Is Garden Rose deer resistant?
Rosa spp.
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Garden Rose
Thorns do not stop deer. That is the single most useful thing to know about roses in deer country, because the assumption that they do costs people entire beds. What gets taken is the soft growth: buds just before they open, and the tender new canes in spring. A bush stripped in April will often push again, but the flush is lost and repeated browsing weakens the plant over a season. Rugosa roses hold up better than most, being genuinely dense and viciously prickly rather than decoratively thorny, and their foliage is coarse enough that deer lose interest. For everything else in a garden with real pressure, plan on repellent from the moment growth starts in spring, or fencing, and start before the first bite rather than after.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Fertility
- High
- Spacing
- 35 to 59 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- High
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- Low
- Salt
- Low
- Pollinators
- Moderate
- Containers
What to plant it with
- Catmint
The standard rose underplanting. Blue against any rose colour, and completely deer-proof.
- Ornamental Onion
Onion scent masks roses from deer and the flower heads carry the bed in June. The traditional pairing, and it works.
- Lavender
Aromatic screen at the bed edge. Site lavender where drainage is sharpest, since roses prefer richer, damper soil.
Deer-resistant alternatives to Garden Rose
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Garden Rose keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Garden Rose
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Bigleaf HydrangeaHydrangea macrophyllaZones 6–11Occasionally damaged
- Bloodtwig DogwoodCornus sanguineaZones 5–7Occasionally damaged
- Blue HollyIlex x meserveaeZones 5–7Occasionally damaged
- Carolina RhododendronRhododendron carolinianumZones 5–8Occasionally damaged
- Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbienseZones 4–8Occasionally damaged
- Chinese LilacSyringa x chinensisZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
Protecting Garden Rose
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 Rose 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 Rose belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Garden Rose
- Is Garden Rose deer resistant?
- Garden Rose (Rosa spp.) 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 Rose grow in?
- Garden Rose is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. 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 Rose grow in shade?
- No. Garden Rose wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Garden Rose get?
- Mature height is roughly 24–71 in. Growth rate is moderate.
- When does Garden Rose bloom?
- Garden Rose flowers from May–October.