Deer Resistant Plants

Masses of 1" wide blue to violet daisies with a yellow eye seemingly cover up this perennial in late summer and fall providing nectar for pollinators including bees and migrating Monarchs. Bluebird Smooth Blue Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum laeve (previously Aster laevis), was the top-rated aster in trials at Mt. Cuba Center. It has a naturally upright to vase-shaped, clump-forming habit and grows to 3-4' at flowering but can be pinched in late spring or early summer to produce a fuller more compact plant. The Smooth Blue Aster is found throughout much of the US and into Canada. Provide a well-drained, average to semi-dry soil conditions in full sun to mostly sunny sites for optimum vigor and flowering, although it is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. It is considered to be tolerant of part shade to light shade, but plants may require staking. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12247

Deep dark red wavy petals surround and often intermingle with the boss of brightly contrasting golden yellow stamens. Bob Hope Camellia produces large to very large flowers in mid to late season (March and April in our gardens) on a moderately vigorous upright to rounded evergreen shrub. Another beautiful introduction from Nuccio's Nurseries. Item# 11339

Spikes of 1/2" long, tubular, two-lipped, deep azure blue flowers have a contrasting bright white bee-guide and throat are produced in late spring or early summer and continue into fall atop the tall wispy stems. The nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Bog Sage, Salvia uliginosa, is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial producing a multitude of tall thin wiry stems that can reach 5-6' high in rich fertile moist soils but tends to remain shorter, 3-4' high or so, under average moist garden conditions, which it can tolerate quite well, despite its name, once fully established. it tends to be more restrained under drier conditions as well. Its long flowering season and ease of care have garnered Bog Sage the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It can tolerate full sun in the cooler portions of its range but may be at its best where it receives a little midday shade in areas with hot summer climates. Item# 12906

For several weeks in mid to late spring, the mounds of large, apple-green, heart-shaped, quilted foliage with maroon veining is topped by a multitude of conical spike-like clusters, or racemes, that are adorned in fragrant dainty white flowers that attract a variety of smaller pollinators. In fall and winter, its foliage deepens into bronze tones. Brandywine Foam Flower or Tiarella, a selection of our native Tiarella cordifolia, is a stoloniferous, ^†semi-evergreen, perennial groundcover perfectly suited to shaded gardens and landscapes. They can tolerate more sun in areas with cool summer climates but will still likely prefer to be in the shade during the heat of the day. Tiarellas prefer a moist soil with ample organic matter and average or better drainage and are resistant to be being browsed by deer and rabbits. Dr. Allen Armitage in his Herbaceous Perennial Plants, 4th Edition states that he "puts these plants on the A list for shady areas." Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13272

Flattened round 1-1/2" wide clusters of tiny light lavender tubular disc flowers are held well above the 12" high rich green foliage beginning in mid to late spring and lasting well into summer. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators. Broadleaf Barbara's Buttons, Marshallia trinervia, is a rare low-growing rhizomatous native perennial that develops into a dense ground-covering mass of plants with an unaggressive nature. This easy to grow plant is more vigorous than its rarity might imply when given a moist to average moist, fertile soil rich in organic matter. Deciduous shade seems to be optimum providing full to mostly sunny conditions for the low rosettes of foliage in winter and light shade during the heat of the day in summer. With adequate moisture, it is reported to handle full sun to mostly sunny conditions even in summer, although, an eastern exposure with cool morning sunlight should be about perfect. Broadleaf Barbara's Buttons makes a wonderful low growing companion for Hydrangeas, larger Hostas, clump forming ferns, and other similar shade lovers. Item# 10767

Brown Turkey is the ultimate Southern fig producing large crops of medium to large, brown to maroon, turbinate figs over a long season that begins in June. The flesh is strawberry red and is sweet with good flavor. The Texas Everbearing fig is also known as Brown Turkey fig.  This is probably the most reliable and commonly grown fig in Southern regions but it is the standard bearer for hardiness tolerating the climate of zone 5. It is known to fruit if frozen to the ground as well. Resistant to spoiling and splitting and good fresh, dried, or preserved. Self pollinating and with a small but open eye. Caterpillar host: Ruddy Daggerwing. Item# 920.

