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January 16, 2021 3 min read 1 Comment
Do deer eat jasmine? If you plan on cultivating jasmines, then you may wonder if deer might be one pest to look out for. This article offers insights on jasmines and their deer connections to help you cultivate a garden or orchard that is deer resistant.
Jasmine (Jasminum) is a genus from the olive family (Oleaceae). You can find at least over 200 species of vines and shrubs within this genus native to Oceania and Europe. One of the reasons gardeners love these fantastic plants is its gorgeous flowers and deeply pleasing scents.
Some of us also enjoy its scintillating flavor by making jasmine tea from its blossoms. Regardless of the reasons you want them in your garden, there are some pests to consider. If you live in an area with a high deer population, then you may ask – do deer eat jasmine? What are the chances of cultivating healthy jasmines in areas with too many deer?
Deer will eat almost anything, but for jasmines, not so much. Many species of jasmine are toxic for deer and will make them fall sick. Good examples include night-blooming jasmine, yellow jasmine, and star jasmine. Do note that star jasmine is not a true jasmine plant and is native to Korea and Japan. You can identify them by their oval, dark green leaves with bronze-purple flowers that turn bronze-red in cold weather. If you are considering using jasmines as arbors, privacy hedges, or to create a more natural look on concrete walls, star jasmine is a great choice.
The yellow jasmine is also an evergreen, pleasantly fragrant, grown for its gorgeous yellow trumpet-shaped flowers.
You can also consider Asiatic jasmine, on the other hand, is an evergreen vine-like woody plant. Most homeowners grow them as ground covering and because they require almost no maintenance. However, the Asiatic jasmine is very invasive, so you should contact your local county to be sure you are allowed to cultivate them. Still, you must also consider the fact that they may outcompete other plants in your gardens.
Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is yet another excellent jasmine variant for deer resistance. This low spreading shrub is excellent as a low edging plant or for covering small slopes and banks. It blooms quite well during winter and has beautiful yellow flowers.
Although these jasmine plants can help you discourage deer browsing in your gardens, none of them is entirely deer-proof. The interest of deer in any plant depends on whether there are other palatable food choices. The temperature, humidity, and amount of deer in your location can also shape their appetites. Therefore, there is always a good chance that a plant you consider deer resistant today can become their buffet in the future. Even poisonous plants like jasmine can become their go-to meal choices if they cannot access anything.
Do deer eat jasmines? Absolutely not. Therefore, jasmine is a great deer resistant plant to grow. You will also enjoy the fact that many jasmine species and variants such as the confederate jasmine are drought tolerant, disease and pest-free, and require almost no maintenance. Overall, do realize that deer will eat almost anything when they cannot find other palatable food sources.
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July 09, 2025
I just planted three star jasmine along my fence yesterday and the deer chewed them all up. One was totally stripped of its leaves.