Is Gerbera Daisy deer resistant?

Grown as a florist plant far more than a garden one, and outdoors the crown rots easily if planted even slightly too deep. Set it so the crown sits just above soil level and water at the base rather than over the leaves.

Are gerbera daisies deer resistant?

Not especially. Rutgers rates Gerbera jamesonii Occasionally Severely Damaged, the third tier, and NC State says the same in its own words: "Occasionally deer will damage this plant." The leaf is soft and the flower is large and held on a bare stalk at exactly the height a deer feeds, and gerbera has none of the scent or texture that carries the daisies one tier up.

Where it grows

NC State: hardy in zones 8a to 10b, 1 to 1 1/2 feet, full sun or partial shade, flowering summer into fall; north of zone 8 it is a bedding or pot plant. The problem list is the one that kills most of them: "Soggy soils can cause root rot," gray mold, powdery mildew, thrips, leaf miners, spider mites. Crown rot from planting too deep finishes more gerberas than any animal.

Protecting gerbera daisies

A pot near the house is the answer that solves the drainage problem and the deer problem together. In a bed, the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High on the buds, renewed at about thirty days through the summer.

If it is browsed

The crown sends new leaves and flower stalks within weeks in warm weather, and a browsed plant in July is flowering again in August. A crown pulled out by the bite is finished.