Low-Maintenance Deer-Resistant Plants

Plants that need little watering or pruning, all rated for deer damage. Filter by light, height, and plant type. Split into narrower lists below.

More specific collections

Little pruning and little watering rarely come as one plant, so it is worth knowing which way each one leans. Every one is a low-upkeep choice. Most are grown for their flowers. Low maintenance usually means one cut back a year instead of staking and spraying.

plants: 1,465
hardiness zones: 3 to 12

Deer-resistant plants do not have to be colourless. These plants flower in spring through to late autumn, and the last of them hold when most of the border has gone over. Most of the colour is white, purple and yellow.

spring: 650
summer: 688
late autumn: 338

Perennials and shrubs do most of the work here, and the range is wide enough that no two borders need look alike. Carex, Allium and Aloe have the most entries, and borders and naturalising are the commonest uses.

perennials: 1,126
borders: 624
naturalising: 445