Is Lavender deer resistant?
Lavandula angustifolia
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Lavender
Aromatic oils deter browsing reliably, and lavender is close to the safest thing you can plant where deer are heavy. Wet winter soil kills far more lavender than cold ever does. A plant that would survive minus twenty in gravel will rot at minus five in clay. Sharp drainage, full sun, no mulch against the crown, and gravel rather than bark if you mulch at all. English lavender is the hardy one, reliable to about zone 5. Spanish and French lavenders, the ones with the showy topknot bracts, are zone 8 plants sold widely in the north as though they were not, and they die the first winter. Prune every year into the green growth, never into bare wood. Lavender does not resprout from old wood, so a plant allowed to go leggy cannot be brought back.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6.5 to 8
- Drainage
- Sharp, gritty. Will rot in wet soil
- Water
- Low
- Fertility
- Low
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Low
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- High
- Salt
- Moderate
- Pollinators
- High
- Evergreen
- Containers
- Coastal sites
What to plant it with
- Garden Rose
Aromatic screen at the bed edge. Site lavender where drainage is sharpest, since roses prefer richer, damper soil.
Keep apart from
- Astilbe
Directly opposed water needs. Lavender dies in soil kept damp enough for astilbe, and astilbe crisps in soil dry enough for lavender.
- Bigleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea wants consistent moisture; lavender wants to dry out completely between waterings. One of them loses.
Similar to Lavender
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- Anise HyssopAgastache sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Basket of GoldAurinia saxatilisZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Bearded IrisIris germanicaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Bigleaf GoldenrayLigularia dentataZones 4–8Rarely damaged
- Bleeding HeartLamprocapnos spectabilisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Butter and EggsLinaria vulgarisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
Where Lavender 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
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Lavender belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Lavender
- Is Lavender deer resistant?
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Lavender grow in?
- Lavender is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Lavender grow in shade?
- No. Lavender wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Lavender get?
- Mature height is roughly 12–24 in. Growth rate is moderate.
- When does Lavender bloom?
- Lavender flowers from June–August.
- Is Lavender toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Lavender as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.