I can sympathize. We just went out to the house we are closing on tomorrow and found all the hostas in the back yard nibbled down to stubs! Will they come back? We intend to fence the back yard. Maybe that will at least make it a little more difficult for them.

Here's the site I have used for advice on deer resistance of plants. It kept me from wasting money on azaleas for the "deer side" of my house. So far the plants I did use there have been investigated by the deer, judging by the tracks, but nothing has been damaged. I used lots of salvias of various kinds, plants with pungent or rough leaves, spiny plants, sedums. I'm going to add some bearded irises, which have been fairly deer proof. All the deer candy, like roses and hostas, are in the fenced areas.

Hope this helps!

Patricia

Here is a link that might be useful: deer resistance of plants

they do not eat mountain laurel, lilac, beautyberry, weigela, spirea, mockorange, caryopteris, fig, dogwood or doublefile viburnum in my yard. Hellebore can have the presence of a small shrub.

For certain foxglove, snap dragons, clematis, lily of the valley, crocosmia, columbine, peonies, poppies, yarrow, siberian and japanese iris, allium.

Here is a link that might be useful: deer resistant plants

we have white tail deer...we live in town and i think they are mutant...here is what they leave alone here...always...won't post the sometimes nibbled or once in awhile disappearing plants...

grasses
ferns
sweet woodruff
elephant ears
sedges
candytuft
snapdragons
yarrow
artemesias
salvias
coreopsis
bee balms
daffodils
crocus
grape hyacith
star of bethlehem
most culinary herbs including parsley
yarrow
rue
tansy
santolina
allium bulbs
ground phlox
dogwood
rose of sharon
crepe myrtle
japenese maple (well, it has been nibbled)
barrenwort
native ginger
mums
honeysuckle
trumpet vine
catnips or catmints
cleome
lantana
nasturtiums
dianthus
lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon anything it seems
vinca minor and major
peonies
asyllum
hope that's a start

My mom lives in deer central (central WV - they can't even be shooed out of the backyard) and doesn't have problems with the abelia, weigela, burning bush, snowball bush, clematis, grapevine, horseradish, rhubarb, forsythia, maples, flanders poppies, bleeding hearts, tiger lilies, lilies of the valley, hyacinths (regular and grape), and daffodils. However, she has a wire frame around her rhododendrons, and her hostas are gone. The cedars are also destroyed, and the barberry has been severely damaged. She is a master gardener, and hasn't found a spray yet that works. They also have an eight-foot high electric fence surrounding their vegetables. I have also heard an interesting solution for those who would prefer to not use electric. You can make two fences, a tall inner fence that surrounds the garden, then another fence a few feet out that surrounds the taller fence, and put chickens inside. You could use guineas if they had their wings clipped. I can't attest to the effectiveness of this, but it's a neat idea anyway.

Gardenbaby - your mother is lucky.... the deer ate both my burning bushes and the snowball as well. We finally got rid of these as they seemed to be an attractant

gcmarcus,
The deer have left the gardenias in this neighborhood alone.
Sauna mentioned that (where she lives) the deer didn't eat crepe myrtle, Japanese maple, mums, or grapevine. Not so in my yard. Those rats! Something I didn't see mentioned is the smoke bush--for the longest time ours weren't touched--now they're eaten whenever the deer can get at them. Right this minute the (still in pots) smoke bushes are surrounded by the patio chairs.

What ymeador mentioned about the deer leaving something alone and then one day eating it--that is so true. It's what became of my adorable Japanese maple by my front door. Those rats! Tonight they will probably eat the rest of my mums and marigold plant--the one remaining. My two apple trees have recently been re-stripped of all their lower leaves to about six feet. Just today my husband put up a different kind of fence around the apples. See, they strip stuff & then wait for the leaves to grow back--nice new, tender leaves, and then gobble up again. Those rates!!

I'm spending hours and hours on the net searching for shrubs that I like, that the deer don't like. If you find some answers--please share. Sure would appreciate any good ideas.
Pat

I appreciated everyone's comments and I can say it is funny how some things work in one area and not another. I can honestly say I will just need to try different plants and see what happens. So far they have loved the Indian Hawthorn's the builder originally planted. They ate them down to almost nothing, and then the plants started to come back. Needless to say I thought maybe the deer would leave them alone, well I was wrong in that case. All the little leaves are gone again. I can say this, they didn't like the Gold Dust Aucuba I planted about a month ago. I noticed a few bite marks on some of leaves, but they pretty much left it alone. I guess we'll see what happens.

the problem is that the deer haven't read the deer-proof list of plants!!!

