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Deer Protection, Buck Rub & Resistant Plants
Deer Resistant Plants, Buck Rub & Protection
Deer resistant plants is a very common topic in Wisconsin, especially in fall. It's often an initial question on new landscape projects of all sizes. Deer resistant, repellent, deterrent, and deer proof can all be used synonymously with the topic. Ultimately, fencing is the BEST way to protect your plant(s).
To give you an idea of scale, all our farms in various locations (700+ acres of farmland) are ALL surrounded by 8' high deer fencing. But once the plants are out of our care and into your landscape, how can you protect them?
As the Wisconsin DNR recognizes Wisconsin as one of the premier white-tailed deer hunting states, it’s no secret that deer are prevalent here and around the Midwest. The DNR offers some great resources on deer management and population statistics, down the county level.
How does this relate to your new plants?
Deer/Buck Rub Kills Trees
Buck rub is easy to spot in high-deer populations, like much of Wisconsin. You'll notice long scratches, peeling, or damaged bark around the mid-section of the trunk or higher on single stem trees and fruit trees. Bark damage closer to the ground is more likely rodents.
Buck rub often appears in the late summer or early fall. Male deer rub the velvet off their newly acquired antler growth. Also, the area between the forehead and antlers contains sweat glands. Rubbing their antlers on trees will leave a scent that communicates a challenge to other male deer and attracts potential mates.
Plants Are Deer Food
White-tailed deer (most common in Wisconsin) are herbivores. Their diet includes readily available plants, including new plant growth, twigs, fruits, and nuts. This means that all plants are susceptible, including new growth on young branches of single stem trees, shrubs, and fruit trees, most soft-foliage evergreens, and perennials.
Their tastes may change with the seasons and as plants change/grow each year. Sometimes the new spring growth on a plant is irresistible, and when that growth hardens off later in the season, the deer move onto other plants. In late summer and fall, deer consider plants that will help them put on fat before the winter season.
How To Deer Proof Your Plants
There are many products on the market that claim to discourage and repel deer from eating desirable plants. Many of them work well when used according to label directions and for small-scale applications. It’s probably not feasible, however, to treat an entire landscape with spray or granular applications.
The best way to protect your new trees is appropriate fencing. While this may seem more costly up front, you can use them every year instead of continually buying sprays or granular products.
Single & Multi-Stem Trees, Fruit Trees
- Vinyl Tree Guards, Mesh Tree Protectors
Evergreens, Shrubs, Perennials:
- Sprays, Granular, DIY Chicken wire or heavier-duty enclosures
Deer Protection Options
- Vinyl Tree Guards (available at Johnson's Nursery for $1.99 ea.)
- Mesh Tree Protectors (twin packs available for $4.99 for 2-pack)
- Chicken wire
- Sprays for small scale applications (available at Johnson's Nursery)
- Granular
- Something more heavy-duty (like high-velocity lead)
Plant Deer Browse Resistant Plants
No list of deer resistant plants is 100% bulletproof because a hungry animal will eat any plant if it's desperate. The plants below are suggestions based on observation. Our recommendations come from growing plants on 700 acres of farmland in Wisconsin and working with a diverse client mix from homeowners to municipalities to contractors since the 1950's.
"sp." means the entire genus, including all cultivars, are to be considered resistant.
Trees
Buck rub and deer browse differences for single and multi-stem trees. Musclewood, for example: Deer may not want to eat the plant, but the bark is very thin, and can be easily damaged by buck rub. Same with Beech and Magnolia. Deer may use anything as an antler scratching post.
- River Birch, Betula nigra
- Paper Birch, Betula papyrifera
- Musclewood, Carpinus caroliniana
- Northern Catalpa, Catalpa speciosa
- Katsura Tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum
- Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis
- White Fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus
- Beech, Fagus sp.
- Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba
- Honeylocust, Gleditsia triacanthos
- Kentucky Coffeetree, Gymnocladus dioica
- Tuliptree, Liriodendron tulipifera
Shrubs
- Bottlebrush Buckeye, Aesculus parviflora
- Barberry, Berberis thunbergii
- Butterfly Bush, Buddleia sp.
- Summersweet Clethra, Clethra alnifolia
- Common Sweetshrub, Calycanthus floridus
- American Filbert, Corylus americana
- Smokebush, Cotinus sp.
- Carol Mackie Daphne, Daph. x burkwoodii
- Dwarf Bushhoneysuckle, Diervilla lonicera
**Deer love Dwarf Bushhoneysuckle. However, it's a very resilient plant that will bounce back from deer browse.
- Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica
- Rugosa Rose, Rosa rugosa
- Red Elderberry, Sambucus racemosa
- Spirea, Spiraea sp.
- Common Snowberry, Sympho. albus
- Common Lilac, Syringa vulgaris
- Arrowwood Viburnum, Viburnum dentatum
Deer Proof Perennials
- Yarrow, Achillea sp.
- Monkshood, Aconitum sp.
- Black Snakeroot, Actaea racemosa
- Anise-Hyssop, Agastache scrophulariifolia
- Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla mollis
- Ornamental Onion, Allium sp.
- Willow Amsonia, Amsonia tabern.
- Anemone, Anemone sp.
- Wild Columbine, Aquilegia sp.
- Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum
- Milkweed, Asclepias sp.
- Astilbe, Astilbe sp.
- False Blue Indigo, Baptisia sp.
- Pig squeak, Bergenia cordifolia
- Siberian Bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla
- Sedge, Carex sp.
- Coreopsis, Coreopsis sp.
- Pinks, Dianthus sp.
- Bleeding Heart, Dicentra sp.
- Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea
- Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Eutrochium maculatum
- Geranium, Geranium sp.
- Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum
- Lenten Rose/Hellebore, Helleborus sp.
- Coralbells, Heuchera sp.
- Lamium, Lamium maculatum sp.
- Blazing Star, Liatris sp.
- Ligularia, Ligularia sp.
- Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis
- Lupine, Lupinus sp.
- Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica
- Beebalm, Monarda sp.
- Catmint, Nepeta sp.
Ornamental Grasses
- Big Bluestem, Andropogon gerardii
- Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass, Calamagrostis acutifolia 'Karl Foerster'
- Pennsylvania Sedge, Carex pensylvanica
- Eastern Star Sedge, Carex radiata
- Northern Sea Oats, Chasman. latifo.
- Bottlebrush Grass, Elymus hystrix
- Maiden Grass, Miscanthus sp.
- Purple Moor Grass, Molinia sp.
- Northwind Switch Grass, Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
- Shenendoah Switch Grass, Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'
- Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'
- Marsh Bluegrass (Poa palustris)
- Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium
- Moor Grass, Sesleria sp.
- Indian Grass, Sorghastrum nutans
- Prairie Dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis
Conifers
**Deer love Tamarack. However, it's a very resilient plant that will bounce back from buck rub and deer browse on new growth.
