Is Tulip deer resistant?
Tulipa spp.
Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Tulip
Reliably destroyed. If deer are on your property and you plant tulips unprotected, you will lose them, and usually the flower buds go first just as colour shows. The bulbs are eaten too, though that is more often squirrels and voles digging them out shortly after autumn planting. Between the two, tulips are the single most heartbreaking bulb in a deer garden: expensive, planted in optimism, gone in one night. Daffodils are the standard substitute and the comparison is stark. Narcissus contains lycorine and nothing touches it, above or below ground. If you want the tulip look specifically, the only reliable answer is a fenced bed or a container close to the house, not repellent.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Sharp, gritty. Will rot in wet soil
- Water
- Moderate
- Fertility
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 4 to 6 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- Moderate
- Salt
- Moderate
- Pollinators
- Low
- Containers
Deer-resistant alternatives to Tulip
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Tulip keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Protecting Tulip
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.
- Fencing a raised bedA deer jumps from ground level, so measure the barrier from the ground and not from the top of the bed.
Where Tulip 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
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Tulip belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Tulip
- Is Tulip deer resistant?
- Tulip (Tulipa spp.) 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 Tulip grow in?
- Tulip is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8. 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 Tulip grow in shade?
- No. Tulip wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Tulip get?
- Mature height is roughly 10–24 in. Growth rate is moderate.
- When does Tulip bloom?
- Tulip flowers from April–May.
- Is Tulip toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Tulip as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.