��Water-wise AND deer-resistant plants make sense for High Desert gardens

First, some context

• My garden objectives aren’t typical.
• My goal is to be a good steward of the water, the land, and the wildlife. My property is a certified Wildlife Habitat.
• My goal is NOT to have a beautiful garden. But I do find it beautiful in a naturalistic kind of way.
• Some of the things I do, or don’t do, would be inappropriate if I lived in town. (I live on 5 acres north of Redmond.)
• I have 2.5 acres in hay and large veg garden that both use a lot of water, so I strive to use as little as possible in the landscape.

My front yard.

Why waterwise?�Drought conditions continue

• Deschutes County is still in moderate drought, according to US Drought Monitor.
• Yes, we had a decent snow year, and snow pack level is up – but only to 59% of normal as of 5/21/24.*
• The need to conserve water is still urgent.
• Many wells in the Redmond and Terrebonne areas have gone dry in the past 2 years.
• North Unit farmers are leaving many fields fallow because they don’t have enough water to farm them.

*Source of data: Cascade Summit Snow Report, https://snoflo.org/report/snow/oregon/cascade-summit/

My water conservation plan includes:

• Efficient pasture irrigation (irrigation ditch piped, automated pop-up sprinkler heads fed from pump in pond, annual maintenance).
• Drip irrigation on timers in landscape & veg garden.
• No lawn.
• Almost 50% of property area unirrigated.

Why deer-resistant?�Deer like the High Desert as much as we do.

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You could install a 7-8 ft fence to keep them out, preferably one that doesn’t look like a prison security feature. But that’s expensive and many HOAs will not allow it.

Or, you could choose plants that do double duty

Deer-resistant

Water-wise

Water-wise

AND

Deer-resistant

Let’s talk about deer

What I have learned living with deer 24/7 for 15 years:

• Deer resistance a matter of degree.
• Observe where deer tend to congregate and use only the most resistant plants there.
• If you have space, create sacrifice area(s) where deer can eat freely.
• Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough.
• Some plants labeled deer-resistant aren’t sufficiently resistant to survive at my house, so they don’t make my “All-Stars” list, but might be fine if your property is less trafficked.

Fawns born in my pasture last June.

Fellow residents of my land

Sacrifice areas help protect desirable plants

• I observed where deer hang out the most – my pond, my septic drainfield, my horse arena (which has no plants, obviously).
• I removed from pond area plants that didn’t stand up to heavy deer traffic: manzanita, globe mallow, penstemon, mock orange, Oregon sunshine, many, many others. Only the bombproof remain: Russian sage, catmint, iris, lavender.
• I planted drainfield in microclover and designated it a sacrifice area.

In vegetable garden, a good fence is essential

• Even though the garden is within 8 feet of the septic drainfield where deer hang out, deer do not try to jump in. They could jump the 5ft fence. But why bother, when there is microclover to eat right where they are?

Smart plant selection suffices elsewhere

• Happily, many deer-resistant plants are also water-wise. I’ll show you some favorites and how I select them.
• Some, like lavender, are also very low-maintenance and extremely long-blooming. You’ll see them on my All-Stars list.
• I don’t use repellants, motion-triggered sprinklers, cayenne, Irish Spring soap, etc.
• Smart plant selection works better and is sustainable.

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How I select: Cross-reference 4 great resources

PlantSelect.org:

Searchable database for various plant qualities, including drought- and deer-resistance

Landscape Plants Rated

by Deer Resistance

njaes.rutgers.edu/deer-resistant-plants

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/techniques/deer-resistant-plants-central-oregon

Two are not local, but valuable

Plant Select

Landscape Plants rated by Deer Resistance

Rutgers is in New Jersey; plants that aren’t common there will not be in their database.

Plant Select is in Colorado, high desert climate like ours. The focus of Plant Select is water conservation.

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Start with ‘Water-wise’ + ‘Deer-resistant’ for our area; �research candidates on Plant Select; if it also rates A or B in Rutgers key, it’s a winner!

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Winner!

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Trees are your biggest investments, �or most costly mistakes, so choose carefully …�and protect them

• Select for drought-tolerance and deer-resistance.
• Also be mindful of pest-resistance and fire-wise principles.
• Remember that new trees need more water than established ones, no matter how drought-tolerant they are. In summer heat, they may need water daily.
• New trees also need to be caged to protect from deer, even if they are rated A or B for deer-resistance. I cage all for first 3 years.

