Is Heather deer resistant?
Calluna sp.
About Heather
Late summer colour on poor acid ground. Shear it lightly every spring, because unpruned heather goes woody and bare at the base within a few years.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 4.5 to 6
- Drainage
- Sharp, gritty. Will rot in wet soil
- Water
- Low
- Spacing
- 18 to 24 in apart
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Similar to Heather
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatumZones 2–8Rarely damaged
- BarberryBerberis sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- BayberryMyrica pensylvanicaZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Blue Mist ShrubCaryopteris clandonensisZones 6–9Rarely damaged
- BoxwoodBuxus sempervirensZones 5–8Rarely damaged
- BroomCytisus sp.Zones 5–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
Where Heather grows
Hardy across most of these 41 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
- Texas
- Colorado
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
Browse from here
Every list Heather belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Heather
- Is Heather deer resistant?
- Heather (Calluna sp.) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Heather grow in?
- Heather is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 6. 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 Heather grow in shade?
- No. Heather wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.