14 Deer-Resistant Annuals for a Colorful, Worry-Free Garden

Use these annuals in your landscape to help discourage deer from eating your plants

Contributors: Janet Loughrey

For gardeners who live in suburban and rural areas, there is nothing more frustrating than having treasured plants damaged by deer. A hungry herd can decimate large areas in a short amount of time. One of the best ways to protect your landscape is to grow plant varieties that deer dislike. Plants with characteristics such as a heavy scent, bitter taste, rough or hairy leaves, thorns, or are toxic are more likely to be passed up by deer.

Annuals provide long-lasting color from late spring until fall, with colorful flowers or foliage that add color and structure to containers, beds and borders. While some annuals such as petunias and impatiens are delectable treats for deer, other annuals are more resistant to deer browse. Here are some of the best deer-resistant annual plants for your landscape.

	1. EUPHORBIA Diamond Frost^® Euphorbia hybrid Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 10-11 Euphorbia is a diverse group of flowering perennials and annuals with unique foliage and blooms. Diamond Frost^® is a compact variety with airy cloud-like clusters of snow-white flowers that add classic elegance to containers, hanging baskets and beds. This resilient annual is heat and drought tolerant, with self-cleaning flowers on virtually maintenance-free plants. Euphorbia produces a sticky white sap that is toxic and can cause skin irritation, making it unpalatable to deer.
	2. GARDEN VERBENA Superbena Royale^® Plum Wine Verbena hybrid Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 8-11 This flowering ornamental plant is invaluable for adding long-lasting color to containers and borders. Verbena is a tender perennial grown as an annual in most regions, with a creeping or upright habit and clusters of colorful flowers. This variety has a vigorous growth habit with rich magenta-purple flowers produced on mildew-resistant plants. One of the best annual deer-resistant flowers, verbena has a pungent citrusy scent and taste that deer find distasteful.
	3. COLEUS ColorBlaze^® Dipt in Wine Coleus scutellarioides Exposure: Sun or shade Zones: 10-11 Coleus is one of the most popular annuals, grown for the foliage in an endless array of colors and patterns that are suitable to any style garden. This tropical tender plant thrives in sun or shade, adding bright color to containers, window boxes and borders. ColorBlaze^® Dipt in Wine has deep crimson leaves with lime-green accents for eye-catching contrast. These deer resistant annuals have a strong aroma and bitter taste that deer dislike.
	4. GOLDEN LEAVED PINEAPPLE SAGE ‘Golden Delicious’ Salvia elegans Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 8-11 Salvia is a diverse group of perennials and annuals with long-lasting flowers and aromatic foliage. Pineapple sage is a tender perennial most often grown as an annual, with an upright habit and late-season flowers. ‘Golden Delicious’ is a heat-tolerant variety with brilliant yellow leaves and a pineapple scent. In warmer climates, plants will produce slender stalks of lipstick-red tubular flowers in mid- to late-fall. Salvia is a deer-proof plant because of the pungent scent and taste of the leaves.
	5. WISHBONE FLOWER Catalina^® Midnight Blue Torenia hybrid Exposure: Sun or shade Zones: 10-11 One of the best deer-resistant annuals for shade, wishbone flower produces tubular flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink and white. Wishbone flower is useful for brightening up porches and other areas with mixed or limited light. Catalina^® Midnight Blue is heat and drought tolerant, with a trailing habit suitable for containers and window boxes. The dark blue flowers have a yellow throat for eye-catching contrast. Wishbone flower has a bitter taste and contains compounds that may be mildly toxic to deer and other animals.
	6. VARIEGATED VINCA VINE ‘Variegata’ Vinca major Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 7-10 Vinca is a flowering perennial or annual that is commonly used in semi-shaded beds, containers or borders. ‘Variegata’ produces pale blue star-shaped flowers and green and white variegated foliage. This tender perennial can be grown as an annual in colder regions, with a trailing habit that is useful in hanging baskets, window boxes and patio containers. Vinca has a sweet fragrance and contains alkaloids that can cause digestive distress in deer, making it less appealing.
	7. DEAD NETTLE Pink Chablis^® Lamium maculatum Exposure: Sun or shade Zones: 4-8 This vining perennial is commonly used as a ground cover in shady areas and underneath trees and shrubs, but can also be used as an annual for quick color in beds and containers. Pink Chablis^® produces green-edged silvery foliage and clusters of pale pink flowers from spring into summer, adding elegance to mixed containers and hanging baskets. Dead nettle has a pungent scent and taste, with some varieties being mildly toxic to deer.
“Just remember when you're out looking for new plants: fine, fuzzy, and fragrant—and then poisonous. If you're looking to create a beautiful oasis in your landscape but know that deer tend to be a problem for you, look for these attributes in the plants you choose.” — Heidi Grasman, Garden Crossings. Watch her full video here.
