Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - June 22, 2012
From: Raleigh, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Plant Lists, Deer Resistant
Title: Need deer resistant plants for a shady north facing garden in Raliegh, NC.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
I am in need of Deer Resistant Native Shade plants for a North Facing Garden. It is 3 feet wide by 20 feet long. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you, Eaten AliveANSWER:
If North Carolina deer are like Texas deer, they’ll pretty much eat anything when they are hungry. However, I’ve found some information that may give you a fighting chance. I’m going to give you several links to North Carolina Carolina Cooperative Extension which has an office in Wake County. The topics include plants lists, managing deer, and landscaping.
(a) plant lists
(b) managing deer
(c) landscaping
Once you have the names of some plants that you might use, you can check them out using our Native Plant Database. Go to the “Search native plants database”, type in the name, and click “go”. If it is a native plant, the NPIN page for that plant will come up, and you can learn about its size. light requirements, and other characteristics. Here’s a couple of examples. From the list in (a), we find Abelia, but when we type it in, we don’t get a page showing. This means it is not native. Another plant on that list is Yaupon. When we type that in, we get Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon). We find that it is a shrub, 12 - 36' tall, grows in sun, shade, or part shade, but not in Wake County. Another plant listed is Wax Myrtle Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle) .It is an evergreen shrub, grows in sun, partial shade, and is found in Wake County.
So with a little due diligence, you should be able to come up with a list of plants that will beautify your garden, and have the deer looking elsewhere.
More Deer Resistant Questions
Deer resistant plants for New York
May 10, 2009 - My home is near the woods and so we get plenty of deer munching on everything but we also have shade and dappled light in the yard. I need to figure out plants that would thrive under these conditions...
view the full question and answer
Overwintering possumhaw seedlings indoors in Pflugerville, TX.
September 30, 2009 - Can possumhaw (Ilex decidua) seedlings be kept indoors over the winter? The goal is to protect them from deer and there is no other good option (i.e., no protected outdoor porch, etc.), unless you ca...
view the full question and answer
Deer resistant wildflower seed mix
October 04, 2009 - I'm looking for a wildflower seed mix that is deer resistant (they walk right through this area), drought tolerant, full sun, perennial or self-seeding annual, for Austin, Texas. Any recommendations...
view the full question and answer
Looking for evergreen deer proof plants for full sun
October 17, 2007 - Which plants would be DEER PROOF, will be with almost full sun and will not die completely during winter? besides some plastic ones =)
It doesn't matter the size, flowers or not.
view the full question and answer
Deer Resistance and Erosion Control for St. Louis County MO
January 03, 2014 - I am looking for deer and rabbit resistant native plants for erosion control on a steep ravine slope with part sun and part shade in St. Louis County MO.
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |