Last Updated on December 29, 2021 by Marco C.
Do deers eat succulents? Deers have been known to wander into gardens and eat various types of plants. However, we’ve also known that succulents are naturally harmful to humans and animals, so now you’re wondering whether they eat these types of plants.
Well, deers do not target succulents if there are more palatable plants available in your garden. If you happen to live in areas where deers usually wonder, you don’t have to worry about deers targeting your succulent.
Are succulent’s deer resistant? The short answer is yes. In truth, deers do not usually eat succulents because they are not tasty to them.
When Do Deers Eat Succulents?
Deers don’t usually eat succulents unless their usual food sources are scarce. They will try eating anything at least once but a hungry will try to take a bite off your prized succulent compared to a deer who’s had various food sources in the forest.
But some succulents are resistant to deers. If you want to have succulents outdoors but you live in areas with a high deer population, you can invest in the following succulents.
- Prickly pear cactus
- Yucca
- Agave
- Sotol
- Aloe vera
- Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia)
- Panda Plant
- Pincushion Cactus (mammillaria crinita)
- Roseum (sedum spurium)
- Call cactus
Do Deer Eat Hens and Chicks?
The quick answer is no. Hens and chicks are deer-resistant succulents. Hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) are deer-safe plants that structure alluring rosettes. Its succulent leaves mass together into short, minimal hills. Thanks to the spiky blossoms of the Hens and Chicks that deers try to avoid them as much as possible.
The minuscule “chick” plants develop from the primary “hen” plant. Assuming you need to proliferate the plant, you can withdraw the chicks and develop them somewhere else. In any case, just let them be.
They will shape a thick mat that fills in as a ground cover. Those who live in the USDA hardiness zones 3 to 8 have great locations for Hens and Chicks to thrive.
Hens and chicks can be planted in USDA solidness zones 3 to 8.
Do deer eat sedum? Sedum is another deer-resistant succulent. You can enjoy its bloom for a couple of weeks and deers won’t dare touch them. Thanks to their spikey and pointed leaves.
Do Deers Eat Succulents: Yes Or No
Do deers eat succulents? As mentioned above, deers don’t usually succulents unless they are starving or when there is no food available for them from their natural habitat. Nevertheless, we have outlined some ways for you to prevent deers from eating your precious succulents as well as other plants in your garden.
The most widely recognized factor why deer enter gardens are because you have plants that they love to eat. Albeit these creatures are unquenchable eaters, they can incline toward explicit trees, bushes, and blossoming plants. Mushrooms can likewise draw in a group of deer.
Deers also love blackberry, juniper, hawthorn, asters, clover, verbena, geraniums, and natural product trees. Luckily, deer will disregard succulents in case there are other delectable plants accessible on your property.
Deer additionally enter yards looking for water. Aside from lakes and channels, these creatures can utilize youngster pools and water basins as watering openings. Normally, deer lean toward water sources that are, to some degree, hidden. Or those water sources that are far from humans.
Deers can easily get scared at the slightest movement of people but some are friendly, and will even peek at your doorway.
How To Prevent Deers From Eating My Succulents
The best thing to do to prevent deers from feeding on your succulent is to add companions to your succulents. Companion planting operates on the idea of planting some other plants that deers can focus on other than your succulents. In any case, it will also help pest infestation in your garden.
Establishing different plants alongside your succulents is a powerful method for getting deer far from your valuable succulent varieties.
Before choosing companion plants for your succulents, it is a smart thought to review regions close to your property to find ones that fill normally in your space.
Here is a short rundown of the plants that you can develop one next to the other with your succulents.
1. Lavender
Lavender is a great option to add to any garden. It adds excellence and a surprising aroma. In the same way as other succulents, lavender is generally simple to focus on and can make do with negligible watering.
The plant’s oils can avert deer. Only one gnaw off the plant and ruminants will search somewhere else for food, leaving your succulents safe.
2. Rosemary
Rosemary is a spice utilized in numerous chicken dishes. Establishing this spice close to your succulents provides you with the advantage of having a reserve of new fixings close by. Furthermore, rosemary is a great impediment against deer. Only one whiff of this plant is sufficient to drive off these creatures.
3. Hyssop
Hyssop is an individual from the mint family, cultivated principally for its therapeutic properties.
Simultaneously, hyssop can draw invaluable creatures like honey bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Besides, the plant can be utilized to avoid deer and little warm-blooded creatures like bunnies that loathe the plant.
4. Maximilian sunflower
The Maximilian sunflower grows up to 10 feet tall, giving adequate shade to your succulents that don’t care for full sun.
This sunflower draws in pollinators like honey bees and butterflies with its yellow blossoms which ordinarily bloom around fall.
Other plant companions that you should add to your nursery are the Oenothera, foxglove, salvia, and agapanthus.
So, do deers eat succulents? This time, when you have plant companions it is unlikely that deers will eat your succulents. Got any friends who are suffering from deers attacking their succulents? Feel free to share this information in any of your social media accounts and tag your friends.
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