Is Zinnia deer resistant?

Rough hairy leaves that deer take only when other options run out, so it is a reasonable annual for a garden under moderate pressure.

Powdery mildew is the thing that ruins it. Zinnias are notorious for it in humid summers, turning gray and shabby from the bottom up by August. Air movement is most of the answer: space them properly, water at the base rather than overhead, and avoid crowding them against a fence.

Cultivar choice matters more than anything you spray. The narrow-leaved types are far more mildew resistant than the big classic ones and flower just as hard. Cut them for the house constantly; the more you pick, the more they produce.

Do deer eat zinnias?

Rarely, and NC State's entry puts it in one line: "Deer do not find this plant appetizing." Rutgers rates Zinnia elegans Seldom Severely Damaged, the second tier, and the rough, hairy leaf is the reason. Under real pressure the flower buds go, because buds are soft on every plant, but a bed of zinnias stripped to the stem is unusual enough that rabbits and groundhogs are the first thing to check for.

What browsing does to a zinnia

The same thing cutting does. Zinnias branch below a cut and flower again on the new shoots, which is why picking them hard keeps them producing, and a deer that takes the top of a stem in July has, in effect, cut it. The plant is back in bloom in a few weeks if the rest of it is healthy. What it will not survive is repeated browsing on a young plant that has not yet branched, or a stand already going gray with mildew from the bottom.

Where zinnias fit in a deer garden

Full sun, spaced the 12 inches to 3 feet NC State gives so air moves through them, in the ground rather than under trees. A summer-and-fall annual to zone 11, and a sensible companion for the aromatic perennials of the top tier, lavender and Russian sage, on the same dry, sunny ground.