here in CT this winter they ate the English Ivy, hollies, the Mountain Laurels and the spruce branches. this summer they have stripped all the echinacea, oriental and tiger lilies, the smoke trees and the montauk daisies

they eat the hostas when they get bored with other stuff ,,,, first you see one house with them stripped and word gets out ,, before you know it they are all gone

the ONLY things they never eat are the bananas, bamboo, palm trees and salvias ,,,,, and things they cannot reach ..i put all my tropicals into the ground for the summer and they leave most of them alone

and what they will not eat ,, the ground hogs eat ,, down to one inch ,,,,, i walked out one morning and thought that all my large pots had been emptieds ,,,, they were just eaten down to 1/2" i will take deer over ground hogs anytime
i have good luck with Bobex

emjoying them while I can ,,,,

{{gwi:656445}}

Is those Devil Claws Deer Reistant or does the deer love those? Just asking.

When hungry, deer will pinch their noses and eat anything. Resistant plants emit an order that deer don't like which if other sources are available they will move on. Like you, if the only thing to eat is your most detestable food, you will eat it just for the nourishment.

I basically live in a heavy "deer crossing" zone. And despite their voracious eating habbits, I have to agree completely with michaelzz about some of the more tropical species they seem to completely avoid. They dont' seem to touch bananas or any palms regardless of species. And although I wish they would help me keep the bamboo under control, they COMPLETELY avoid it. Personally, I have found holly, rhododendrons, and camelias to be safe. And for whatever reason, my collection of large tropicals goes through the growing season without any trouble (ferns, citrus, whatever). They have a bigger appetite for yews than I had imagined. I'm going to be replacing the yews with something else. (Boxwood is supposed to be resistant.) Plants that they ate this past winter include Acuba japonica and Fatsia japonica. Happy gardening!:)

This is minimal deer damage on a Trachycarpus palm at Palmyra Cove Nature Park. Deer don't make much headway with the fibrous palm fronds.
{{gwi:656448}}

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The deer tried to eat my yucca this winter! Ouch!

Cameron

I feel your pain. I too have been suffering with the explosion of the deer population.....living in a rural area doesn't help.
For years, I used to tolerate the odd nibble on various plants, but now if I don't fence off my L shaped row of cedar trees in front, and the plants within...I would be left with sticks. The deer fencing (bird netting) just didn't work for me, they cut it with their hooves and entered. I had to upgrade to a heavy netting used by fishermen.
I built a permanent wooden fence in the back of my yard and am in the process of moving deer favorites to the back. Unfortunately I can't move the trees as they are too old, will just replace in a few years.
Ones they aren't supposed to like, but forgot to read the manual and thus eat are...crocus, weigela, kalmia, clematis, blue fescue grass, yucca and iris.
They have left alone; spireas, mugo pine, kolkwitzia, crocosmia, bleeding heart, heuchera, hellebore, snow drops, allium, columbine, ferns and artemsia.
I does seem to be changing all the time though.
Good Luck

Here is a good article from Arbor Day Foundation that uses research from Rutgers University and Master Gardeners to determine the best deer resistant trees and shrubs

http://blog.arborday.org/treecare/deer-resistant-trees-and-shrubs-no-more-deer-repellent/

Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Resitant Trees

In San Antonio they do not eat Oleanders, Angel Trumpet or Russian sage if your looking for something with color. It was good to hear about Bamboo, because I'm thinking of using it as part of a natural fence. Any thoughts?

I like the list at this link, because there are 5 levels, ranging from rarely damaged to severely damaged:
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/

The list is pretty extensive, based on research. New Jersey is not your zone, but consider plants in the same botanical families as those that are not damaged often.

Clumping bamboo, not running bamboo, is a good green deer barrier. I trim back my bamboo by a few feet each spring so that I get lush, green foliage in a pleasant umbrella shape during the summer and then the shoots are there from fall through winter.

I have updated my deer resistant plant list (North Carolina). Still, everyone's experience can vary, depending upon the food supply.

Hope this is helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: my deer resistant plants

Are there any cacti that can withstand winter temperatures in Zone 6? Maybe I could use them around plants I wanted to save from deer. Or I suppose I could plant caster beans in with them.
Dan

There are hardy varieties and Opuntia (and a few other other cacti) that are hardy into zone 6. Not sure of the plants you're trying to protect, but cacti are most happy in you hottest, driest locations. The plants that I co-plant with them are mostly herbs (lavender and rosemary) which the deer hate anyway. Deer should not eat Opuntia but don't know if it will keep them away from other plants that they do like. I personally hate Castor Bean don't know if the deer will likewise avoid other plants because of them. My biggest issues with eating are in the winter anyway and Castor beans are long gone from the garden in February.