If you’re an avid gardener, you may have sunpatiens in your outdoor plant collection. Sunpatiens are beautiful flowers that add a touch of elegance to any garden. But are sunpatiens deer resistant?
Deer do not usually eat sunpatiens. Sunpatiens are deer-resistant because of their strong scent and bitter taste. But a hungry deer will eat almost anything, which may include sunpatien plants.
Considering that a single deer can eat up to ten pounds of plants each day, you can see how deer eating sunpatiens can really do some serious damage to your garden!
In this article, we’ll discuss how to stop deer from eating your sunpatiens, and keep them healthy and beautiful all season long.
Do Deer Eat Sunpatiens?
As we covered, deer usually stay away from sunpatiens thanks to their strong scent, texture, and bitter taste.
Deer are most likely to eat sunpatiens during spring because they’re hungry after a long winter, or if it’s late in fall and other food sources have been depleted.
Your sunpatiens are less susceptible to deer damage later in summer when many other food sources they prefer are available.
Deer can do some serious damage to a large amount of sunpatiens in a single sitting if they’re hungry enough!
This was confirmed in a 1999 study on deer plant eating habits by Cornell University.
And don’t think that your newer sunpatiens are safer either: deer actually prefer new growth because they’re more tender.
Are Sunpatiens Deer Resistant?
Sunpatiens are regarded as deer resistant thanks to their taste and scent, both of which deer do not like.
The bitter taste and varied texture of the flowers and leaves usually keep deer away.
Deer have a keen sense of smell, and the strong scent of sunpatiens also repels them.
As we mentioned earlier, just because sunpatiens are deer resistant doesn’t mean they are completely safe from being eaten by deer.
You should always take additional steps to deter deer from your sunpatiens and other plants and flowers.
Read on to learn more.
How Do I Keep Deer From Eating My Sunpatiens?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re protecting sunpatiens from hungry deer: their habits, your scent, repellent options, and when you plant them.
Deer will eat nearly anything if they’re hungry enough, so your main goal is making your garden as least inviting to deer as possible.
Check out our guide on how to keep deer from eating plants where we cover 25 quick and easy tips for keeping hungry deer out of your garden.
Will My Sunpatiens Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Fortunately, sunpatiens can bounce back from browsing by deer if given some care, attention, and time.
Sunpatiensare considered annuals, meaning they must be must be replanted each year.
Fortunately, sunpatiens can withstand some heavy browsing from deer all the way down to about one third of the plant at an entire time!
So unless a deer eats your sunpatiens down to the soil, you should be able to nurse them back to health with regular watering and fertilization.
Are Sunpatiens Deer Resistant? Wrapping Things Up
So, do deer eat sunpatiens?
Not usually, but they will if they’re hungry enough.
Deer will usually stay away from sunpatiens, but may eat them during spring when they’re hungry after a long winter or in late fall when other food sources have been depleted.
Have any observations to add to the discussion? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Check our our other helpful wildlife guides while you’re here:
