Deer Resistant Plants

The tall stems of this native perennial cover up in 1" light purple daisies in late summer and fall. Willowleaf Aster, Symphyotrichum praealtum, produces a multitude of upright to arching stems once well-established and makes a grand statement in the fall garden, prairie, meadow, or roadsides. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but are an especially important late summer and fall nectar source for native bees. Willowleaf Aster or Willow Aster is long rhizomatous, versus clumpforming, and will slowly colonize an area once established creating a dense stand at maturity. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in moist to average moist soils. Cutback to ground level after flowering to prevent unwanted seedlings if desired. Item# 10693.

Only one of two Amsonia species to receive a 5-star rating in the Chicago Botanic Gardens trials! Showy clusters of light blue star-shaped 1" wide flowers are produced in spring atop sturdy stems cloaked in dark green willow-like foliage. The Willowleaf Eastern Bluestar has the same basic habit and growth requirements of the more common Eastern Bluestar, Amsonia tabernaemontana var. tabernaemontana, but with larger showier flower clusters that seem to cover the plant, a neat dense vase-shaped habit, and clean disease resistant foliage. An easy to grow, clump-forming native perennial that is tolerant of wet to average moist soils preferring a full to mostly sunny site in the garden and landscape. The flowers of Bluestars attract butterflies and hummingbird moths. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 11945

Deep wine-red cupped flowers with contrasting creamy white stamens cover this durable native groundcover in spring with flowering often continuing well into mid-summer and flowering again in fall. Winecups make excellent choice where it can be allowed to naturalize or where it can be enjoyed spilling from large containers or over a wall. This tough native tap-rooted perennial reliably returns year after year and has been selected as a Plant Select® Award winner. Provide a full sun to partly shade site and Winecups are adaptable to soil types but prefer average moisture. Item# 9232.

Dainty white and green spring flowers develop into dense masses of 1/4-3/8" diameter, deep golden yellow berries that adorn the bare winter stems for months. Winter Gold Winterberry, a selection of Ilex verticillata, is a native, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub growing to about 5-8'H x 5-8'W. Young plants tend to have an upright habit and then become rounded at maturity. The fruit of the Winterberry Holly is utilized by a variety of songbirds. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in an average moist to wet, fertile soil. A male holly, not necessarily of the same species, that flowers at the same time is required for good fruit set. The nectar and pollen laden flowers are an important resource for a variety of native bees and smaller pollinators. Item# 12745 

Pink tinged buds open to 2 ¹/₂-3" wide, ruffled, fragrant, anemone-form to semi-double flowers with a boss of golden yellow stamens that are produced early in the season in Nov-December. Winter's Snowman Sasanqua Camellia is a hybrid that was selected for its reliable zone 6 cold hardiness, clean white fragrant flowers, as well as for its vigor. This is a naturally fairly large growing evergreen shrub with medium textured, deep green Sasanqua-like foliage that emerges burgundy in spring similar to the Red-Tip Photinia and extending its seasons of interest. Like a Sasanqua, Winter's Snowman can be maintained as a 4-6'H hedge, formal to informal screen, or allow it to grow into a naturally large evergreen shrub to small tree with a naturally upright to spreading habit. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and a deep organic mulch. Images courtesy of CamToo Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item#13010

Woodville Red Produces large peony form fully double flowers of a nice medium red in midseason. Woodville Red is an old heirloom variety that was first brought to Woodville, MS from Europe in 1820. This large evergreen shrub has a naturally upright to rounded habit. Item# 9745.

Large, dark pink, long lasting, fragrant trumpets with an almost glossy appearance are produced in summer on this Angel's Trumpet. Xena is a vigorous grower and the flowers can darken to near red. Item # 9250

Large, dark pink, long lasting, fragrant trumpets with an almost glossy appearance are produced in summer on this Angel's Trumpet. Xena is a vigorous grower and the flowers can darken to near red. Item # 12124

A beautiful clear yellow Cape Honeysuckle that produces masses of 2" tubular flowers in large clusters in summer and fall or nearly continuously throughout the year under frost free conditions. This easy heat and sun loving tropical can be grown as a medium to large arching shrub or hedge, vine or espalier, and can be trained into tree standards. The tubular flowers are a treat for hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Where not hardy it is easily maintained as a container plant. Item# 746.

Loose clusters of sweetly fragrant, creamy yellow, star shaped flowers are produced over a long period beginning in late spring and early summer on this vigorous and durable evergreen twining climber. This cultivar of Confederate Jasmine appears to flower a good deal longer than the more common white flowered selections. An excellent choice for arbors, trellises, and evergreen screening on a lattice work or fence. Confederate Jasmine can also be used as a deep groundcover that will grow to 12-24" high. Where not hardy they can be maintained as easy and low maintenance container specimens. This may be the same as Woodlander's 'Mandianum' which may yet be the 'Star of Toscane'. Item # 11020

Round clusters of 1" light yellow to white tubular flowers are produced from about mid to late spring atop sturdy square stems adorned with lightly fragrant foliage. Newly described to science in 2011 by Jason Singhurst and Walter Holmes, the Yellow Flowered Beebalm has as yet only been found in northeastern Texas and Miller county in Arkansas. This is a slowly spreading native perennial well suited to naturalistic settings such as meadows, prairies, or roadside planting as well as in mixed perennial borders and pollinator habitats. The flowers attract hummingbirds and larger butterflies. We have to say thank you to SFA Gardens for making this species more widely available. Item# 11988

Round clusters of 1" light yellow to white tubular flowers are produced from about mid to late spring atop sturdy square stems adorned with lightly fragrant foliage. Newly described to science in 2011 by Jason Singhurst and Walter Holmes, the Yellow Flowered Beebalm has as yet only been found in northeastern Texas and Miller county in Arkansas. This is a slowly spreading native perennial well suited to naturalistic settings such as meadows, prairies, or roadside planting as well as in mixed perennial borders and pollinator habitats. The flowers attract hummingbirds and larger butterflies. We have to say thank you to SFA Gardens for making this species more widely available. Item# 11988

The large yellow figs with a thin skin have a sweet amber flesh a medium open eye. The Yellow Long Neck Fig is a found fig that was discovered at the San Diego Botanic Gardens, previously known as Quail Gardens. Great for fresh eating, pickling, and preserves. Fig trees prefer a sunny, well-drained site for the best growth and production. Item# 12689

From spring to fall a near continuous display of the 2-3" wide bright sunny yellow trumpets are held against a foil of deep green glossy foliage. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The Yellow Mandevilla, Pentalinon luteum or Urechites lutea, is a vigorous twining, naturally evergreen, tropical vine native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, and Honduras. It is vigorous enough to cover a small arbor or medium-sized trellis but is mannerly enough to be maintained on a smaller 3-4' high support where it can be enjoyed as container plant for a sunny patio. Provide the Yellow Mandevilla with a fertile, average moist, average to well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site for maximum flowering and vigor. Item# 12385

A rare or uncommon color form of the common Red Shrimp Plant, the Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant produces a continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy light yellow to chartreuse colored bracts from which the individual white tubular flowers emerge in spring and summer to year round under warm tropical conditions. It displays the same habit and exceptional flower power of its maroon-red bracted cousin making a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana, is a heat loving, naturally evergreen, bushy, tropical plant with dark olive green foliage and grows to about 24" high by about 18" wide. It is both full sun and bright shade tolerant but tends to have the densest branching habit where it receives at least 4 hours or more of direct sunlight. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Attracts hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly and is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Item# 1170

1" wide bright sunny yellow starry flowers are held in small clusters atop sturdy stems that push the flowers just above the wide blue-green grass-like foliage. Flowering is heaviest in spring but may continue sporadically through summer and into fall. Yellow-Eyed Grass, Sisyrhinchium californicum, is a naturally evergreen clump-forming miniature iris-like perennial that readily reseeds under good conditions. This West Coast native is typically found in consistently moist to wet sites in coastal areas, lake edges, and seeps but it is tolerant of short dry spells and is adaptable to a variety of growing conditons from average moist to wet, salt, and acid to alkaline soils. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Yellow-Eyed Grass may reseed into zone 6 and is considered perennial in zones 8-10. Item# 12290

Perfectly formed, single, bright red flowers with yellow stamens, about 3 inches across. Yuletide Sasanqua Camellia is a profuse flowering selection that blooms over a long period particularly around Christmas time but is often in flower by November. Deep dark green glossy foliage adorns this vigorous yet dense and compact naturally upright to pyramidal shaped Camellia Sasanqua. Item# 895

Nearly 2" wide golden yellow, dark-eyed daisies top the fine-textured blue-green foliage of this durable native perennial beginning late spring to to early summer and may continue into early fall. Zagreb Coreopsis is a slightly more compact Coreopsis verticillata selection topping out at about 20" high and it has received high marks in trials at Mt. Cuba Center and the Chicago Botanic Gardens. This is an easy and reliable, clump-forming to slowly spreading, deer and drought resistant perennial with deep green fine-textured disease resistant foliage. Provide Zagreb Coreopsis with good drainage and medium to low moisture. 2001 RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Item# 10966.

Bright orange, 1" wide upward facing daisies are produced from spring to fall atop wispy wiry stems and are held above the deep green, fuzzy foliage attracting a variety of smaller pollinators including bees and butterflies. Zemmenia, Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida, is a low growing naturally mounding, drought resistant, Texas tough, small native shrub-like perennial that is a mainstay of pollinator gardens from central Texas to the Rio Grande Valley as well as along the southwestern border and into Mexico. It seems to flower best and have the tidiest habit in full sun but can tolerate some shade but it may be at the expense of flowers. Zexmenia generally prefers a well-drained sandy or rocky soil but is adaptable to good garden soils as long as the plants have good to excellent drainage. It also makes a forgiving container plant but again provide sharp drainage. The butterfly in the image is a Western Pygmy Blue. Item# 13085