Quick answer: 67 deer-resistant native plants are native to Iowa, 63 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.
67 species
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · 41 states
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta · 44 states
- Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis · 34 states
- Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis · 19 states
- Blue wild indigo Baptisia australis · 23 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa · 40 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Canadian wild ginger Asarum canadense · 30 states
- Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis · 41 states
- Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides · 34 states
- Cinnamon fern Osmunda cinnamomea · 32 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common sneezeweed Helenium autumnale · 40 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · 43 states
- Dutchman's breeches Dicentra cucullaria · 32 states
- Eastern purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea · 24 states
- Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana · 37 states
- Eastern red columbine Aquilegia canadensis · 36 states
- Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis · 35 states
- Golden alexanders Zizia aurea · 35 states
- Grayhead coneflower Ratibida pinnata · 26 states
- Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica · 36 states
- Heart-leaved meadow parsnip Zizia aptera · 30 states
- Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans · 37 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Interrupted fern Osmunda claytoniana · 29 states
- Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum · 35 states
- Lanceleaf coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata · 35 states
- Large penstemon (shell-leaf beardtongue) Penstemon grandiflorus · 12 states
- Largeflower tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora · 25 states
- Leadplant Amorpha canescens · 16 states
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · 42 states
- Longbract wild indigo (cream false indigo) Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea · 19 states
- Low prickly pear Opuntia humifusa · 31 states
- Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum · 35 states
- Mexican hat Ratibida columnifera · 17 states
- Narrow-leaf coneflower Echinacea angustifolia · 11 states
- Northern maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum · 37 states
- Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin · 31 states
- Pale purple coneflower Echinacea pallida · 17 states
- Pawpaw Asimina triloba · 29 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Prairie dropseed Sporobolus heterolepis · 19 states
- Prairie goldenrod Solidago nemoralis · 7 states
- Prairie ironweed Vernonia fasciculata · 14 states
- Prairie onion Allium stellatum · 12 states
- Prairie tickseed Coreopsis palmata · 10 states
- Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium · 20 states
- Rocky Mountain bee plant Peritoma serrulata · 26 states
- Scarlet beebalm Monarda didyma · 25 states
- Showy goldenrod Solidago speciosa · 28 states
- Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula · 38 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Sundial lupine Lupinus perennis · 28 states
- Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata · 37 states
- Sweet Joe-Pye Eutrochium purpureum · 33 states
- Sweet coneflower Rudbeckia subtomentosa · 11 states
- Switchgrass Panicum virgatum · 43 states
- Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica · 23 states
- Virginia iris Iris virginica · 26 states
- Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum · 27 states
- White wild indigo Baptisia alba · 23 states
- Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata · 30 states
Deer-resistant native plants in Iowa: what to know
67 of the 196 plants native to Iowa in this directory fit this need: 34% of the state's list, above the 28% share across all species.
Between them they flower from February through December, with the most in bloom in May. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.
Many do double duty: 56 are also good for pollinators, 35 are also drought-tolerant, 34 are also good for birds.
53 of them grow in full or partial sun and 31 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Black-eyed Susan and Bloodroot to trees such as Bearberry and Common juniper. For wildlife, 56 support pollinators, 34 provide food or cover for birds and 22 are caterpillar host plants.
63 of the 67 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Black-eyed Susan, Common yarrow, Indiangrass: common listings for these are often a bred variety or a different species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Jul-Oct
- Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Jun-Dec
- Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Aug-Nov