My recent column on hellebores sparked emails from two readers. The first was from Chris, from East Goshen Township, who wrote, “Do you have other recommendations for deer-proof perennials that show and grow well in Chester County? I live outside of West Chester where the deer eat practically everything.”
This was a timely question because I had just started a new search on this relative to my own property. While I don’t mind sharing the landscape with wildlife, there is a limit to how much incursion I’m willing to put up with: there’s a difference between an occasional nibble and eating plants down to the roots!
In my exploring, I came across some excellent resources to recommend. One is “Deer Resistant/Tolerant Native Herbaceous Plants for Southeastern Pennsylvania,” compiled by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The list includes plants such as Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, New England aster, Virginia bluebells, beebalm, Jacob’s ladder, black-eyed Susan, celandine poppy, and goldenrod — plants for both sun and shade. (For the complete list, see the link below.)
Along with all of the plants, there’s value in the disclaimer that heads the list:
“Despite the title, there are no completely deer resistant/tolerant plants. A hungry deer will eat what is available. However, it is understood that deer food preferences change with deer population levels, the season, and can vary region to region. That is to say that a plant a deer avoids in September will be readily eaten in March, and what a deer prefers in Chester County will not be the same in other parts of our region.”
That was exactly what my husband and I experienced in our own yard last year. Plants we believed to be deer proof made it through the winter, only to be decimated in March.
The other list I found is “Deer Resistant Flower Garden Plants and Some Choice Woody Plants,” from the Pennsylvania Game Commission (See the link below.) This includes both native and non-native plants, conveniently grouped according to planting conditions or particular use, e.g., Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden, Dry Borders, Shady Entry Garden, Choice Deciduous Shrubs, etc. This makes it easy to find plants to suit a variety of situations.
Here you’ll find lilac, birch and beech, inkberry, lilyturf, balloon flower, geranium, marigold, cinnamon fern, Russian sage, snapdragon, junipers and pines, boxwood, pampas grass, and many more.
One other thing to note, as mentioned in the DCNR list: A plant that can withstand deer in maturity may be vulnerable initially. It is important to protect newly established plantings through the use of repellents and fencing.
The second email I received was from Bill, who offered some excellent observations about his experiences with hellebores. He wrote, “The closeup flower image doesn’t do the current hybrids/seed strains justice. There are so many singles and doubles with bright saturated colors and patterns offered by breeders. Also, you mention the nodding flowers. That is something that many have but there are also a growing number of hybrids with outward facing blooms.”
Bill also noted that, “many [hellebores] are not sterile and they do produce quite a bit of seed. Since they are deer resistant, all those seedlings survive. I deadhead and remove most seedlings since they tend to be of inferior flower color than the parents. I am concerned that as more casual gardeners grow Hellebores and perhaps plant them in their piece of woods or, as we see with daffodils and vinca minor, ‘enhance’ their local parkland by planting their extras in natural areas, they may become a weed problem. Luckily there are many new sterile hybrids.”
Links to plant lists
Native deer-resistant/tolerant plants: https://tinyurl.com/y2j6zap8
Native and non-native perennials, shrubs, trees, and grasses: https://tinyurl.com/3k9je6mb
Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pamelacbaxter@gmail.com, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442.
