Flowers That Deer Like to Eat

Roses

• In the summer and fall months, certain breeds of roses are at risk of becoming a deer's afternoon snack. The fewer the thorns on a rose bush, the more likely the deer are going to try and eat the plant. This means that roses such as the hybrid tea and the hybrid musk are likely targets for a hungry deer, while the damask, which has many sharp thorns, is more likely to be left alone.

Azalea

• Azalea bushes are common during the spring and summer months in North America in domesticated areas as well as in the wild. Each spring the Azalea bush's flowers bloom; these flowers last for only a few weeks before they wither and die, though they will bloom again the following spring. While azalea bushes are a common food item for deer throughout the year, during the period that their flowers are blooming is when deer are most attracted to them.

Jessamine

• Jessamine, specifically yellow jessamine or "Carolina jessamine," is an evergreen plant that is found in areas of North America that range from Guatemala to South Carolina. Unlike most other plants, Jessamine is a poisonous plant to consume, though the toxicity does not affect the deer as greatly as they do smaller creatures. The jessamine flowers grow in clusters, with each individual flower sporting several yellow petals. Because of the climate where they are located, jessamine are consumed year-round.

Rhaphiolepis

• Rhaphiolepis, more commonly known as Indian hawthorn, is a common evergreen shrub found throughout southeastern Asia. The flower on each of these shrubs is either pink or white and varying in size, with some being as small as a single centimeter. These flowers, like some others that are consumed, are eaten as more of an accident of happenstance as the deer are usually trying to reach the small fruit often growing on these trees.