Is Buttercup deer resistant?
Ranunculus sp.
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Buttercup
Acrid sap makes every part unpalatable to grazing animals, which is precisely why buttercups persist in grazed pasture while everything around them is eaten.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Similar to Buttercup
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- Anise HyssopAgastache sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Basket of GoldAurinia saxatilisZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Bearded IrisIris germanicaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Bigleaf GoldenrayLigularia dentataZones 4–8Rarely damaged
- Bleeding HeartLamprocapnos spectabilisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Butter and EggsLinaria vulgarisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
Where Buttercup 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 Buttercup belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Buttercup
- Is Buttercup deer resistant?
- Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Buttercup grow in?
- Buttercup 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 Buttercup grow in shade?
- Yes. Buttercup tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- Is Buttercup toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Buttercup as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.