Is Strawberry deer resistant?
Fragaria sp.
Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Strawberry
Deer take the fruit, the flowers and the foliage, and they will clear a bed overnight. There is no repellent answer here because you intend to eat the crop, so it needs physical exclusion: a low cage or netted frame. Replace plants every three or four years as cropping falls off.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.8
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Strawberry
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Strawberry keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- AsparagusAsparagus officinalisZones 2–9Seldom damaged
- Baby's BreathGypsophila sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- Bearded IrisIris germanicaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Black-Eyed SusanRudbeckia sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- Blazing StarLiatris sp.Zones 3–9, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- Butter and EggsLinaria vulgarisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
Similar to Strawberry
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
Protecting Strawberry
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- 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 Strawberry 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 Strawberry belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Strawberry
- Is Strawberry deer resistant?
- Strawberry (Fragaria sp.) is rated Frequently Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
- What hardiness zones does Strawberry grow in?
- Strawberry is hardy in USDA zones 3 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 Strawberry grow in shade?
- No. Strawberry wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.