What Are Some Rabbit-Proof Flowers?

Reader, John writes, "What are some rabbit-proof flowers? These cute but devastating pests ate all of my petunias last year! Are there some other colorful, flowering plants I can substitute that rabbits tend to leave alone?"

John is hardly alone in expressing this concern. Rabbit damage is a real problem, yet many people lack either the time or inclination to drive the pests away with repellents, keep them at arm's length with a chicken-wire fence, or relocate them after a successful capture using a Havahart live trap. If this dilemma describes your situation, your best solution may be to take the path of least resistance: Grow primarily rabbit-proof flowers.

The bonus is that most of them double as deer-resistant plants. The drawback is that some of these flowers are considered poisonous plants (their toxins are what keep the pests away), meaning that you must exercise caution in growing them around children and/or pets. Below, examples will be listed of plants that rabbit pests tend not to eat, organized according to plant category:

• Viburnum
• Butterfly bush (the sub-shrub, Buddleia; an invasive plant in some regions)
• Lantana (an invasive plant in warm, humid climates)
• Adam's needle (a type of Yucca)
• Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia, sub-shrub)
• Cotoneaster
• Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)
• Boxwood (Buxus)
• Blue Star juniper (Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star')
• Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis)
• Holly (Ilex)
• Japanese rose (Kerria japonica)
• Lavender plant (Lavandula) (sub-shrub)

• Salvia
• Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum)
• Avens (Geum)
• Rodgers flower (Rodgersia)
• Columbine (Aquilegia)
• Delphinium
• Yarrow (Achillea)
• New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
• Coreopsis
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)
• Poppy (Papaver)
• Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
• Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
• Perennial bachelor's button (Centaurea montana)
• Bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis; newer genus name, Lamprocapnos)
• Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
• Monkshood (Aconitum)
• Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
• Torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria)
• Silver Mound artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver Mound')

• Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)
• Alliums (including some gorgeous purple-flowered types)
• Reticulated iris
• Daffodil (Narcissus)
• Siberian squill (Scilla siberica)

• Sweet alyssum ((Lobularia maritima))
• Flossflower (Ageratum)
• Wax begonias (Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum)
• Geranium (Pelargonium)
• Pot marigold (Calendula)

• Japanese maples (Acer palmatum, etc.)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus)
• Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Maidenhair (Ginkgo biloba)
• Ash (Fraxinus)
• Magnolia

• Ajuga (invasive in some regions)
• Wisteria (the American type is preferred for North America)
• Vinca minor (invasive in some regions)
• Yellow alyssum (Aurinia saxatilis)
• Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis; invasive in some regions)
• Creeping junipers (Juniperus horizontalis; Blue Rug, etc.)
• Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
• Catmint (Nepeta)
• Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
• Spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum)

While the above-mentioned Vinca minor does put out a blue flower in spring, many people grow it more for its shiny green leaves. If you do not mind growing a plant that puts on a more impressive foliar display than a flowering display, you may also be interested in:

• Silver Mound artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver Mound')
• Blue fescue ornamental grass (Festuca glauca)
• Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina)