Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - June 09, 2012
From: Oxford, MI
Region: Southeast
Topic: Deer Resistant, Groundcovers
Title: Deer proof ground cover for sunny area in Mississippi
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I am looking for a low ground cover that will thrive in a sunny location and is deer proofANSWER:
In the first place, there are no "deer proof" plants. There are plants that are deer resistant—usually. However, when times get tough for deer, they will sometimes eat those plants that they formerly avoided. In general, aromatic plants like those in the Family Lamiaceae (Mint Family) are avoided by deer, but there are others. Here are a few that are native to Mississippi, evergreen or semi-evergreen, love the sun and are low ground covers that deer avoid:
Phlox subulata (Moss phlox), according to Harding's Gardens (Ithaca, NY) and Missouri Botanical Gardens, it is deer resistant.
Carex texensis (Texas sedge) does well in sun and part shade.
Phyla nodiflora (Texas frogfruit) is semi-evergreen, but grows in sun and part shade.
Salvia lyrata (Lyreleaf sage) is evergreen with blue flowers.
You can see more deer resistant plants in our list Deer Resistant Species list. You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to select "Mississippi" from Select State or Province to see those plants on the list that are native to Mississippi.
From the Image Gallery
More Deer Resistant Questions
Deer-resistant native ground cover for part sun in Lago Vista TX
May 01, 2010 - Looking for a ground cover in an area that gets partial sun, is level and good drainage. Area is 10' x 20'. Thought about Trachelospermun Asiaticum (Asiatic Jasmine) but what ever I go with it has t...
view the full question and answer
Food for deer and turkey in Oklahoma
September 10, 2009 - We recently moved to NE Oklahoma from Texas and have 7 acres, a lot of wild turkeys and wild deer. About 2-3 acres are open, with sun and partial to lots of shade as the rest is heavily wooded.
What ...
view the full question and answer
Deer resistant, deciduous plants for New Braunfels, TX
March 28, 2010 - I have three acres of filtered sunlight/mostly shade. What deer resistant, flowering, deciduous plants are best for the New Braunfels area. I have had split leaf phyladendruns for twenty years, but th...
view the full question and answer
Deer resistant plants for a bioswale in NJ
May 06, 2011 - We live in Morris County, New Jersey, on the edge of a nature preserve, i.e., deer are a bane to everything we plant. We recently had to have a swale dug on the west end of our house to deal alleviat...
view the full question and answer
Deer resistance of maple leaf viburnum in Austin
November 20, 2009 - Looking on the Texas Plant Information Database for Maple Leaf Viburnum, I don’t find any information about deer (whitetail or axis, southern edge of Edwards Plateau) resistance. Other sites give mixe...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |