Is Leadplant deer resistant?
Amorpha canescens
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Leadplant
Fine grey hair covers the stems and the small divided leaves, which is where the silvered look comes from; short spikes of tiny purple flowers open along the top in June and July, on a shrub of one to three feet. The grazing literature is worth reading before you panic about it. Leadplant is rated highly nutritive and palatable, and commonly selected over other species — but that verdict comes off cattle range, and it is cattle that strip it out. Where deer specifically were watched, the results went the other way: white-tailed deer did not browse it in a Black Hills study, and deer, rabbits and rodents all left it alone in a Minnesota restoration. Everything about it is slow and deep. The roots run seven to twenty feet down, and one seven-year-old plant measured 16.5 feet, so put it where it can stay. Fire only top-kills it — it sprouts again from the root crown, which is why a hard spring cut does it no harm.
Similar to Leadplant
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Antelope BitterbrushPurshia tridentataSeldom damaged
- Anthony Waterer SpireaSpiraea x bumaldaZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- Apache PlumeFallugia paradoxaZones 6–10Seldom damaged
- Armstrong JuniperJuniperus chinensis 'Armstrongii'Zones 4–9Seldom damaged
- Autumn OliveElaeagnus umbellataZones 4–9Seldom damaged
- Autumn SageSalvia greggiiZones 6–9Seldom damaged
Where Leadplant 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
- Michigannative
- Wisconsinnative
- Ohio
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesotanative
- Missourinative
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texasnative
- Coloradonative
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiananative
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahomanative
- Kansasnative
- Nebraskanative
- Iowanative
- North Dakotanative
- South Dakotanative
- Montananative
- Wyomingnative
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexiconative
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 19 US states in total.
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Every list Leadplant belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Leadplant
- Is Leadplant deer resistant?
- Leadplant (Amorpha canescens) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- What hardiness zones does Leadplant grow in?
- Leadplant is hardy in USDA zones 2 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Leadplant grow in shade?
- Yes. Leadplant tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Leadplant get?
- Mature height is roughly 36–36 in. Growth rate is moderate.