Deer ate flowers, trying Yarrow now.

Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:42 pm

I have been looking at deer resistant flowers to plant in some good-sized pots I got to go on my deck. I want them to bloom all summer and not to be too tall, short is good for pots. They will get a lot of sun where they are going to be. I have a short list of some deer resistant plants, some are annuals and some are perennials. I would like some suggestions as to what may work for my pots and how the plants do. All replies greatly appreciated, thanks.
For annuals I am looking at Marigolds; I would like Pot Marigolds as they have an A rating for deer resistance, I find French Marigolds at a local store but they have a B rating.
Some other considerations of what I think are perennials are Dianthus, they are easy to get local; Sandwort also local; Achilles & Allium; Aquilegia; Aster also easy to find; Asclepius; and pilmonaria.
Also I have a half whisky barrel that is somewhat shaded and I plan to put Nasturtiums in it.

Mon Jun 13, 2011 6:56 pm

Rosemary is nice--it does bloom with tiny white or blue flowers, is fragrant, and useful in the kitchen. The prostrate type doesn't get much more than 2' tall, and other types can be pruned back. Rosemary is often planted to protect more deer-attractive flowers, sort of a first line of defense.

Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:02 pm

Again, I have recourse to Sunset. Under "Deer-Resistant Plants," Sunset lists:

18 Ground Covers, Vines
82 Perennials, Bulbs
10 Annuals

All of them have their Sunset climate zones listed; many are container-friendly. The sheer numbers make me hopeful for you.

Do you have a copy, or will you need to take a look at the nursery/hardware store/library? I don't have any personal experience vs. deer (fortunately for me...), so I can't make any personal recommendations, sorry....

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:44 pm

I am thinking of putting some herbs around the area, the deer have left all the herbs I have alone so far.

That may be a good book for me to get. :idea:

Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:39 pm

As far as perennials go, I have found they will walk around salvia and lavender to eat something else. They leave the mint alone (I wish they would east some!) and euphorbia.

Don't even think about planting a daylily. It's like candy to them. They wait until it's just about to open and then it's gone. You'll be left with stalks sticking up. :cry:

A lot of it is trial and error.

Tue Jun 14, 2011 3:09 pm

Heather is a deer resistant shrub, some of the smaller heathers are great for pots and barrels. I have Kramer's Rote heather in my garden in a few spots, its really beautiful, covered in pink blooms against dark evergreen leaves. The plant is a lower growing heather, probably six to eight inches high and quite wide. I have it mixed in with lithodora, the pink and blue flowers together are lovely.

Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:59 am

Heather makes a good grounf cover? I would like to put in more ground cover around in places.

Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:18 am

Yes, you can use low growing heathers as a ground cover, they spread out so its more shrub sitting low to the ground than totally sitting on top of the ground. Kramer's Rote is a really good one and is fairly thick coverage, grows wide but not too tall. Look for low growing heathers that get no more than 8 inches above the ground. After blooming you trim off the blooms, you get leaves and blooms with these shrubs. Best to talk to someone at a nursery or heather farm for advice on which heather are the low growing variety that spread well.

Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:19 pm

It took a bit of time to get back to you all as I had to power wash the deck, put in about 12+ lbs. of screws as the former owner never finished doing so and then stain it. I put in Dianthus as they have a good deer resistant rating. In front of the deck I put oregano plants just for added protection. The pots with the Dianthus are new pots I got so there would be a line of nice matching pots. I also filled an oak barrel near my green house with Dianthus.

Some photos of how it turned out. The plants will fill in and perk up but I think it looks good now.

Showing some other plants near back of deck.

The oak barrel.

Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:53 am

Looks good! I didn't know dianthus was disagreeable to deer. Maybe because of the scent? Anyhow, those pots will look good with the trailing oregano and the flowers above.

Say, do you and your wife want to take in a boarder... Just kidding. And envious. Too hot to be outside for long here, but it looks like you will spend many pleasant hours out there.

Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:53 am

Well it may be that not all dianthus are deer resistant as some of them got munched on. May be deer just have to try any thing new or may be they did not read about how they do not like to eat some plants. I sprayed repellent around the plants so I hope they get the idea not to eat them. It can be a challenge when every thing you plant has have the local wild life in mind.

Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:47 pm

I re-poted the dianthus and moved them to the back of the deck. I put Yarrow in the up front pots. Pretty Woman is the name of it, Pretty Woman has red flowers. Wish me luck.

Wed Jun 29, 2011 3:23 pm

i think you need to do thistles or something similarly spiky.

there's more than one way to be deer-resistant.

Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:58 am

So far so good, the odd thing is that the oak barrel full of dianthus has been left alone; knock on wood.

Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:34 pm

OMG I want your house!!! That deck and yard are so beautiful and I bet relaxing as well. Oh how I could just imagine sitting out with a nice glass of wine on a warm summer night. oh no, day dreaming at work again... not good.... :shock: