My Deer Garden

Is Bastardsage deer resistant?

Eriogonum wrightii

Seldom damaged

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-gray leaves and open sprays of small white flowers, each with a red stripe on the underside of the petal, the whole thing coloring reddish-orange as the nights cool. 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.

Where Bastardsage grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone, and native to 6 of them. 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.

Native and hardyHardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
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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.