Do Deer Eat Mums? What to Know to Protect Your Garden

When nights grow cooler, you walk into the garden one morning and find your newly planted mums mowed to the ground. You’ve likely been raided by foraging deer.

Here are some eco-friendly ways to discourage them along with a list of other autumn bloomers that deer find less tasty.

Do Deer Eat Mums?

Deer are opportunistic feeders and eat whatever is available, so yes, deer do eat mums. One reason for this behavior is the absence of other more appealing plants as the growing season draws to a close.

Experts disagree on whether or not deer find mums a viable food source, but the dense foliage and brightly colored flowers make them attractive and they do contain sources of protein and sugars deer need to bulk up for winter.

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How to Keep Deer Away From Mums

A number of potential solutions exist for keeping deer from eating your garden mums. Keep in mind that these animals adjust fairly quickly to changes in the garden environment so scarecrows, flags, and other introduced structures should be moved or replaced often.

Here are some other eco-friendly tactics.

• Fencing is the most reliable method for keeping deer out of your garden. White-tailed deer can leap up to 8 feet and a tall fence isn’t always practical or aesthetically pleasing. Wires strung at the right heights make a good alternative. Place a wire low enough to contact the deers’ legs and another wire at chest level. Curious deer will run away if they come up against the wires.
• Grow strongly scented plants and flowers around your mums. Possibilities include lavender, marigolds, rosemary, astilbe, boxwood, and ornamental grasses.
• Apply natural sprays made from oil and garlic or hot peppers or sprinkle essential oils at the base of your plants or around the perimeter of the garden.
• Leave open areas in the garden and eliminate potential hiding places. Deer are attracted to dense foliage and water sources.
• Deer are skittish animals that bound off when startled. Motion-sensing lights or sprinklers are a reliable scare tactic for protecting your plants from unwanted garden guests.
• Deer are also sensitive to noise. Items like aluminum pans and windchimes placed in and around the garden can turn them in the opposite direction.
• Gardening lore includes hanging bars of soap or clumps of dog hair around the garden perimeter.

Will Mums Grow Back If Deer Eat Them?

Autumn mums can survive foraging deer depending on the extent of damage. If the tops have been nibbled, the plants may put out new buds. Pinching back buds on annual mums is a common practice to prevent the plants from blooming too early.

If deer have nibbled off the buds or flowers, the plant may flower again but it may take six to ten weeks. If the plant has been nibbled to the ground, you’ll need to replace your autumn plants.

If you grow a variety of perennial mum, (garden mum), these plants spread by underground rhizome and should come back the following spring.

8 Deer Resistant Mum Alternatives

Here is a short list of autumn bloomers to consider in place of annual mums. Many are perennial and all are deer-resistant.

• Asters: Autumn blooming perennials with daisy-like flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, and blue. From 1 to 6 feet tall and hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8.
• Goldenrod: Fluffy golden flower spikes peak in autumn atop 1 1/2- to 5-foot plants. This perennial wildflower grows in USDA zone 2 to 8.
• Sedum: Tall sedums are the type grown for autumn color with fleshy leaves and sprays of tiny star-shaped flowers in red, pink, yellow, and white. This perennial is hardy in growing zones 3 to 8.
• Pansies: Pansies thrive in cool weather for plenty of color in the autumn garden. Flowers bloom in white, yellow, orange, purple, blue, red, and pink with a distinctive center face. A perfect choice for containers, autumn pansies can last through spring. Hardy in growing zones 5 to 9.
• Ironweed: A fast-growing, perennial wildflower native to the Eastern U.S. with sprays of rich purple flowers atop 7-foot plants in late summer and autumn. Hardy in zones 5 to 9.