Deer Resistance

The plants we sell that university extension and wildlife agency research rates as rarely or seldom badly damaged by deer. No plant is deer proof, and a hungry deer will eat almost anything, but these get hit a lot less than most.

More about planting where deer roam

You won't find our fruit trees here. This group is mostly berry shrubs, perennial vegetables and a few tough natives. These are the plants we'd try first outside a fence.

Gooseberries are the core of it. Black Velvet, Captivator, Hinnomaki Red, Invicta, Jahn's Prairie, Jeanne and Pixwell are all rated rarely bothered, all self-fertile and all hardy to zone 3. For eating fresh, Black Velvet, Captivator, Hinnomaki Red, Jahn's Prairie and Jeanne scored 8/10. For pies and jam, Hinnomaki Red, Invicta and Pixwell scored 8/10. Hinnomaki Red is our favorite, and it took -35°F in Kalispell with no damage.

Honeyberry is rarely bothered too, and it's hardy to zone 2. It needs cross-pollination, so our bundle comes with 3 Aurora and 1 Tundra to pollenize them. The cold climate blueberry bundle works the same way, with 2 Chippewa plus a pollenizer. Browse the rest of our fruit shrubs if you have a fenced spot too.

For the vegetable garden, asparagus (9/10 as a perennial vegetable), rhubarb and horseradish all hold up to deer. Buffaloberry and sea buckthorn fix nitrogen and need both male and female plants, so plant the whole bundle. Our deer resistant plants page and the Plant Finder can help you narrow it down.

Questions we get

What fruit bushes do deer not eat?

No plant is deer proof, but our gooseberries and honeyberry are rated rarely bothered. Golden currant, buffaloberry and the cold climate blueberry bundle are seldom badly damaged.