A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2002 deer favorites

The posting that lists plants deer typically stay away from suggests creating a food source near by for the deer to graze. My boys love to watch the deer. What can I plant in the very wet forrest type area behind my home that would attract the deer? We live in zone 8 - tampa florida. There are actually mangrove roots back there mixed with oak, palms and pines. There is also standing water.

I think the reason why you have not had many answers on this thread is due to the fact you mentioned the standing water. That throws a major kink into finding plants that will grow. There is one plant that the deer will eat that I can think of, and that would be Water Lillie’s. They don't touch the leaves or the flowers, but the rather eat the stems of the plants. You may also want to introduce a old stand by for deer, White Clover. This would have to be planted on high ground as it will not tolerate being under water. Another dry ground plant would be Crown Vetch.
If the dry ground is not an option, you may want to just put out a deer feeder. In it put cracked corn, or oranges, or apples. Another possibility could be putting out a salt lick

I hope this helps

Mike