Podcast: Let's Argue About Plants

Episode 171: Deer-Resistant Plants  

Keep four-legged marauders at bay with these tough selections   

Video edited by Nate Gruca

One deer can do major landscape damage overnight, and if a herd regularly visits your garden you may feel like giving up. Although almost no plant is completely safe if the herbivores are hungry enough, gardeners facing extreme deer pressure aren’t powerless. Incorporating plants with “nasty” characteristics like strong smells, prickly textures, or even toxicity is one easy way to encourage those hooved hordes to browse elsewhere. In this episode, Danielle and Carol share some of the plants that have remained unscathed in their backyards, and expert Bonni Engelhardt weighs in with some of her own go-to selections. 

Expert: Bonni Engelhardt is a landscape designer and consultant based in southwestern Oregon. You can read about more of her deer-resistant plant recommendations in this article. 

 

 

 

Danielle’s Plants 

Swamp aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum, Zones 3–9) 

Swamp aster
Swamp aster

Slender-leaved false foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia, annual) 

Slender-leaved false foxglove
Slender-leaved false foxglove

‘Red October’ big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii ‘Red October’, Zones 4–9) 

'Red October' big bluestem
‘Red October’ big bluestem

 

Daphniphyllum (Daphniphyllum macropodum, Zones 7–9) 

Daphniphyllum
Daphniphyllum

 

Carol’s Plants  

‘Ellagance Purple’ lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Ellagance Purple’, Zones 5–7) 

‘Ellagance Purple’ lavender
‘Ellagance Purple’ lavender

‘Elegant Feather’ dog fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium ‘Elegant Feather’, Zones 6–9) 

'Elegant Feather' dog fennel
‘Elegant Feather’ dog fennel

‘Thunderhead’ Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’, Zones 5–8) 

'Thunderhead' Japanese black pine
‘Thunderhead’ Japanese black pine

‘Royal Purple’ smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Zones 4–8) 

‘Royal Purple’ smoke bush
‘Royal Purple’ smoke bush

Expert’s Plants  

Hardy Jerusalem sage (Phlomis russeliana, Zones 5–9)  

Phlomis russeliana

‘Russian River’ coyote mint (Monardella villosa ‘Russian River’, Zones 6–9) 

‘Russian River’ coyote mint
‘Russian River’ coyote mint

Arkansas bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii, Zones 49) 

Hubrichts bluestar

‘Hosoba-fukurin’ silverberry (Elaeagnus pungens ‘Hosoba-fukurin’, Zones 7–10) 

‘Hosoba-fukurin’ silverberry
‘Hosoba-fukurin’ silverberry

 

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Comments

  1. naturgrrl 11/29/2024

    the discussion about dog fennel mistakenly confuses its' odor with that of culinary fennel--an entirely different family of plants

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