Deer-resistant plants under a foot tall
Edging, path edges, the front rank of a border, and the gaps between stepping stones. Height is the constraint people plan borders around and the one most plant lists ignore, so everything here tops out around twelve inches. Low plants sit at exactly the height a deer browses most comfortably, so a low border in heavy pressure benefits more than most from choosing well.
34 plants
Rarely Damaged16
Ageratum
Rarely damagedAgeratum houstonianum
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–12 in
Allegheny Spurge
Rarely damagedPachysandra procumbens
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–9
- Height
- 6–12 in
Bearberry
Rarely damagedArctostaphylos uva-ursi
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 6–12 in
Blue Fescue
Rarely damagedFestuca glauca
- Type
- Ornamental grass
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 9–12 in
Bugleweed
Rarely damagedAjuga reptans
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–10
- Height
- 6–12 in
Lily of the Valley
Rarely damagedConvallaria majalis
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 6–10 in
Lungwort
Rarely damagedPulmonaria officinalis
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 6–12 in
Pachysandra
Rarely damagedPachysandra terminalis
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 6–12 in
Prickly Pear Cactus
Rarely damagedOpuntia humifusa
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 6–12 in
Rock-Cress
Rarely damagedArabis caucasica
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–7
- Height
- 6–12 in
Snowdrops
Rarely damagedGalanthus nivalis
- Type
- Bulb
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–9
- Height
- 4–10 in
Sweet Alyssum
Rarely damagedLobularia maritima
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 3–10 in
Sweet Woodruff
Rarely damagedGalium odoratum
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 6–12 in
Wild Ginger
Rarely damagedAsarum canadense
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–6
- Height
- 6–12 in
Winter Aconite
Rarely damagedEranthis hyemalis
- Type
- Bulb
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 3–6 in
Wood Forget-Me-Not
Rarely damagedMyosotis sylvatica
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–12 in
Seldom Severely Damaged14
Bearberry Cotoneaster
Seldom damagedCotoneaster dammeri
- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 12–12 in
Creeping Wintergreen
Seldom damagedGaultheria procumbens
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 4–8 in
Dwarf Mondo Grass
Seldom damagedOphiopogon japonicus
- Type
- Ornamental grass
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–10
- Height
- 6–12 in
Foam Flower
Seldom damagedTiarella cordifolia
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 5–12 in
Large Periwinkle
Seldom damagedVinca major
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–9
- Height
- 3–8 in
Lobelia
Seldom damagedLobelia erinus
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–9 in
Marigold
Seldom damagedTagetes patula
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–12 in
Mat Penstemon
Seldom damagedPenstemon caespitosus
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- 4–6 in
Perennial Candytuft
Seldom damagedIberis sempervirens
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–8
- Height
- 6–12 in
Periwinkle
Seldom damagedVinca minor
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 3–6 in
Plumbago
Seldom damagedCeratostigma plumbaginoides
- Type
- Groundcover
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–9
- Height
- 6–8 in
Rocky Mountain Zinnia
Seldom damagedZinnia grandiflora
- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 6–8 in
Rue Anemone
Seldom damagedAnemonella thalictroides
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 4–8 in
Snow-in-Summer
Seldom damagedCerastium tomentosum
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 6–12 in
Occasionally Severely Damaged3
English Daisy
Occasionally damagedBellis perennis
- Type
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 3–6 in
Pansy
Occasionally damagedViola x wittrockiana
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–10 in
Wax Begonia
Occasionally damagedBegonia semperflorens
- Type
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Grown as an annual, any zone
- Height
- 6–12 in