Is Garden Petunia deer resistant?
Petunia sp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Garden Petunia
The trailing and spreading types need far more feeding than most bedding plants and go pale and starved without it. Older large-flowered grandifloras turn to mush in heavy rain; the smaller multiflora and milliflora types shrug it off. Sticky foliage is what deters deer.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 10 to 14 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Garden Petunia
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Garden Petunia keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Angel's TrumpetBrugmansia sp.Grown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
- AnisePimpinella anisumGrown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
- Annual VincaCatharanthus roseusGrown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
- Dusty MillerCentaurea cinerariaGrown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
- False CamomileMatricaria sp.Grown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
- LarkspurConsolida ambiguaGrown as an annual, any zoneRarely damaged
Similar to Garden Petunia
Other annuals with the same deer rating.
- Annual GeraniumPelargonium x hortorumGrown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
- ColeusColeus sp.Grown 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
- Gerbera DaisyGerbera jamesoniiGrown as an annual, any zoneOccasionally damaged
Protecting Garden Petunia
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 Petunia 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 Garden Petunia belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Garden Petunia
- Is Garden Petunia deer resistant?
- Garden Petunia (Petunia 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 Petunia grow in?
- Garden Petunia 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 Garden Petunia grow in shade?
- No. Garden Petunia wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.