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This happened to uncaged deer-resistant Austrian Pine.

Let’s say you are looking for ornamental trees

• First, go to that section in Water-wise book and look for the deer-resistant symbol. There are 5.
• Beech, European
• Goldenrain Tree
• Hawthorn
• Japanese Lilac Tree
• Serviceberry

Then go to Rutgers key and check rating

• Look at our example, Hawthorn

B = Seldom Severely Damaged, in Rutgers key

L= Low water use, but needs some supplemental irrigation, in Water-wise book.

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The perfect tree would be VL (very low) in Water-wise and A (rarely damaged) in Rutgers.

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No ornamentals are VL + A.

No ornamentals are L + A.

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Hawthorn = L + B

Serviceberry = L + B

Goldenrain Tree = L + B

European Beech = M + B

Japanese Lilac = M + B

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So I would choose among Hawthorn, Serviceberry, or Goldenrain Tree.

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Then go to Plant Select to research care and requirements – here’s Hawthorn

My requirements are:

• Low water use
• Deer-resistant
• Zone 5 or lower
• Not toxic to horses

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Plus factors:

• Resists disease & pests
• Good for wildlife
• Attractive
• Fall color

https://plantselect.org/plant/crataegus-ambigua/

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BINGO!

Keep in mind that no plant is deer-proof

• The Rutgers database ranks plants according to their degree of deer-resistance. I shop for plants that are rated A or B.
• I keep new trees caged for the first 3 years, no matter how deer-resistant they are.
• Deer will browse anything that is new to them, so even the most deer-resistant plants are at risk at first.

• Fawns do not know yet what plants they don’t like, so they sample everything.
• Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough.
• “Deer-resistant” = “less appealing to deer than other plants.”
• Deer also damage trees by rubbing their antlers on trunks in the fall. Protect with cages, hardware cloth or other barrier.

My ALL-STARS are those that have performed best at my mostly dry, windy, mostly unfenced site

• All are water-wise. Some are no-water.
• All are VERY deer-resistant at my house. (Your results could vary.)
• Most are perennial.
• I test any water-wise & deer-resistant perennials in pots on my patio for the first season. If they survive, I plant out in landscape in the fall. This saves me the labor of digging them up if they prove to be not deer-resistant enough (which most do!).
• There are many I haven’t tried yet so they’re not on my list.

All-star perennials: Water-wise, deer-resistant, colorful and … BEAUTIFUL

• Hummingbird Mint and Sunset Hyssop Agastache.
• Texas Red Yucca – stunning! Blooms from July until frost.
• Yucca – tall stalk of white blooms. Color Guard and Bright Edge are variegated.
• Lavender – fragrant, attracts pollinators, likes poor & dry soil.
• Blanket Flower – looks nice with purple sage & Shasta daisy.
• Coreopsis (AKA Tickseed)

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• Catmint – attracts pollinators. If you cut back after first bloom, it will bloom again in Sept/Oct.
• Oriental Poppy – red, orange, salmon-colored. Gorgeous!
• Yarrow – I especially like the red varieties but also have yellow and white.
• Purple sage
• Shasta daisy
• Blue flax (short-lived perennial)

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Agastache: hummingbird mint, sunset hyssop

The two varieties look very similar. Commonly available at nurseries and some big-box stores.

Texas Red Yucca

Not widely available but worth the trouble to seek it out. Flowers are red and foliage is bronze. Here it’s growing with catmint, California poppy and Oregon sunshine.

Yucca: Adam’s Needle (solid green), Color Guard or Bright Edge (variegated). All have white flower stalk.

Lavender

Unprotected but never eaten by deer at my house. This bed runs for 300 feet along my driveway. It was inspired by a trip to Provence.

Some varieties are more cold-hardy than others. I have Grosso, Hidcote, Munstead.

Blanket flower

I grow it with Shasta Daisy and Purple Sage in a small bed at the base of my fire-district house numbers. It gets no irrigation except a bit of overspray from the sprinklers irrigating my hayfield.

Coreopsis

Catmint

Oriental Poppy�

I especially like the pinkish, salmon-colored variety I have, looks great paired with the orange.

Yarrow

• The pink/red varieties such as Paprika are my favorite, but I also have yellow and white.
• Be careful where you plant the native white variety, it will spread and can form a mat.
• If you don’t want that, look for cultivars that don’t reseed. They include ‘Coronation Gold’, ‘Moonshine’, and ‘Red Velvet.’

