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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - June 09, 2012
From: Oxford, MI
Region: Southeast
Topic: Deer Resistant, Groundcovers
Title: Deer proof ground cover for sunny area in Mississippi
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I am looking for a low ground cover that will thrive in a sunny location and is deer proofANSWER:
In the first place, there are no "deer proof" plants. There are plants that are deer resistant—usually. However, when times get tough for deer, they will sometimes eat those plants that they formerly avoided. In general, aromatic plants like those in the Family Lamiaceae (Mint Family) are avoided by deer, but there are others. Here are a few that are native to Mississippi, evergreen or semi-evergreen, love the sun and are low ground covers that deer avoid:
Phlox subulata (Moss phlox), according to Harding's Gardens (Ithaca, NY) and Missouri Botanical Gardens, it is deer resistant.
Carex texensis (Texas sedge) does well in sun and part shade.
Phyla nodiflora (Texas frogfruit) is semi-evergreen, but grows in sun and part shade.
Salvia lyrata (Lyreleaf sage) is evergreen with blue flowers.
You can see more deer resistant plants in our list Deer Resistant Species list. You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to select "Mississippi" from Select State or Province to see those plants on the list that are native to Mississippi.
From the Image Gallery
More Groundcovers Questions
Removing St. Augustine for natives in Grapevine TX
September 29, 2012 - We have St Augustine in our yard and we hate it. It guzzles water, we have to cut it often, and it's thick and hard to work with.
Anyway, we want to replace it with a combination of some kind of g...
view the full question and answer
Native lawn replacement for shady areas in Austin
September 11, 2013 - Our front lawn was totally destroyed this summer during some remodeling construction. I am interested in replacing it with native grasses, but we have several oak trees that keep the area fairly shady...
view the full question and answer
Ground cover for Massachusetts
March 21, 2009 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
We are trying to kill poison ivy in shaded areas bordering our driveway and want to plant something quickly to replace it. There are many tall trees in this area, mainly pi...
view the full question and answer
Source for ground pine plants from Ligonier PA
December 21, 2012 - Where can I purchase "ground pine plants? I want to use them for erosion control.
view the full question and answer
Groundcover for area under oaks in Lake Conroe, Texas
October 17, 2010 - I live just off Lake Conroe, and my backyard is more dirt than grass. It is under a number of oak trees, and the dirt is more of a silt than a sand. I need suggestions for a quick growing ground cover...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |