Rabbit-Proof Plants

Rabbits dine out all year. They are herbivores and can make a quick meal of your garden. They will devour tender shoots in spring and gnaw through bark in the winter. You can tell when rabbits, not deer, have been chewing on your plants because rabbits make clean, 45-degree cuts in young stems and can reach only approximately 3 feet high. Deer can damage plants 6 feet high, and they tear plants when eating so that the stems and leaves are ragged, not cleanly cut like rabbit damage.

Rabbits have large incisors, similar to squirrels and mice. But rabbits have two pairs of both upper and lower incisors, while rodents have only one set. (Rabbits are lagomorphs, not rodents.)

It would be nice if there were plants that are truly rabbit-proof, but as with other animals, rabbits can surprise you. They do have their favorite foods and those they tend to avoid, but when food is scarce, they will eat just about anything. If you are interested in how to deter rabbits, there are ways to control them from overrunning your garden.

Plants That Rabbits Will Eat

The entire list of plants that rabbits will eat, or at least sample, is too long to list out. But the following are rabbit favorites:

Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits

Tender, young leaves are the most susceptible,1 although they will sample many plants in the vegetable garden:

• Beans
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Carrots (particularly the tops)
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Chili Pepper
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Most fruit trees and berry bushes

Annuals and Perennials

These plants often sustain the most damage, because they are tender and generally out in the open with no protection:

• Asters
• Baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata)
• Bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus)
• Bellflower (Campanula spp.)
• Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
• Clematis
• Cockscomb (Celosia argentea cristata)
• Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
• Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
• Coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea) [flowers only]
• Crocus (Crocus hybrids)
• Gayfeather (Liatris spicata)
• Gazania (Gazania rigens)
• Gazania (Gazania rigens)
• Hosta
• Lilies (Lilium hybrids)
• Lupine (Lupinus)
• Impatiens (flowers mainly)
• Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
• Marguerite daisy (Felicia amelloides)
• Mountain bluet (Centaurea montana)
• Pansy
• Phlox
• Rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora)
• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) [seedlings only]
• Sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius)
• Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)
• Tulip
• Violets
• Wishbone flower (Torenia)

Shrubs and Trees

Rabbits prefer tender woody plants with thin bark, so new plants and shoots are at the most risk.2

• Apples/crabapples (Malus spp.)
• Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)
• Barberry (Berberis)
• Burning bush (Euonymus spp.)
• Chokeberry (Aronia spp.)
• Deutzia (Deutzia sp)
• Dogwood (Cornus spp.)
• Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
• Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)
• Flowering quince (Chaenomeles)
• Fothergilla (Fothergilla spp.)
• Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)
• Honeylocust (Gleditsia spp.)
• Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
• Ironwood (Carpinus spp.)
• Juneberry/serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.)
• Linden (Tilia spp.)
• Maple (Acer spp.)
• Mountain ash (Sorbus spp.)
• Oak (Quercus spp.)
• Rose (Rosa spp.)
• Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
• Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria)
• Spirea (Spiraea spp.)
• Sumac (Rhus spp.)
• Viburnum (Viburnum spp.)
• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Rabbit-Resistant Plants

It should be no surprise that plants with a strong fragrance or fuzzy leaves like lavender and black-eyed Susan are less popular with rabbits. Unfortunately, these plants will not deter them completely. Rabbits grazing in your flower beds will simply eat around the less enticing plants. However, many plants that are toxic to pets and humans are also toxic to rabbits—and they tend to avoid them.3 Try interplanting planting highly fragrant herbs and flowers, plants with prickly, hairy leaves, and toxic plants with your vegetables and ornamentals to help confuse and repel rabbits.

Rabbit-Resistant Vegetables

These tend to be either aromatic, thorny, or members of the nightshade family:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Onions
• Peppers (may eat young plants)
• Potatoes
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Corn

Rabbit-Resistant Annuals and Perennials

• Agastache
• Ageratum
• Allium
• Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
• Angelonia
• Artemisia
• Astilbe
• Autumn Fern
• Azalea
• Barrenwort (Epimedium)
• Basil
• Beard tongue (Penstemon)
• Bee balm (Monarda)
• Begonia
• Betony (Stachys)
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon)
• Black Snakeroot (Cimicifuga)
• Blanket flower (Gaillardia)
• Bleeding heart (Dicentra)
• Blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii)
• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
• Canna
• Candytuft (Iberis)
• Carex
• Catmint (Nepeta)
• Columbine (Aquilegia)
• Crocosmia
• Daffodils (Narcissus hybrids)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)
• Dead nettle (Lamium maculatum)
• Delphinium
• False indigo (Baptisia australis)
• Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)
• Foxglove (Digitalis)
• Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella)
• Geranium or Cranesbill
• Geum
• Ginger (Asarum spp.)
• Globe Thistle
• Hellebore
• Ice plant (Lampranthus)
• Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla)
• Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina)
• Lantana
• Larkspur
• Lavender (Lavendula)
• Liriope
• Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
• Maiden grass (Miscanthus)
• Marigold Tagetes
• Milkweed
• Moss pink (Phlox subulata)
• Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia)
• Mums (Chrysanthemum) (Not guaranteed)
• Oregano
• Penstemon
• Pot Marigold
• Rosemary
• Russian​ sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
• Salvia (Sage spp.)
• Sea holly (Eryngium)
• Sea thrift (Armeria)
• Sedum
• Siberian Iris
• Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus)
• Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
• Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica)
• Speedwell (Veronica spp.)
• Spider flower (Cleome)
• St. John’s wort (Hypericum)
• Sweet Alyssum
• Thyme
• Tickseed or Coreopsis
• Verbena
• Vinca (perennial)
• Wormwood
• Yucca
• Zinnia

Trees and Shrubs Rarely Eaten by Rabbits

• Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
• Blue mist spirea (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
• Butterfly Bush (Buddleia spp.)
• Juniper (Juniperus)
• Spruce (Picea)
• Fir (Abies)