	8. SUMMER SNAPDRAGON Angelface^® White Angelonia hybrid Exposure: Sun Zones: 10-11 Angelonia produces dainty snapdragon-like flowers on upright stems, making it a good choice as a thriller element in containers and beds. This warm-season annual thrives in full sun and heat, with continuous bloom even during summer hot spells. Angelface^® White has pure white flowers that pair well with any other color. The scented foliage and possible toxicity of angelonia make it a plant that deer will avoid.
	9. WORMWOOD Silver Bullet^® Artemisia stelleriana Exposure: Sun Zones: 5-9 Grown primarily for the foliage, wormwood has an upright shrubby habit and deeply dissected green or silver leaves, providing fine texture and background interest to the landscape. This perennial can be grown as an annual in mixed containers and borders. Silver Bullet^® has a vigorous growth habit, silvery foliage and a mounding-spreading habit that is useful in mixed containers and mass plantings. The strongly scented foliage, fuzzy texture and bitter taste makes wormwood unappealing to deer.
	10. LANTANA Luscious^® Citrus Blend^™ Lantana camara Exposure: Sun Zones: 9-11 Lantana is an evergreen shrub in frost-free regions, and is most often grown as an annual. Clusters of flowers in a rainbow of hues bloom non-stop from planting until frost, attracting butterflies and other pollinators. Luscious^® Citrus Blend^™ produces vibrant red, orange and yellow flowers on heat- and drought-tolerant plants. The leaves of lantana have a rough texture, with a pungent scent and bitter taste that deer dislike.
	11. FLOSSFLOWER Artist^® Blue Ageratum hybrid Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 9-10 Also known as ageratum, this annual is grown for the whimsical pompom-like flowers in various shades of blue, as well as white, pink and purple. The rich blue-lavender flowers of Artist^® Blue are borne on heat-tolerant plants that bloom all summer long. Deer find the rough texture of flossflower leaves to be unpleasant.
	12. PURPLETOP VERBENA Meteor Shower^® Verbena bonariensis Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 7-10 Verbena is a tender perennial most often grown as an annual, with flat-topped clusters of long-blooming flowers that attract butterflies and other pollinators. Unlike most species, Verbena bonariensis has a tall upright habit with open branching. Meteor Shower^® is more compact, with lilac blooms and deep green foliage. The leaves and stems have a hairy texture, with a strong aroma and bitter taste that deer dislike.
	13. SALVIA Rockin’^® Fuchsia Salvia hybrid Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 9-11 This diverse group of annuals and perennials includes hundreds of different species, with many varieties suitable for home gardens. Tubular flowers occur on long stems in a range of colors from late spring into fall. Rockin’^® Fuchsia is most often grown as an annual, with striking hot-pink flowers and black calyces for a pop of color. Salvia plants have a pungent scent and taste that deer dislike.
“These plants did absolutely fantastic in our North Carolina climate. We are a zone 7b and have exceptionally high heat and humidity, but it did not phase these one bit. The hummingbirds absolutely loved this plant. Whether you put it in a container or in the landscape, this plant was just a rock star performer.” – Jenny Simpson, Gardening with Creekside. Watch her full video review here.
	14. SWEET ALYSSUM Snow Princess^® Lobularia hybrid Exposure: Part sun to sun Zones: 9-11 This petite annual or tender perennial is grown for the sweetly scented flower clusters in shades of purple, pink, lavender and white. Sweet alyssum has a mounding, creeping or trailing habit that is versatile in containers, mass plantings and beds. Snow Princess^® is a vigorous heat-tolerant variety with snowy white flowers that occur from planting until frost. Deer avoid sweet alyssum due to the hairy leaves and strong fragrance.

FAQs

Do deer eat petunias?

Petunias are an annual flower with a soft texture and high moisture content, making them a preferred snack for deer. To protect your petunia plants, place them in hanging baskets out of reach of hungry deer, or use barriers and deterrents.

Stacy Ling of Bricks ’n Blooms talks about her favorite deer repellent:

What annuals are deer resistant?

Deer proof annuals may have a rough leaf texture, pungent scent, bitter taste or are mildly toxic, making them more resistant to deer browse.

What kind of annuals will deer not eat?

There are many types of annuals deer won’t eat. These include lantana, verbena, sweet alyssum, snapdragon, cosmos, geranium and poppy.

Do deer eat begonias and impatiens?

These shade-loving plants have varying deer resistance. Some begonias are more deer proof than others. Those with smooth foliage are more prone to deer browse, while others with a fuzzy leaf texture or scent have better resistance to deer. Impatiens have tender leaves and stems along with a high moisture content, making them a preferred food source for deer.

Erin Schanen of The Impatient Gardener has these tips on how to create a deer-resistant garden in dry shade: