Is Calla Lily deer resistant?

Calcium oxalate in every part is why deer refuse it and why it is toxic to pets. Hardy only from zone 8, and it naturalizes invasively in mild wet regions.

Are calla lilies deer resistant?

Mostly. Rutgers rates the genus Seldom Severely Damaged, "Calla Lily, Zantedeschia sp.," among the bulbs, and NC State lists deer, rabbits, poor soil and wet soil as the challenges Z. aethiopica resists. The reason is in the leaf: calcium oxalate through the whole plant, "Flowers, Leaves, Roots, Sap/Juice, Stems" in NC State's poison-part list, and a mouthful produces "oral irritation, pain, and swelling of mouth, tongue, and lips." Second tier rather than first because Rutgers did observe damage, seldom severe.

Where it grows

NC State: zones 8a to 10b, in full sun, partial shade or dappled light, 2 to 3 feet, flowering June and July on leafless stalks. Wet ground suits it, which is rare in a plant deer leave alone. North of zone 8 the rhizomes are lifted in fall or the plant is grown in a pot.

Protecting calla lilies

Seldom needed; the oxalate does the work. Where new leaves are being tested in spring, the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High, once. The ASPCA lists calla lily as toxic to dogs, cats and horses; NC State puts the severity at Medium, with the symptoms above and "vomiting (not horses)"; the callout below carries it.

If it is browsed

The rhizome is untouched and sends new leaves within weeks in warm weather. A flower stalk taken is the season's flower on that stalk, and a mature clump sends several. Frost north of zone 8 is the thing that kills it, not deer.