Native Plants

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Saturday - June 23, 2007

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Deer Resistant
Title: Keeping deer and rabbits out of plants
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Are there plants that are both deer- and rabbit-resistant? Something is eating the plants that the deer seem to leave alone--snipping off the flowers at the top of the stems (ie, zinnias and plumbago)--and I suspect rabbits... Do rabbits tend to avoid the same types of plants? Thanks.

ANSWER:

Don't be too sure it isn't the deer. Deer often eat things that they aren't supposed to like; but, there are many plants that both deer and rabbits love to eat. You can see a list of Deer and Rabbit Resistant Plants from the Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona. The town of Parker, Colorado also has a list of Deer & Rabbit Resistant Plants; Gardenseeker.com offers a list of Rabbit Resistant Trees & Shrubs & Plants; and from Mountain States Wholesale Nursery there is a list of Rabbit-Resistant Plants.

Your best bet for protecting your plants, however, is to keep the rabbits and deer out of your garden. Rabbits require only a short fence (~2 feet high) but it needs to be buried in the soil 4-6 inches. Deer, on the other hand, require a fence that is at least 4-6 feet high.