The 11 Best Rabbit Resistant Annuals to Grow
Are you looking to maintain your amazing flower beds and landscape without worrying about rabbit damage?
In this straightforward and no-fluff article, we will reveal the 11 best rabbit-resistant annual plants which are also resistant to other animals like deer, so you will succeed with maintaining your green space. We will also go through their features and what we learned after growing and inspecting them all.
Here are the 6 best annual plants that are rabbit resistant that we like most out of this entire list:
Marigolds
Snapdragons
Ageratum
Cleome
Lantana
Vinca
Geranium
Height: 30-60 cm (12-24 in)
Color Varieties: Pink, red, white, purple
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil
Geraniums are popular for their bright, cheerful blooms and their ability to deter rabbits with their strongly scented leaves. We saw that these annuals perform well in both containers and hanging planters.
Height: 30-50 cm (12-20 in)
Color Varieties: Yellow, white, orange
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil
Daffodils are not only beautiful spring plants, but their bulbs contain compounds that are toxic to rabbits and other mammals, effectively deterring them. After we had grown them in our garden we experienced that the rabbit-resistant plants are perfect for naturalizing in lawns or planting in clusters within garden beds.
Daffodil
Height: 15-50 cm (6-20 in)
Color Varieties: Blue, white, pink
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade, well-drained soil
With its fluffy clusters of flowers, we saw that Ageratum also emits a scent that rabbits find unpleasant. This full sun annual plant is resistant and great for edging paths and filling in flower bed gaps.
Ageratum
Lantana
Height: 30-150 cm (1-5 ft)
Color Varieties: Multicolor (yellow, pink, orange, red, purple)
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Lantana is known for its colorful, clustered flowers and ability to withstand hot, sunny environments. We experienced that rabbits and other animals like deer typically avoid it due to its pungent smell, it is also toxic so be careful when planting annual plants like this.
Cleome
Height: 90-150 cm (3-5 ft)
Color Varieties: Pink, white, purple
Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained soil
Cleome is a thriller plant or deer-resistant shrub for containers that is commonly known as spider flower. We found that its height makes it an excellent background thriller plant for baskets and larger pods in mixed floral arrangements but it is also a great deer-resistant bush to grow in your containers.
Marigolds
Height: 30-60 cm (12-24 in)
Color Varieties: Yellow, orange, red
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Marigolds are not just vibrant and easy to grow, but their scent is a natural deterrent for rabbits. Planting them around the garden perimeter or interspersed with vegetables at the right time can help protect more vulnerable plants from rabbits.
Vinca
Height: 30-50 cm (12-20 in)
Color Varieties: Pink, white, red
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Vinca is one of our absolute favorite annuals for shade and ground cover plants that offer glossy foliage and starry flowers, which provide continuous color throughout the summer. Its low-growing structure and deeply connected steams make it rabbit-resistant.
Snapdragons
Height: 20-90 cm (8-36 in)
Color Varieties: Wide range of colors
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade, moist, well-drained soil
Snapdragons feature tall, majestic spikes of brightly colored flowers that we saw are generally ignored by rabbits. We also concluded that these rabbit deterrent flowers are ideal for adding height and color to the garden in cooler seasons.
Salvia
Height: 30-90 cm (12-36 in)
Color Varieties: Blue, purple, red, white
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
After inspecting and growing Salvia in our growing lab we found that its spiky blooms and aromatic foliage make it unappealing to rabbits. It thrives in full sun and adds a bold pop of color to beds and borders.
Dusty Miller
Height: 15-30 cm (6-12 in)
Color Varieties: Silver foliage
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Dusty Miller has a beautiful silvery-gray foliage that adds contrast to flower arrangements and is generally avoided by rabbits. It is toxic to humans and to pets and fits as a raised bed plant.
Zinnia
Height: 30-90 cm (12-36 in)
Color Varieties: Wide range of bright colors
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Zinnias have vivid, long-lasting blooms and their ability to deter rabbits, making them perfect for sunny borders. These annuals that are rabbit resistant are native to North Americas dry grasslands.
Sources
Nature and Sustainability uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies to support the facts we describe in our articles. Please read our editorial policy to learn more about how we keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Geranium: How To Grow And Care For Geranium (southernliving.com)
Dusty Miller: How to Grow and Care for Dusty Miller (Silver Dust) (thespruce.com)
Salvia: Salvia | UMN Extension
Marigold: Calendula officinalis | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu)
Daffodils: Daffodil | Description, Narcissus, Plant, Flower, Bulb, & Facts | Britannica
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