LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – “Ohooo, I hates gophers!”
It’s kind of fun to say if you say it like Elmer Fudd. However, in truth, I don’t really hate gophers, just the damage they do, and they can do a heap of damage.
Deep, loamy soil, like those here in Scotts Valley, where the densities are greater than 12 per acre at any given time, are prime gopher territory.
Even if your soils aren’t deep and loamy, gophers still move in and when they do, it’s a disaster for your garden.
Scientists say they are great for the environment. They aerate the soil. Did you know that one pocket gopher can churn up to one ton of soil a year? This brings new seeds to the surface which aids in plant diversity. Their mounds cover vegetation which then breaks down, providing fertility. When they go about doing their underground business, nests and such, they provide deep soil fertilization.
OK, fair enough, gophers can be beneficial. But, they are also industrious little rototillers, voracious and destructive, gnawing off saplings, up-ending flower pots, leaving unsightly mounds in the lawn, undermining sidewalks, burrowing up ground covers, and consuming everything else!
A quick search on the internet shows a plethora of ways to rid your garden of them. There are many kinds of poisons, deterrents, mechanical traps, gas bombs, raised beds and underground baskets that bar them from roots. However, none of these work 100 percent.
The last four years during my daily trips to the garden have left me crying over what’s gone, and that has been about of 80 percent of what I’ve planted.
But recently, when the flooding sent gophers to the high ground I was forced to look at what was left. That gave me an idea for a different strategy. I’m going to plant things that gophers don’t prefer.
There are plants that gophers won’t eat because they are toxic, like Narcissus. Others have a disagreeable taste, but that doesn’t mean they won't eat them if they are hungry enough, like rosemary. Then there are those they eat but enough small surface roots survive to keep the plant going, like Mexican heather.
Below is a list of plants that gophers tend to leave alone. This list is a combination of plants that our friend Kate Frey noted to be gopher resistant and plants I have added from my own experience. I’ve organized them into gardening categories.
I’d also love to know what plants you are finding resistant. Let me know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Gopher resistant plants
Low ground covers
Periwinkle, (Vinca major* and minor)
Wild strawberry (Frageria virginiana)
Wild strawberry (Frageria chiloensis)
Mock strawberry (Duchesnia indica)
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans)
Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbagoides)
*Vinca major is highly invasive and on our list of plants to avoid.
Vines
Creeping wire vine (Muehlenbergia axillaris); can also be a ground cover.
Bulbs
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
Voodoo lily (Dranunculus vulgaris)
Shrubs
Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii and lindleyana)
Rock rose (Cistus spp.)
California lilac (Ceanothus spp.)
California fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Heavenly bamboo, (Nandina domestica); gophers may tunnel up and gnaw off the small stalks
Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium)
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.)
Coyote bush (Baccharis spp.)
Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
Mock orange (Philadelphus spp.)
Native currants (Ribes spp.)
Flowers
Flag iris. (Iris versicolor)
Native iris (Iris douglasiana)
Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
Red hot poker (Kniphofia spp.)
Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
Mexican primrose (Oenothera speciosa); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolia); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
California buckwheat (Erigonum spp.)
Swamp flower (Helianthus angustifolius)
Cora bells (Heuchera spp.)
Mexican feather bush (Gaura lindheimeri)
Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa)
Herbs
Rosemary (Rosmarinus vulgaris); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris); gophers may eat the center root, but the surface side roots remain to keep, at least some of the plant(s) alive.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata); also makes a good ground cover
Peppermint (Mentha x piperita); also makes a good ground cover
Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium); also makes a good ground cover
Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
Catnip (Nepeta cataria); where gophers are dense, it may be consumed
Oregano (Origanum vulgaris)
Trees
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)
Grasses
Sedges (Carex Spp.)
Rushes (Juncus spp.)
Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)
Native grasses
