Eight Popular Perennials Favored by Slugs

Aster ericoides, commonly known as heath aster, reaches a height of 32 to 40 inches (80 to 100 centimeters), with a spread of 20 to 32 inches (50 to 80 centimeters).

Flowers open as pink, yellow-eyed daisies atop leafy, slenderly branched stems.

Asters are disfavored by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and rabbits (family Leporidae).
Thus, although enticing to slugs, asters seclude garden treasures from forays by these four-legged, notorious garden munchers.

In 1993 the Royal Horticultural Society honored four cultivars of Aster ericoides with Awards of Garden Merit (AGM):

• 'Blue Star'
• 'Brimstone'
• 'Golden Spray,' and
• 'Pink Cloud.'

Bergenia 'Silberlicht, commonly known as Silver Light bergenia or elephant ears, reaches a height of 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 centimeters), with a spread of 16 to 32 inches (40 to 80 centimeters).

Leaves shine as glossy green beneath loosely clustered white flowers that age to pink.

Bergenia 'Silberlicht' is repugnant to whitetails so a garden which is disturbed by slugs at least will be abandoned quickly by deer with the addition of this plant.

Bergenia 'Silberlicht' received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993

Pulmonaria angustifolia, commonly known as blue cowslip or blue lungwort, reaches a height of 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 centimeters), with an exuberant spread of 16 to 40 inches (40 to 100 centimeters).

Flowers open in nodding clusters of gentian-blue, tubular flowers.

Pulmonaria angustifolia received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 1993.

Galanthus nivalis 'Atkinsii', commonly known as Atkinsii snowdrop, reaches a height of 8 inches (20 centimeters), with a spread of 7 inches (18 centimeters).

Flowers open as pure white, marked with green, in winter.

'Atkinsii' received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 1993.

Caution should be exercised, as:

• contact with Galanthus bulbs may cause skin irritations;
• ingestion of any part of Galanthus plant may provoke mild stomach upsets.

Stachys byzantina, commonly known as lamb's ears or woolly betony, reaches a height of 18 inches (45 centimeters) with a spread of 24 inches (60 centimeters).

Grey-green leaves highlight pink to purple flowers.

This plant is repugnant to whitetails so a garden which is grazed by deer quickly will be disencumbered of its four-legged visitors by a barrier of lamb's ears.

Rudbeckia hirta, commonly known as black-eyed Susan, reaches a height of 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2 meters), with a spread of 32 to 48 inches (80 to 120 centimeters).

Yellow ray florets encircle purple-brown disc florets as flowerheads open above narrowly long, lance-shaped leaves.

Rudbeckia are also profoundly unappetizing to white-tailed deer so the addition of this plant shoos away deer.

Two black-eyed Susan cultivars, 'Indian Summer' and 'Toto,' received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 2000.

Campanula persicifolia, commonly known as peach-leafed bellflower or willow bellflower, reaches a height of 24 to 36 inches (60 to 90 centimeters) with a spread of 18 inches (45 centimeters).

Blue, bell-shaped flowers open widely to about 2 inches (5 centimeters) against dramatic rosettes of narrow, wavy-edged leaves.

Sedum spectabile 'Brilliant' has the scientific synonym of Hylotelephium spectabile 'Brilliant'. Its common names include showy stonecrop or Brilliant showy stonecrop or ice plant. 'Brilliant' reaches a height of 27 inches (70 centimeters), with a spread of 16 to 32 inches (40 to 80 centimeters).

Flowers open as pink to rosy magenta.

Sedum spectabile 'Brilliant' garnered an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1993.

Caution should be exercised, as:

• contact with Sedum sap may cause skin irritations;
• ingestion of any part of Sedum plants may provoke mild stomach upsets.

Perennials brighten landscapes and enchant with their predictable recurrence. Unfortunately, gardeners are not alone in appreciation of returning perennials. Other garden lovers, such as slugs, also are attracted to certain perennials.

In planning yearly gardens, identification of potential problems, such as plant-specific pests, is essential for success. Eight perennials which are popular ornamentals bring with them the worrisome baggage of undesirable attention from slugs:

• Atkinsii snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis 'Atkinsii),
• black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta),
• blue cowslip or blue lungwort (Pulmonaria angustifolia),
• Brilliant showy stonecrop or showy stonecrop or ice plant (Sedum spectabile 'Brilliant' or Hylotelephium spectabile 'Brilliant'),
• heath aster (Aster ericoides),
• lamb's ears or woolly betony (Stachys byzantina),
• peach-leafed bellflower or willow bellflower (Campanula persicifolia), and
• Silver Light bergenia or elephant ears (Bergenia 'Silberlicht).

Nevertheless, these perennials do not have to be banned from gardens. Instead, their healthy enjoyment may be assured by incorporating strategies for slug repellents into garden designs and plans.

My special thanks to:

• Talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the Internet;

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

"Bergenia 'Silberlicht' AGM." Royal Horticultural Society > Plants > Plant Selector. 2011. The Royal Horticultural. Web. www.rhs.org.uk

• Available at: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=242 

Brickell, Christopher, and Judith D. Zuk, eds. The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. New York: DK Publishing, 1996.

Flora: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia. Volumes I-II. Portland OR: Timber Press, 2003.

"Galanthus 'Atkinsii' AGM." Royal Horticultural Society > Plants > Plant Selector. 2011. The Royal Horticultural. Web. www.rhs.org.uk

• Available at: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=828

Lancaster, Roy. Perfect Plant Perfect Place: The Surest Way to Select the Right Outdoor and Indoor Plants. London-New York-Sydney-Moscow: Dorling Kindersley, 2002.

"Pulmonaria angustifolia AGM." Royal Horticultural Society > Plants > Plant Selector. 2011. The Royal Horticultural Society. Web. www.rhs.org.uk

• Available at: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=3477

"RHS AGM Listing May 2013 (Ornamentals)." Royal Horticultural Society > Plant Awards > List of plants with the AGM. May 2013. The Royal Horticultural Society. Web. www.rhs.org.uk

• Available at: http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-trials-and-awards/Plant-awards/AGM-plants

"Sedum spectabile (Brilliant Group) 'Brilliant' AGM." Royal Horticultural Society > Plants > Plant Selector. 2011. The Royal Horticultural. Web. www.rhs.org.uk

• Available at: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1819

Symondson, William O.C. “Slug Control.” Cardiff School of Bioscences > StaffInfo > Slugs. October 1996. Cardiff University. Web. www.cardiff.ac.uk

• Available at: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/biosi/staffinfo/wocs2.html