Landscapers typically select drought-resistant plants when designing rock gardens. But in regions where deer control is an issue, your rock garden plants should also be deer-resistant. Below I discuss four perennials that should aid you in your deer control measures. These plants are both deer-resistant and drought-resistant and can be grown most anywhere in the continental U.S. (and across corresponding temperate zones).
When we speak of drought-resistant plants for rock gardens, we're usually referring to two different characteristics at the same time. One characteristic is the ability to thrive in dry soils. The other is a preference for sunny conditions. Not that some drought-tolerant plants can't grow in shade; but more often than not drought-tolerant plants are sought for areas with lots of sun but little water.
Plants native to your region will often thrive in rock gardens. Problem is, people often don't find these plants attractive enough to grow them in their rock gardens. The attractive perennials listed below can be purchased at nurseries.
Hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) is a rosette-like plant that is deer-resistant. Its succulent leaves mass together to form short, compact mounds. Hens and chicks does bloom, but the plant is grown for its foliage, not for this negligible, spikey flower. The tiny "chick" plants grow at the base of the "hen," or main plant. Detach the chicks and plant them elsewhere, if propagation is desired. Otherwise, just let them be, and they'll form a dense mat that essentially serves as a ground cover.
A similar group of plants that the deer tend to leave alone are the stonecrop plants (Sedum), for instance, Autumn Joy sedum. Stonecrop plants are a perennial favorite in rock gardens, as the "stone" in the name would suggest. Stonecrop's foliage consists of succulent leaves in whorls. The leaves are sometimes variegated and can range in color from bluish-green or greenish-yellow to reddish-pink or almost off-white.
Unlike hens and chicks, stonecrop produces a flower well worth growing in its own right. Stonecrop's flowers can be yellow, orange, red, or pink, in addition to the white pictured above. Flowers usually bloom in clusters above the foliage.
Barbed-wire fences may be effective in deer control, if they are tall enough. But why not put the barbed-wire right on the plant you need to protect? Well, that's just what prickly pear cactus does. Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia compressa) grows to be about 6"-14" tall, and it bears showy yellow flowers, 2"-3" in diameter. A prickly pear cactus in bloom next to a red-flowered stonecrop makes for a striking rock garden tandem. This is the only cactus found widely in the eastern U.S.
But your deer-resistant rock garden choices aren't restricted to cacti and succulents. Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) provides wonderful texture in rock gardens and spreads readily. Lamb's ear plants produce light purple flowers on tall spikes. Their silvery foliage has a velvety texture, which is how lamb's ears got its name. Apparently it is this same texture that makes lamb's ears unpalatable to deer.
Plant these attractive, drought-resistant, deer-resistant perennials in a well-drained soil with full sun, and you should have a rock garden envied by all your neighbors -- except the deer....