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Purple Sage (Salvia)

Shasta Daisy

Blue flax

• When I first moved to Central Oregon, I pulled a lot of it because I thought it was juniper seedlings, as it was growing near the junipers.
• It reseeds readily on my property, but when I have TRIED to start it from seed like a vegetable in my seed-starting setup, I’ve failed. Now I just throw some seed on the ground as I walk the property.

All-star trees

• Ponderosa Pine (although native, in Redmond it needs supplemental water; can be susceptible to pitch moth but usually not fatally)
• Bosnian Pine
• Colorado Blue Spruce
• Juniper (unjustly maligned, IMO)
• Canada Red Schubert Chokecherry: Leaves on low branches sometimes nibbled but that doesn’t hurt the tree. I keep it for the color contrast.

To me, nothing says Central Oregon like Ponderosa pine.

All-star shrubs

• Potentilla (aka Cinquefoil): My favorite is white-flowered Abbottswood rather than the more common yellow ones.
• Rabbitbrush, Gray or Green: Both are natives, I don’t water.
• Russian Sage: attracts hummingbirds and pollinators.

• Elderberry: I like the Black Lace variety.
• Globe Blue Spruce – foliage is a nice contrast to other plants.
• Ninebark: I especially like Diablo, but had to remove 3 that were planted where sloughing snow battered them.

All-star annuals

• Portulaca (moss rose) – varied colors, trailing habit that looks great in pots or baskets.
• Snapdragon - many colors, sometimes overwinters on my patio.
• Nicotiana (flowering tobacco) – love it!
• Sunflower – For pots I use the dwarf ones.
• Campfire coleus – beautiful deep bronze-red foliage, it tolerates full sun.
• California poppy – self-sowing, so be careful where you plant it.

Campfire Coleus with nasturtium, Maltese Cross, snapdragons, portulaca.

All-star ornamental grasses

• Great Basin Wild Rye – native and very large.
• Shenandoah Switch Grass – beautiful red tones.
• Japanese Blood Grass – very similar to Shenandoah.
• Blue Oat Grass – a great color contrast to other grasses.
• Karl Foerster – beautiful and provides winter interest.

All-star groundcovers or low-growing plants

• Hardy cacti
• Snow in Summer
• Ice plant: In addition to the standard yellow and purple, there are more unusual ones.
• Mount Atlas daisy
• Creeping phlox
• Artemisia
• Red thyme

Hardy cacti in display garden at Smith Rock Cactus Company in Terrebonne.

All-star bulbs

• Daffodil
• Iris
• Grape hyacinth

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Sadly, not tulips (AKA deer candy), my favorite.

Water-wise & deer-resistant trees that AREN’T my all-stars…..and why

• Serviceberry: Did not thrive on my property. I probably didn’t give it enough water.
• Scotch Pine & Austrian Pine: Beautiful trees I love, but both are attacked by Sequoia Pitch Moth.
• Oak, black walnut, cherry, some maples and more are toxic to horses (I don’t want to risk any of these leaves getting to my horse.)

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• Aspen, including Swedish

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Water-wise & deer-resistant shrubs that aren’t my all-stars and why

• Barberry: No flowers to speak of.
• Compact American Cranberry: Destroyed by the deer at my house. But beautiful fall color while they lasted. When I uncaged after 3 years, they were eaten, so I removed.
• Mockorange: Same.
• Oregon grape holly: Became invasive in my drip-irrigated area, roots clogged ¼-in line.

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Water-wise & deer-resistant perennials that aren’t my all-stars and why

• Penstemon (Firecracker, Rocky Mountain, others): only OK in areas that aren’t deer hangouts.
• Orange globe mallow: Same.
• Coneflower: Same.
• Rudbeckia: Same.
• Stella D’Oro daylily: Same.
• Oregon sunshine: Same.

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• False Indigo: Eaten.
• Bee Balm: Same.
• Crocosmia: Blossoms eaten but not stems.
• Red Hot Poker: Same.
• Maltese Cross: Same.
• Columbine: Same.
• Pasque Flower: Same.

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Water-wise & deer-resistant annuals that aren’t all-stars and why

• Lily of the Nile: I love its form and easy care, but eaten by deer. Technically a perennial but annual here.
• Cosmos: Also eaten.
• Geranium: So commonplace.
• Impatiens: Don’t have enough shade on my patio.
• Wax begonia: Same.

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