Is Daylily deer resistant?
Hemerocallis spp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Daylily
Deer browse the flower buds readily, usually taking them just as they swell and before they open. The plant is tough enough to survive indefinitely; you simply do not get flowers. That is the daylily pattern in a deer garden. Foliage returns, clumps expand, nothing dies, and season after season the display fails. It is more frustrating than losing the plant outright, because there is nothing visibly wrong. Repellent has to go on the buds, not the leaves, and has to be reapplied as new scapes come up through the season rather than once in spring. Worth knowing that daylily is not a lily. True lilies grow from scaly bulbs and are equally browsed, but daylilies are fibrous-rooted and far harder to kill.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Average garden soil
- Water
- Moderate
- Fertility
- Low
- Spacing
- 18 to 30 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- High
- Salt
- Moderate
- Pollinators
- Low
- Containers
Deer-resistant alternatives to Daylily
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Daylily keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Bearded IrisIris germanicaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Butter and EggsLinaria vulgarisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- False IndigoBaptisia australisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- HorehoundMarrubium vulgareZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- IrisIris sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Threadleaf CoreopsisCoreopsis verticillataZones 3–9Rarely damaged
Similar to Daylily
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- AvensGeum sp.Zones 3–8, genus rangeOccasionally damaged
- Balloon FlowerPlatycodon grandiflorusZones 3–8Occasionally damaged
- BellflowerCampanula glomerataZones 3–8Occasionally damaged
- Blanket FlowerGaillardia sp.Zones 3–10, genus rangeOccasionally damaged
- Bloody CranesbillGeranium sanguineumZones 3–9Occasionally damaged
- Cambridge GeraniumGeranium x cantabrigienseZones 4–8Occasionally damaged
Protecting Daylily
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.
- Fencing a raised bedA deer jumps from ground level, so measure the barrier from the ground and not from the top of the bed.
- 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 Daylily 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 Daylily belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Daylily
- Is Daylily deer resistant?
- Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Daylily grow in?
- Daylily is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. 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 Daylily grow in shade?
- No. Daylily wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Daylily get?
- Mature height is roughly 18–35 in. Growth rate is fast.
- When does Daylily bloom?
- Daylily flowers from June–August.
- Is Daylily toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Daylily as toxic to cats. Cats are the risk here, and they browse foliage indoors more readily than out, so it matters most for anything cut and brought inside.