If you’re an avid gardener, you may have portulaca in your outdoor plant collection. Portulaca (also known as purslanes, sun roses, or moss roses) are beautiful flowers that add a touch of elegance to any garden or trellis. But do deer eat portulaca?
The answer is yes – deer will eat portulaca if they can. Deer are attracted to portulaca because of their sweet aroma and the fact that they’re usually well-watered and fertilized.
Considering that a single deer can eat up to ten pounds of plants each day, you can see how deer eating portulaca can really do some serious damage to these plants!
Why Do Deer Eat Portulaca?
As we covered, deer will eat every part of portulaca (shoots, leaves, flowers and all) when they’ve got the chance after emerging from a long winter when they’re the hungriest.
But why do they do this?
Deer like lush plants that are well-watered and fertilized, and portulaca check every box.
Deer can do some serious damage to a large amount of portulaca plants in a single sitting if they’re hungry enough!
This was confirmed in a 1999 study on deer plant eating habits by Cornell University.
Plants like portulaca contain water, sugar, protein, and nutrients, which makes them an ideal food source for deer.
And don’t think that newer portulaca plants are safe either: deer actually prefer new growth because they’re more tender.
Additionally, deer will consume a wide variety of foods like portulaca based on opportunity.
They’re planted in the ground and grow easily in many areas, so they’re easy for deer to access.
If you’re not convinced, leave some portulaca out or plant some, and wait to see what happens!
Is Portulaca Deer Resistant?
Portulaca are not regarded as deer resistant at all, thanks to their taste and scent, both of which deer love.
They were rated as “occasionally severely damaged” in a study on deer resistant plants by Rutgers University.
You should always take additional steps to deter deer from your portulaca flowers and other plants.
Read on to learn more.
How Do I Keep Deer From Eating My Portulaca?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re protecting portulaca 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 Portulaca Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Portulaca are considered annuals, meaning that they die off after a single year.
However, portulaca are good self-seeders and usually return each year.
Portulaca flowers can handle being eaten down to about half their height by deer.
Ideally this will happen in late summer, as that’s the “best” time for portulaca to be trimmed.
Regardless of when deer eat your portulaca, continue to water and fertilize them until they’re back to full health.
If a deer ate your portulaca down to the soil then you may have to replant them.
Do Deer Eat Portulaca? Wrapping Things Up
So, do deer eat portulaca?
The answer is yes!
Deer will eat portulaca whenever they can, especially during spring when they’re hungry after a long winter and the buds, stems, and leaves are the most tender.
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:
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