Deer-resistant ferns
Ferns solve the hardest problem in deer gardening. Shade plus deer rules out most of the palette, and the obvious shade plant, the hosta, is the most browsed thing in North American gardens. Ferns are reliably ignored and thrive exactly where hostas fail you.
10 plants
Rarely Damaged10
Christmas Fern
Rarely damagedPolystichum acrostichoides
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–9
- Height
- 12–36 in
Cinnamon Fern
Rarely damagedOsmunda cinnamomea
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 24–72 in
Hayscented Fern
Rarely damagedDennstaedtia punctilobula
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 12–24 in
Holly Fern
Rarely damagedCyrtomium falcatum
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–10
- Height
- 17–24 in
Japanese Painted Fern
Rarely damagedAthyrium niponicum
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 18–24 in
New York Fern
Rarely damagedThelypteris noveboracensis
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 12–24 in
Ostrich Fern
Rarely damagedMatteuccia struthiopteris
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 36–60 in
Royal Fern
Rarely damagedOsmunda regalis
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–10
- Height
- 60–72 in
Sensitive Fern
Rarely damagedOnoclea sensibilis
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 2–10
- Height
- 12–24 in
Wood Fern
Rarely damagedDryopteris marginalis
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 18–36 in