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NORTH DAKOTA · DEER-RESISTANT NATIVE PLANTS

Deer-resistant native plants in North Dakota

Species deer usually leave alone, often because of aromatic, fuzzy or toxic leaves. No plant is deer-proof; hungry deer browse anything.

46Species
43With a live listing

Quick answer: 46 deer-resistant native plants are native to North Dakota, 43 with a live listing as of 04 Nov 2026.

46 species

Deer-resistant native plants in North Dakota: what to know

46 of the 119 plants native to North Dakota in this directory fit this need: 39% of the state's list, well above the 28% share across all species.

Between them they flower from February through December, with the most in bloom in August. Mixing early and late bloomers keeps the planting useful all season.

Many do double duty: 40 are also good for pollinators, 30 are also drought-tolerant, 22 are also good for birds.

41 of them grow in full or partial sun and 16 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, 40 support pollinators, 22 provide food or cover for birds and 18 are caterpillar host plants.

43 of the 46 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

See all native plants for North Dakota →