Answers to Your Questions: Cold-Climate Plants That Are Deer-Resistant

Hello, I live in La Macaza, Quebec. I would like to have a list of flowers and shrubs that are suitable for this region and that deer don’t like!

Julie Bombardier 

Answer

You are right to choose deer-resistant plants in your area. When planning a garden, the first thing to consider is the right plant in the right place: one that is suited to your sunlight, soil, and moisture conditions. However, we often forget other equally important environmental factors, such as resistance to salt, wind, and the presence of pests and insects. It’s better to make an informed choice from the outset than to have to barricade our flower beds to protect them from deer or use repellents that require frequent application, especially after rain.

That said, I can’t guarantee that deer will never taste these plants. Their food preferences vary from region to region and, much like humans, young deer learn what to eat by observing their mothers. And when they are hungry, especially in winter or in cases of overpopulation, they will eat almost anything. Nevertheless, the following selection remains an excellent starting point.

Deer generally avoid plants that give off a strong or unpleasant odor, such as fragrant herbs, as well as plants that taste bitter, spicy, or toxic. They also dislike tough, downy, prickly, or sticky foliage, as well as plants with milky sap or high resin content, which are more difficult to digest.

La Macaza was officially located in zone 3 until recently, but will now be in zone 4a according to the 2025 revision of Canada’s hardiness zone map. However, in a region with varied terrain such as yours, differences in altitude, wind, or shade can create colder microclimates. It is therefore prudent to choose hardy plants in zone 3 to ensure their survival in winter. Some sources place La Macaza in zone 3b.

Plants Rarely Damaged by Deer

Ageratum — Ageratum spp. — annual
Angel’s trumpet (Datura) — Brugmansia sp. — annual
Annual larkspur — Consolida ambigua — annual
Aubrieta — Aubrieta deltoidea — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)

Bearberry — Arctostaphylos uva-ursi — groundcover — zone 2 (USDA zone 2)
Blue false indigo — Baptisia australis — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Blue fescue — Festuca glauca — grass — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Blue hair grass — Koeleria glauca — grass — zone 4-9 (USDA zone 4-9)
Blue oat grass — Helictotrichon sempervirens — grass — zone 3-9 (USDA zone 3-9)
Blue thistle — Echinops ritro — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)

Burnet — Sanguisorba sp. — perennial — zone 2-4 (USDA zone 2-4)
Buttercup — Ranunculus sp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Calendula — Calendula sp. — annual
Canadian wild ginger — Asarum canadense — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Cleome — Cleome sp. — annual
Colchicum — Colchicum sp. — bulb — zone 3-5 (USDA zone 3-5)
Columbine — Aquilegia sp. — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)

Corydalis — Corydalis sp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Creeping phlox — Phlox subulata — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Crown imperial — Fritillaria imperialis — bulb — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Daffodil — Narcissus sp. — bulb — zone 3-8 (USDA zone 3-8)
Decorative dandelion — Taraxacum sp. — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Dusty miller — Centaurea cineraria — annual
European wild ginger — Asarum europaeum — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Evening primrose — Oenothera sp. — perennial — zone 3-8 (USDA zone 3-8)
Flowering tobacco — Nicotiana sp. — annual
Fragrant sumac — Rhus aromatica — shrub — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Fringed bleeding heart — Dicentra eximia — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Garden bleeding heart — Lamprocapnos spectabilis — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Goldenrod — Solidago sp. — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Green alder — Alnus viridis subsp. crispa — shrub — zone 2 (USDA zone 2)
Hardy geranium — Geranium sp. — perennial — zone 3-5 (USDA zone 3-5)
Heliotrope — Heliotropium arborescens — annual
Hellebore — Helleborus sp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Hyssop — Hyssopus officinalis — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Iris — Iris sp. — perennial/bulb — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Juniper — Juniperus spp. — conifer — zone 1-7 (USDA zone 1-7)
Leopard plant — Ligularia dentata — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Madagascar periwinkle — Catharanthus roseus — annual
Marginal wood fern — Dryopteris marginalis — fern — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Meadow-rue — Thalictrum sp. — perennial — zone 3-5 (USDA zone 3-5)
Mullein — Verbascum sp. — perennial — zone 3-9 (USDA zone 3-9)
Mullein — Verbascum sp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Northern bayberry — Myrica pensylvanica — shrub — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Ornamental garlic — Allium sp. — bulb/perennial — zone 2-7 (USDA zone 2-7)
Ostrich fern — Onoclea pensylvatica syn. Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica — fern — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Peony — Paeonia sp. — perennial — zone 3-4 (USDA zone 3-4)

Poppy — Papaver sp. — annual
Purple moor grass — Molinia caerulea — grass — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Rock cress — Arabis spp. — perennial — zone 3-5 (USDA zone 3-5)
Rodgersia — Rodgersia sp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Rose campion — Lychnis coronaria — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)

Royal fern — Osmunda spp. — fern — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Sage — Salvia spp. — perennial — zone 3-10 (USDA zone 3-10)
Sensitive fern — Onoclea sensibilis — fern — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Shrubby cinquefoil — Potentilla fruticosa — shrub — zone 2 (USDA zone 2)
Siberian squill — Scilla siberica — bulb — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Snapdragon — Antirrhinum majus — annual
Snow-on-the-mountain — Euphorbia marginata — annual
Snowdrop — Galanthus nivalis — bulb — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)

Statice — Limonium spp. — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Strawflower — Helichrysum sp. — annual
Sweet alyssum — Lobularia maritima — annual
Sweet woodruff — Galium odoratum — groundcover — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)

Switchgrass — Panicum virgatum — grass — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Threadleaf coreopsis — Coreopsis verticillata — perennial — zone 3-7 (USDA zone 3-7)
Thyme — Thymus sp. — perennial — zone 3 (USDA zone 3)
Wood forget-me-not — Myosotis sylvatica — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
Wormwood — Artemisia sp. — perennial — zone 2-7 (USDA zone 2-7)
Yucca — Yucca filamentosa — perennial — zone 4 (USDA zone 4)

More information about deer in the garden