Gardening Plant Problems Garden Pests

Rabbit-Proof Plants

By
Marie Iannotti
Garden Writer Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 01/27/22
Reviewed by
Julie Thompson-Adolf
Julie Thompson-Adolf
Reviewed by Julie Thompson-Adolf

Julie Thompson-Adolf is a Master Gardener and author with over 30 years of experience in year-round organic gardening; seed starting, growing heirlooms, and sustainable farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
Fact checked by
Sarah Scott
SS
Fact checked by Sarah Scott
Sarah Scott is a fact-checker and researcher who has worked in the custom home building industry in sales, marketing, and design.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
rabbit nibbling in a garden

The Spruce / Micah Issitt and Adrienne Legault

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, although they will sample many plants in the vegetable garden:

Annuals and Perennials

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

Garden Plants That Rabbits Love to Eat

Shrubs and Trees

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

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. 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:

Rabbit-Resistant Annuals and Perennials

Flowers Rabbits Won't Eat

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)
rabbit-resistant plants
The Spruce 
The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Rabbits. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

  2. How does one identify rabbit damage and what do they eat? USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

  3. Moshobane, Claude Moshobane et al. F. Plants and mushrooms associated with animal poisoning incidents in South Africa. Vet Rec Open, vol. 7, no. 1, 2020. doi:10.1136/vetreco-2020-000402