Is Coleus deer resistant?
Coleus sp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Coleus
Grown entirely for leaf colour, and the newer sun-tolerant series changed it from a shade-only plant into a bedding staple. Pinch the flower spikes out as they form, because flowering makes the plant leggy and the leaves smaller. Cuttings root in water in about a week, so a favourite can be kept indefinitely.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Coleus
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Coleus keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Coleus
Other annuals with the same deer rating.
- Annual GeraniumPelargonium x hortorumGrown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- CosmosCosmos sp.Grown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- DahliaDahlia sp.Grown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- Garden BalsamImpatiens balsaminaGrown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- Garden PetuniaPetunia sp.Grown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- Gerbera DaisyGerbera jamesoniiGrown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
Protecting Coleus
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Coleus grows
Hardy across most of these 51 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
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Coleus belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Coleus
- Is Coleus deer resistant?
- Coleus (Coleus sp.) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Coleus grow in?
- Coleus is hardy in USDA zones 2 to 11. 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 Coleus grow in shade?
- Yes. Coleus tolerates full shade to part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.