Tag Archives: Deer Resistant Perennials

Horticulture Report: Rock Cress

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Plant Name:  Aubrieta deltoidei
Common name: Rock Cress
Plant Type:  Evergreen Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  .5’ – .75’
Plant Width:  1’ – 2’
Bloom Time:  Late Spring – Early Summer
Flower Color:  Purple-Red
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained;
Water Need:  Low
Fire Resistant: YES; 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds;
Uses:  Rock Gardens; Front of Border; Containers.
Note: Cut Back After Flowering, Not in Fall; Short Lived; Divide Every 1 – 3 Years;
Native to: Eastern Europe
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 -8

Purple Rock Cress

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Eli+, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Creeping Thyme

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Plant Name:  Thymus praecox
Common name:  Creeping Thyme
Plant Type:  Groundcover
Plant Height:  1” – 4”
Plant Width:  6” – 18”
Bloom Time: May – August
Flower Color: Pink White, Purple
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Average, Dry – Medium, Well-Drained; Tolerates Rocky or Poor Soil.
Water Need:  Drought Tolerant Once Established
Fire Resistant: YES.  Plant 30’+ from house.
Attributes:  Leaves in Shades of Light to Dark Green Yellow, or Variegated; Deer Resistant; Attracts Bees/Butterflies.
Uses: Rock Walls; Between Pavers; Rock Garden; Path Edging.
Note:  Cut Back Stems to Maintain Plant Appearance; Susceptible to Root Rot in Poor Draining Soils.
Native to: SW & Central Europe; Greenland; Turkey
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Veronica Ground Covers

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Plant Name:  Veronica species
Common name:  Speedwell
Plant Type:  Perennial Groundcover
Plant Height:  4” – 8”
Plant Width:  18” – 24”
Bloom Time: May/June
Flower Color: Blue, Pink, White
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Moist, Well-Drained
Water Needs:  Drought Resistant; For Best Bloom Water Moderately About 1” a Week.
Fire Resistant: YES; Plant 30’+ from House.
Attributes:  Attracts Butterflies/Hummingbirds; Deer Resistant. NOTE: Veronica tends to be deer-resistant, though extreme conditions deer with graze on plants they otherwise wouldn’t eat.
Uses: Rock Gardens; Flower Bouquets; Perennial Border.
Note:  Showy in Full Bloom; Cut Back for Overwintering; Deadhead to Extend Bloom.
Native to: Northern Europe; Asia
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8

Veronica species

  • Blue Woolly Speedwell (Veronica pectinata)
  • Turkish Veronica (Veronica liwanensis)
  • Thyme Leaf Speedwell  (Veronica oltensis)
  • Snowmass® Blue-Eyed Speedwell (Veronica Snowmass P018S)
  • Veronica filiformis (Creeping Speedwell)
  • Veronica peduncularis  or umbrosa ‘ George Blue’
  • Veronica Repens
  • Veronica peduncularis
  • Veronica liwanensis
  • Veronica oltensis
  • Veronica Repens

Today in the Garden

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Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed.  This is blooming right now.  It is a sun-loving native annual that self-sows widely.  Drought and deer tolerant.  Blooms morning and evening, but closes up during the middle of the day.  See the bumble bee getting pollen off the flowers.  The plant is about 3′ high and 1 1/2′ high.  

Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed

Epilobium canum, or California Fuchsia.  It used to be called Zauschneria californica.  It is a later blooming perennial.  It is drought and deer resistant.  This one is right near an alley and a driveway, and is fine with hot, dry soil.  Hummingbirds love it.  I plant it with dark blue Bachelors’ Buttons, annuals which seed around.

Epilobium canum: California Fuchsia

Gaillardia , or Blanket Flower.  It is a long-blooming perennial with interesting round seed heads.  If  some of the seed heads are left on, it will self-sow.  This particular plant is probably a hybrid, called Gaillardia x grandlora ‘Goblin’, which is a more compact cultivar.  The native is Gaillardia aristata.  It is drought tolerant and deer resistant.

Gaillardia: Blanket Flower

Praying Mantis on Verbena, previously seen eating a bee from the head down.  After crawling up on this bloom, she crawled down on the stem and basically disappeared, lurking until another insect came along.

Praying Mantis on Verbena

Photos and article by Sherri Morgan, AGC Vice President

Firewise Plant: Dianthus, Garden Carnation

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Plant Name:  Dianthus species
Common name: Garden Carnation or Pinks
Plant Type:  Annual; Evergreen Perennial; Subshrub; Over 300 Species
Plant Height:  2” – 12”
Plant Width:  6” – 16”
Bloom Time:  May – August
Flower Color: Pink, White, Red, or Yellow
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained Soil
Water Need:  Low
Fire Resistant: YES; Zone 1 – 20’+ from House.
Attributes: Grayish-Green Foliage; Deer Resistant; Attracts Butterflies; Good Cut Flower; Sweet Clove Fragrance.
Uses:  Rock Gardens; Cottage Gardens.
Note: Regularly Deadhead for Repeat Bloom; Do Not Mulch in Winter with Compost.
Native to: Asia & Europe
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9

Viki Ashford, AGC Member / Master Gardener

Oregon Native: Siskiyou Iris

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Plant Name:  Iris bracteata
Common name:  Siskiyou Iris
Plant Type:  Perennial
Plant Height:  1’ 
Bloom Time: Spring &  Summer
Flower Color: Golden Yellow to Creamy White
Exposure:  Sun to Shade
Soil Requirements:  Prefers Sandy or Loamy Soil
Water Need:  Low to Medium
Attributes: Deer Resistant
Uses: Wildflower Gardens, Perennial Beds, Native Gardens, Woodland Gardens 
Note:  In the wild it grows in sunny to shady areas in dry pine forests or in sunny in meadow openings.
Native to:  California & Oregon
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/ Master Gardener

Photo by John McRae, U.S. Forest Service https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/iris/Pacific_Coast/iris_bracteata.shtml