Regional Picks: Deer-Resistant Plants – Southern California

While most gardening pests and job vary greatly depending on region , there is one dilemma that just about all of us have to get by with — deer . There are populations of deer in all 50 commonwealth , and all are crunch on the many different plant we ’re grow across the rural area . Some method for dissuade cervid from feastingwork betterthanothers , but there is also the option of but grow plants they do n’t typically enjoy . Do n’t permit your hard workplace become a buffet for the next choke ruck . Here are four cervid - resistant plant for Southern California .

1. Bladderpod

Name:Peritoma arborea(syn.Isomeris arborea)

USDA Hardiness Zones:8 to 11

Size : Mounding to 3 feet

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; wide stain tolerance

Found along the coast , in inland valleys , and in the California deserts , this particularly smelly plant life has shown an easy adaptation to home gardens . Bladderpod ’s silver and dark-green , three - break leaves are beautiful in their own right hand and exude a cloying smell similar to the scent of burnt popcorn . But at the back of bed , this drought - tough subshrub shines with beautiful big clusters of chicken flowers over much of the class . Its odd , inflated fruits , each 1 to 2 inches long , give it its vulgar name . Untouched by any mammal and large-minded of common salt and drought , it implore for wider ornamental use .

2. Sticky Monkeyflower

Name:Diplacus aurantiacus(syn.Mimulus aurantiacus)

Zones:8 to 11

Size:3 to 4 foundation tall

Perhaps other than Iris , no California native has received as much attention from hybridizers as the semiwoody , sticky monkeyflower . Pink , red , orange , yellow , and livid , and several colors in between are now available as constitute cultivar . fantabulous as a potted plant or in the landscape , the monkeyflower may die back to low offset in strong drought . hard tip pruning after spring bloom will stimulate a second bloom and keep plants stronger and more summary . Its twiglike branches and resinous leaves offer little for any creature to run through . Hummingbirds , butterfly stroke , and bumblebee will crowd each other for accession to the large , open blooms .

3. White Sage

Name:Salvia apiana

Size:3 foot improbable and 6 feet wide

Conditions : Full sun ; well - drained dirt

It would be hard to find another plant that smells more impressively than clean salvia . privilege by early Native Americans as incense , its spirit is complex and consuming to some , including deer . The broad , silver - white-hot leaves are evergreen and are enough to keep any gardener ’s interest . In late natural spring , it is graced by a truly striking peak . magniloquent , wandlike stalks rise 4 to 6 feet above the foliage bearing many clusters of small white flowers . The wand move with the wind and pull bees , butterfly , and hummingbirds .

4. Laurel Sumac

Name:Malosma laurina(syn.Rhus laurina)

Size:3 to 8 foot tall and 10 feet wide

term : Full sun ; patient of of most land ; very drought - tough

Often unnoticed , laurel sumac is a usual works in frost - spare areas of Southern California . Its big , slightly folded , narrow leaves are reminiscent of unfeigned laurel and have an odd , noxious olfactory perception . As a large , coarse , open shrub , it seems a elusive fit for residential garden . But its funny beauty and that it can be sheared to any shape make it a recommend selection . Its leaves have two tones — deep green above and pallid green beneath . A cherry-red midvein and slight crimson leeway heighten the coloured effect . Modern growth is intensely ruddy . Fist - sized clusters of small lily-white peak are check aloft like woolly mullein in midsummer . age to burnt black fruits , they are efficacious in dry out arrangement .

Bruce Reed is horticulturist for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden .

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Regional Picks: Deer-Resistant Plants – Southern Plains

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Sticky Monkeyflower

Photo: Bill Johnson

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