other lantana types.
Diversity of plants that are known to have qualities that make them less desirable to deer will provide the best outcome. The more of those plants you include in your landscaping, the less attractive the entire area becomes to nearby browsers.
“Can I plant a fragrant plant next to one that deer are known to love in order to repel them?” You can, but it’s not likely to work in the way you’re imagining. Over the nearly two decades of hearing feedback from our customers, we haven’t heard of that working well. Again, the more of those resistant plants you include, the less likely your space is to be devoured. But a border of fragrance doesn’t seem to keep the deer away from their candy buffet nearby.
Established plants might not actually be that resistant to browsing by deer, but they’re large enough to not be damaged. Trees are a good example of this: if you plant a small tree, yes, deer are likely to munch it (or rub their antlers on the trunk!). But we see trees growing all around, seemingly unharmed, so obviously we can’t conclude that we shouldn’t plant trees. They’ll just need time, and possibly some temporary fencing.
A lot of gardening is trial and error, but we love to help folks choose plants that are most likely to thrive despite heavy deer pressure. Since so many factors contribute to what the deer will choose to eat, it’s not an exact science. But you absolutely can have a thriving landscape despite the deer. Sometimes that looks like using resources like repellent sprays, motion sensor alarms, temporary fencing, and a little (a lot of) patience.
Here’s a fun video of Friendly Natives’ owner, Matt Kolodzie, talking about some deer friendly favorites on Central Texas Gardener!