My Deer Garden

Plant record · Annual

Is Ageratum deer resistant?

Ageratum houstonianum

Fluffy blue ageratum flower clusters
Photo by Harry Alverson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 1 of 4 · Rarely Damaged

Yes. Deer almost always leave this alone.

Type
Annual
Hardiness
Grown as an annual, any zone
Light
Part shade
Height
6–12 in
Bloom
Summer and Fall
Maintenance
Low

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Ageratum

Fluffy blue flower clusters all summer. One of very few annuals deer reliably ignore, and it takes part shade better than most bedding plants.

Do deer eat ageratum?

Rarely. Rutgers rates Ageratum houstonianum Rarely Damaged, A, one of the few bedding annuals in the top tier, and NC State's line covers the other animal too: "This plant is seldom damaged by rabbits and deer." The furred leaf and the flat, fuzzy flower are both wrong for a deer's mouth, and the plant is small enough that there is little to take.

Where it grows

An annual everywhere, NC State giving zones 2a through 11b, 6 to 12 inches, full sun or partial shade, flowering summer into fall, and resisting drought. The one word on its problem list is "Weedy," which in a warm climate means it seeds. It takes part shade better than most bedding plants, which is why it is on the shade page's short list of shade annuals deer leave alone.

Protecting ageratum

Nothing. It is the annual to put where impatiens were.

If it is browsed

It branches below the bite and flowers again within the month; an annual this small is replaced for less than the cost of the spray.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7
Drainage
Consistently moist
Water
Moderate
Spacing
8 to 12 in apart
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Similar to Ageratum

Other annuals with the same deer rating.

Where Ageratum grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Ageratum

Is Ageratum deer resistant?
Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) is rated Rarely Damaged, step 1 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Deer almost always leave this alone.
What hardiness zones does Ageratum grow in?
Ageratum is hardy in USDA zones 2 to 11. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Ageratum grow in shade?
Yes. Ageratum tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
How big does Ageratum get?
Mature height is roughly 6–12 in. Growth rate is fast.

Browse from here

Every list Ageratum belongs to.

All annuals·Rarely damaged·Part shade plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .