Is Avens deer resistant?
Geum sp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Avens
A varied genus: some species want damp streamside ground, others sharp drainage, so identify which you have before siting it. The orange and scarlet border hybrids flower for weeks if deadheaded. Divide every few years, since the clumps go woody at the centre and flowering falls off.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Avens
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Avens keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Bleeding HeartLamprocapnos spectabilisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- ButtercupRanunculus sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Dame's RocketHesperis matronalisZones 3–8Rarely damaged
- Forget-Me-NotMyosotis sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Fringed Bleeding HeartDicentra eximiaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisZones 3–8Rarely damaged
Similar to Avens
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- Balloon FlowerPlatycodon grandiflorusZones 3–8Occasionally damaged
- BellflowerCampanula glomerataZones 3–8Occasionally damaged
- Blanket FlowerGaillardia sp.Zones 3–10, genus rangeOccasionally damaged
- Bloody CranesbillGeranium sanguineumZones 3–9Occasionally damaged
- Cambridge GeraniumGeranium x cantabrigienseZones 4–8Occasionally damaged
- Chameleon SpurgeEuphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon'Zones 4–9Occasionally damaged
Protecting Avens
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Avens grows
Hardy across most of these 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Avens belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Avens
- Is Avens deer resistant?
- Avens (Geum sp.) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Avens grow in?
- Avens is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat. That is the range across the genus, so a named species or cultivar may be narrower.
- Does Avens grow in shade?
- Yes. Avens tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.