Is Garden Lily deer resistant?
Lilium sp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Garden Lily
Deer browse the buds and stems, and the real threat in many regions is now lily leaf beetle, whose larvae strip plants to bare stalks. Bulbs need sharp drainage and rot in wet ground. Never cut more than a third of the stem when taking flowers, since the leaves feed next year's bulb.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Garden Lily
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Garden Lily keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Garden Lily
Other bulbs with the same deer rating.
Protecting Garden Lily
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 Garden Lily grows
Hardy across most of these 50 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
Browse from here
Every list Garden Lily belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Garden Lily
- Is Garden Lily deer resistant?
- Garden Lily (Lilium 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 Garden Lily grow in?
- Garden Lily is hardy in USDA zones 4 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 Garden Lily grow in shade?
- No. Garden Lily wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- Is Garden Lily toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Garden Lily 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.