Is Bastardsage deer resistant?
Eriogonum wrightii
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Bastardsage
Not a sage at all, whatever the name says: a woody-based buckwheat with narrow white-grey leaves and open sprays of small white flowers, each with a red stripe on the underside of the petal, the whole thing colouring reddish-orange as the nights cool. Water standing at the base over winter is what finishes it. This is a plant of dry rocky hillsides, caliche and limestone rubble, and it will take clay loam quite happily so long as the water leaves — drainage is what it wants, not poverty. An improved, mulched, irrigated bed gives it neither. Grit, a slope, nothing piled against the stems. Deer tend to leave it standing, and it flowers July into October, so do not write it off in June when it is still doing nothing. Learn both names before you go shopping: bastardsage and Wright's buckwheat are the same plant, and catalogues use each of them.
Similar to Bastardsage
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- African LilyAgapanthus sp.Zones 8–11, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AsparagusAsparagus officinalisZones 2–9Seldom damaged
- AsterAster sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- AstilbeAstilbe x arendsiiZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- Baby's BreathGypsophila sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- Beardlip PenstemonPenstemon barbatusSeldom damaged
Where Bastardsage 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
- Texasnative
- Colorado
- Californianative
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utahnative
- Nevadanative
- Arizonanative
- New Mexiconative
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 6 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Bastardsage belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Bastardsage
- Is Bastardsage deer resistant?
- Bastardsage (Eriogonum wrightii) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- What hardiness zones does Bastardsage grow in?
- Bastardsage is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 10. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Bastardsage grow in shade?
- Yes. Bastardsage tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Bastardsage get?
- Mature height is roughly 36–36 in. Growth rate is moderate.