If you’re an avid gardener, you may have lantana in your outdoor plant collection. Lantana are beautiful flowers that add a touch of elegance to any garden. But do deer eat lantana?
Deer do not usually eat lantana. Lantana are deer-resistant because of their strong scent, bitter taste, and rough textured leaves. But a hungry deer will eat almost anything, which may include lantana plants.
Considering that a single deer can eat up to ten pounds of plants each day, you can see how deer eating lantana can really do some serious damage to your garden!
In this article, we’ll discuss how to stop deer from eating your lantana, and keep them healthy and beautiful all season long.
Why Do Deer Eat Lantana?
As we covered, deer usually stay away from lantana thanks to their strong scent and bitter taste.
Deer are most likely to eat lantana 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 lantana 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 lantana 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 lantana are safer either: deer actually prefer new growth because they’re more tender.
Is Lantana Deer Resistant?
Lantana are regarded as deer resistant thanks to their taste and scent, both of which deer do not like.
They were rated as “seldom severely damaged” in a study on deer resistant plants by Rutgers University.
The bitter taste of the flowers and leaves usually keep deer away.
Deer are not big fans of any rough textures, and the leathery or waxy texture of lantana leaves also helps prevent deer browsing.
Deer have a keen sense of smell, and the strong scent of lantana also repels them.
As we mentioned earlier, just because lantana 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 lantana and other plants and flowers.
Read on to learn more.
How Do I Keep Deer From Eating My Lantana?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re protecting lantana 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 Lantana Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Fortunately, lantana can bounce back from browsing by deer if given some care, attention, and time.
Lantana are considered annual or perennial depending on which climate they’re in, so they’ll return each year or live for a single year depending on where you’re located.
Lantana can bounce back from having their tips cut occasionally, and can also handle having a third of their growth pruned back.
If a deer doesn’t eat more than a third of your lantana, you can usually nurse them back to health over time with watering and fertilization.
Do Deer Eat Lantana? Wrapping Things Up
So, do deer eat lantana?
Not usually, but they will if they’re hungry enough.
Deer will usually stay away from lantana, 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:
- Do deer eat pentas?
- Do deer eat black eyed susan?
- Do deer eat goldenrod?
- Do deer eat hollyhocks?
- Is agapanthus deer resistant?
- Do deer eat balloon flowers?
- Do deer eat Korean spice viburnum?
- Do deer eat baptisia?
- Do deer eat calla lilies?
- Do deer eat camellias?
- Do deer eat gladiolus?
- Do deer eat bearded iris?
- Do deer eat Virginia bluebells?
- Do deer eat coral bells?
- Do deer eat marigolds?