A continuous display of brown-eyed golden-rayed daisy-like flowers are produced from early to midsummer into fall on well-branched plants with deep bronzy green hairy foliage. The Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba, is very similar in all regards to the wild forms of the Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, and it begins flowering about the time that the latter species is finished for the year. This biennial to short-lived perennial is a heat tolerant, sun-loving, deer and rabbit resistant native well-suited to both the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings like prairies, meadows, and roadside plantings. It readily reseeds on exposed soils but is not aggressive or difficult to control. It prefers a full to mostly sunny position in well-drained, average moist to semi-dry soils. The flowers of the Brown-Eyed Susan offer pollen and nectar to bees, smaller butterflies, and other garden beneficials. The seeds offer food for songbirds and small mammals. Item# 11980

New in 2022 and a breakthrough color! Dense spikes of dark wine purple pea-like flowers that are accented by a contrasting primrose yellow keel are held above the mound of deep green foliage. Flowers are produced in late spring to early summer and attract mainly bees. Burgundy Blast Baptisia or False Indigo, a hybrid cultivar of US native species (a.k.a. nativar), with good vigor and deep green foliage growing to about 3' x 3'. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide Baptisias with a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12893

Similar to New Gold in habit and flower power, Buttercream Lantana produces clusters of golden yellow flowers that change to a soft golden yellow and finally to white. An excellent Greg Grant introduction with somewhat more of a pastel effect than that of New Gold. Great for butterflies and pollinators! Buttercream Lantana is a low growing mounding Lantana suitable for use as a groundcover, at the front of the garden, or spilling from containers. Item# 9904.

The tall spikes of deep golden yellow 1"+ wide flowers emerge from dark, near black buds and calyxes atop the tropical looking, up to 18" long, pinnately compound foliage composed of fragrant, deep olive green, rounded leaflets. The flowers may be produced throughout the warmer months of the year attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Buttered Popcorn Cassia, Senna didymobotrya, is a heat and sunloving, loosely branching, tropical shrub typically growing to 6-8' high, potentially larger in warmer climates with longer growing seasons and generally shorter, 4-6'H, in cooler summer climates. Gently rub the rounded slightly fuzzy leaflets and they will emit a fragrance similar to buttered popcorn to peanut butter depending on your nose which is certainly a good conversation starter especially for the younger generations. The Buttered Popcorn Cassia adds a splash of summerlong color and a tropical feel to any sunny setting. Provide a well-drained, fertile soil, in full to mostly sunny conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Ceraunus Blue, Barred Yellow, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, and Cloudless Sulphur. Item# 9018

Masses of 2" wide upward facing intensely fragrant flowers are composed of two neat rows of white petals that surround the golden anthers are produced in late spring or early summer. Buttons Gardenia develops into a densely branched small rounded evergreen shrub growing to about 1-1/2' high and wide. You can use this "cute as a button" Gardenia in a sunny garden or landscape but it is also small enough to be grown as a container plant. Gardenias will do best in a well-draining, moderately fertile to rich, acidic soil in a full to mostly sunny site. Image courtesy of Star Roses and Plants, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 11948

Pale sky blue falls and standards with darker blue veining and narrow yellow signals and are centered by complimentary white style arms. Bywater Louisiana Iris, named for the body of water, is midseason flowering, April, and is a smaller growing cultivar reaching 24-28" high. Louisiana Irises are easy and adaptable, rhizomatous perennials with fans of deep green sword-like foliage and seem as at home in standing water as they do in average moist garden soils. Remember that these plants do most of their growing in fall and winter and so this is when they should be fed and fall is also a great time to divide plants if desired. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13342

A pink sport of Elegans (Chandler) Variegated with large to very large anemone form blooms that sport a boss of yellow stamens are borne in early to mid season. A large spreading evergreen shrub. Item# 9123.

Large, 2" wide, coral to peachy pink, Camellia-like blossoms adorn this Quince in late winter and early spring. Cameo Flowering Quince, a selection of Chaenomeles x speciosa, is a tough and easy deciduous shrub with good drought tolerance and excellent resistance to leaf spot diseases that can defoliate some cultivars early in the growing season. Cut stems of Flowering Quince, with well developed flower buds that are showing color, can be cut and brought indoors as cut flowers. Prune after flowering as Quince flower on old wood or last season's growth. Provide the Cameo Flowering Quince with a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile, average to well-drained soil. Dr. Michael Dirr in Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs mentions its disease resistance and states that it is "One of my favorite quinces and a long prized specimen in the Dirr garden." Item# 12773

Expect this to be a head turning conversation piece! Medium to large, soft pink to near white, perfect or rose form flowers are elegantly flecked and streaked with contrasting red to deep pink and are produced in mid to late season, January to April. Campari Camellia, a large type Japonica Camellia, is a vigorous, large growing evergreen shrub with a naturally upright habit becoming rounded with age. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and an organic mulch. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13211

Tall candles to 18" high that are composed of golden yellow blossoms and buds rise well above the foliage of this popular pass along plant from mid to late summer well into fall for an outstanding show. The Candlestick Tree, Senna alata, is a moderately fast growing and vigorous sun loving tropical that is excellent for the back of the border, as a specimen plant singly or in mass, and even as a large container plant. Attracts butterflies. Caterpillar host: Ceraunus Blue, Barred Yellow, Mexican Yellow, Sleepy Orange, and Cloudless Sulphur.Reseeds readily or save seeds in fall to replant in spring. The Candlestick Tree is a heat and sunloving easy to grow tropical to tender perennial where winters are mild. Item# 10017.