Deer Resistant Plants for Central Texas

Tips to help your plants survive

  1. Surround newly planted trees and shrubs with a cage of wire fencing until they become established.
  2. Spray deer repellent on newly installed plants and repeat applications after rain or heavy irrigation.

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This guide is not a guarantee.  Deer will eat almost anything when they are hungry.  Their preferences vary from herd to herd, and the denser their population, the more adventurous their appetite becomes.  Even if a plant is ‘deer resistant’ they may still nibble the flowers.  Look around your neighborhood to see what is surviving there.  When bucks are shedding the velvet on their antlers they will rub them on any tree or shrub available causing damage.  The best deer proofing is an eight foot fence!

Annuals

Vinca

Bluebonnet

Larkspur

Marigold

Poppy

Snapdragon

Zinnia

Bulbs

Allium

Amaryllis

Caladium

Daffodils (Narcissus)

Iris

Snowdrop

Grasses

Bamboo Muhly

Big Muhly

Inland Sea Oats

Little Bluestem

Maiden Grass

Purple Fountain Grass

Deer do not tend to browse on ornamental grasses.

Herbs

Artemisia

Lavender

Oregano

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Most herbs are deer resistant due to their aromatic compounds.

Perennials

Aster

Autumn Sage

Bee Balm

Blackfoot Daisy

Copper Canyon Daisy

Damianita

Dusty Miller

Esperanza

Flame Acanthus

Indigo Spires Salvia

Jerusalem Sage

Lamb’s Ear

Lantana

 

Mealy Blue Sage

Mexican Bush Sage

Mexican Hat

Mexican Honeysuckle

Mexican Mint Marigold

Mexican Oregano

Plumbago

Pride of Barbados

Russian Sage

Tropical Sage

Turk’s Cap

Verbena

Yarrow

Zexmenia

Shrubs

Abelia

Agarita

Barberry

Beautyberry

Boxwood

Butterfly Bush

Cassia

Cotoneaster

Eleagnus

Esperanza

Holly, Burford

 

 

Holly, Yaupon

Junipers

Kidneywood

Nandina

Oleander

Pineapple Guava

Podocarpus

Pride of Barbados

Primrose Jasmine

Sumac

Texas Sage

Viburnum

Wax Myrtle

Trees

Anacacho Orchid Tree

Bald Cypress

Big Tooth Maple

Bois d’Arc

Cedar Elm

Cherry Laurel

Crape Myrtle

Deodora Cedar

Lacebark Elm

Fig

Junipers

 

 

Mesquite

Mexican Plum

Mountain Laurel

Oaks

Palms

Pecan

Pine

Possumhaw

Redbud

Retama

Smoke Tree

Texas Persimmon

Walnut

All trees should be protected from browsing deer when young. All smooth barked trees are vulnerable to antler damage at any age.

Succulents

Agave

Aloe

Nolina

Prickly Pear

Red Yucca (deer eat

flowers)

Sago Palm

Soft Leaf Yucca

Sotol

Vines & Groundcovers

Asiatic Jasmine

Carolina Jessamine

Star Jasmine

Crossvine

English & Algerian Ivy

Fig Ivy

Liriope

Monkey Grass

Virginia Creeper