Plant record · Perennial
Is Buttercup (Ranunculus) deer resistant?
Ranunculus sp.
Yes. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8, genus range
- Light
- Part shade
- Bloom
- Spring and Summer
- Maintenance
- Moderate
- Toxic to
- dogs, cats, and horses
Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.
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.
Are ranunculus deer resistant?
Rutgers rates the genus Rarely Damaged, listed on E271 as "Buttercup, Ranunculus sp.," and the florist ranunculus, the Persian buttercup Ranunculus asiaticus, is the same genus. NC State's entry for it does not mention deer; it records a low-severity poison through the whole plant, "ingestion causes burning of the mouth, abdominal pain, vomiting," and contact dermatitis from the sap, which is the reason the genus sits in the top tier. The Persian buttercup is hardy only in zones 8 to 10 by NC State's range, flowering late spring to early summer at 1 to 2 feet; north of zone 8 it is an annual, and a deer that leaves a hardy buttercup alone has no reason to treat it differently. Root rot in wet ground is the thing that kills it.
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 50 states 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.
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone
- 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
- Hawaii
Common questions about Buttercup
- Is Buttercup deer resistant?
- Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) 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 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.
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Every list Buttercup belongs to.
All perennials·Rarely damaged·Part shade plants