Georgia Deer Resistant Plants and Repellents  - Georgia Page

Trees: bald cypress, Carolina cherrylaurel, Crape Myrtle, cryptomeria, dawn redwood, Deodar Cedar, Eastern red cedar, Gingko, Paw Paw, Pines (most), Persimmon, palms,  Pomegranate, River Birch, sweetgung, Souther magnolia tulip tree, tulip poplar, 

Shrubs: american holly, anise shrub, bana shrub,  barberry, bottlebrush buckeye, boxwood, butterfly bush,Carolina silverbell, feijoa,  fig, gardenia, glossy abelia, gordonia, kerria, nandina, oleander, pittosporum, Scotch broom, vibernum, juniper, wax myrtle, winter daphne,  witch hazel, 

Perennials: coneflower, dianthus, iris, lantana

PERENNIALS, SUB-SHRUBS AND ANNUALS: caryopteris, ajuga, aspidistra, holly fern, royal fern, Christmas fern, cinnamon fern, hay-scented fern, ebony spleenwort, yucca, agave, columbine, larkspur, foxglove, Lenten rose and other hellebores, lavender, daffodils and jonquils, prickly pear, meadow rue, purple coneflower, cardinal flower, perovskia, santolina, iris, dianthus, society garlic, mayapple, baptisia, ageratum, angel’s trumpet, epimedium, snowdrops (Galanthus), wild ginger/little pigs (Asarum), colchicum, allium, monarda, native asters, boltonia, butterflyweed, crinum, toad lily, liatris, lunaria, agastache, artemesia, dusty miller, rose campion, nicotiana, pulmonaria, Jerusalem sage, lantana, basil, salvia, cleome, Madagascar periwinkle/annual periwinkle, California poppy and peony.

Deer do not like furry or fragrant plants such as lambs ear, wax myrtle, and florida anise. They don't eat ferns and avoid creeping Phlox.

Herbs: catmint (see as ground cover below), rosemary.

Annuals: begonias (many types), marigolds, snapdragon, verbena.

Lenten roses are drought tolerant and have few, if any, insect or disease pests, deer avoid them.

Ground cover: Catmint chokes the weeds and blooms all season long, practically no maintenance, drought resitant, very deer resistant.

Deer Resistant also include:  Acanthus Mollis (Bear’s Breeches), Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterfly Weed), Caryopteris (Bluebeard), Chrysanthemum (Mums), Crocosmia  (Crocosmia), Dianthus  (Dianthus or Pinks), Epimedium (Barrenwort or Bishop’s Cap), Eupatorium Purpureum (Joe Pye Weed), Kniphofia  (Red-hot Poker), Perovskia Atriplicifolia (Russian sage), Phormium . (New Zealand flax), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary), Solidago spp. (Goldenrod).

Put a fence around a young tree or a plastic tube around the trunk.

Commericial repellents like Deer Off and Liquid Fence can be effective but need to be applied at least four times a year, or more if there is a lot of rain. 

Bill Starr: Dealing with deer in the garden August 7, 2011 Georgia, Americus Times...There are two basic types of repellents, those that you put on the plants to give them a bad taste and area repellents that have bad odor....Repellents are strictly temporary materials. If deer are extremely hungry the repellents may not work at all....Probably the most effective method to prevent deer damage to your plants is adequate fencing