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Garden plants toxic to cats

Every garden plant in the planner rated toxic to cats, the most dangerous first, from ASPCA and NC State records.

The most dangerous plants for a cat are the lilies, true lilies (Lilium) and daylilies (Hemerocallis): every part of them, even the pollen a cat licks off its fur or the water in a vase, can cause kidney failure within days. If you keep cats, keep lilies out of the garden and the house altogether.

The rest of this list runs from plants that cause a stomach upset to ones that affect the heart. It is drawn from the ASPCA's lists and NC State's toxicity ratings; where the two disagree, the more cautious rating is used. In the planner, the Plants tab can show only non-toxic plants, and any plant unticked there is left off the plan.

454 plants: 240 perennials, 1 fern, 92 bulbs and 121 shrubs.

The ones most often planted

  • Elephant ear

    Elephant ear

    5 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Enormous, heart-shaped, velvety leaves that point downwards, on stalks as tall as a person.

  • Periwinkle

    Periwinkle

    6 in · mid April to late May · mild, to dogs, cats and horses

    Trailing stems of small, glossy, dark evergreen leaves, with lavender-blue pinwheel flowers in spring.

  • Japanese pieris

    Japanese pieris

    8 ft · late March to late April · severe, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    An elegant evergreen with drooping chains of white or pink, lily-of-the-valley bells in early spring, and new leaves that open bronze or bright red.

  • Foxglove

    Foxglove

    4 ft · early June to mid July · severe, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Tall spires of spotted, bell-shaped flowers bring height to part-shade beds in early summer.

  • Bleeding heart

    Bleeding heart

    2½ ft · early May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    An old-fashioned favourite with arching stems of heart-shaped flowers in late spring.

  • Mountain laurel

    Mountain laurel

    8 ft · late May to late June · severe, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    A native evergreen with crimped, sugar-icing buds that open into cup-shaped flowers of white, pink or red in late spring, in clusters that cover the plant.

  • Hyacinth

    Hyacinth

    10 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Dense, waxy spikes of intensely fragrant flowers in blue, purple, pink, white or soft yellow, in mid-spring.

  • Blue false indigo

    Blue false indigo

    4 ft · late May to mid June · mild, to people, dogs and cats · host plant

    Spikes of indigo-blue pea flowers in late spring on a plant that grows as big as a shrub, with blue-green leaves and black seed pods that rattle in winter.

  • Common boxwood

    Common boxwood

    10 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    The classic boxwood of old gardens: a large, billowing, dark evergreen that can be clipped into hedges and shapes or left to grow into a small tree over many decades.

  • Lantana

    Lantana

    3 ft · late May to mid October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Rounded clusters of small flowers that change colour as they age, so each head is often yellow, orange and pink at once.

  • Caladium

    Caladium

    20 in · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Paper-thin, heart-shaped leaves in mixtures of white, pink, red and green, veined and splashed, from early summer until the first cool nights.

  • Calla lily

    Calla lily

    2½ ft · mid May to mid July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

    Pure white, funnel-shaped flowers of great elegance, each wrapped around a yellow spike, above glossy, arrow-shaped leaves.

All 454 plants

Show all 454, by how toxic they are

Severe 98

Moderate 120

  • Aaron's beard 14 in · late June to late August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Allium 'Ambassador' 4 ft · early June to early July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Allium 'Gladiator' 4 ft · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Allium 'Globemaster' 3 ft · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Allium 'Mount Everest' 3½ ft · late May to mid June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • American elderberry 10 ft · mid June to mid July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bleeding heart 2½ ft · early May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' 2½ ft · early May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' 12 in · early May to early September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bleeding heart 'Luxuriant' 16 in · early May to early September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Blue allium 20 in · early June to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bottlebrush buckeye 10 ft · late June to late July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bouncing Bet 24 in · late June to early September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Boxwood 'Green Gem' 24 in · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Boxwood 'Green Mountain' 5 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Boxwood 'Green Velvet' 3 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Bugbane 'Brunette' 5 ft · early September to early October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Burning bush 11½ ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Butterfly weed 24 in · late June to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Buttonbush 6½ ft · late June to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Caladium 20 in · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Calla lily 2½ ft · mid May to mid July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Cardinal flower 3½ ft · late July to mid September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Cardinal flower 'Queen Victoria' 3½ ft · late July to mid September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Carolina allspice 8 ft · early May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Chives 14 in · mid May to mid June · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Christmas rose 12 in · late February to early April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Christmas rose 'Jacob' 10 in · late November to late December · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Comfrey 'Hidcote Blue' 18 in · late April to late May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Common boxwood 10 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Common milkweed 4 ft · late June to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Corsican hellebore 2½ ft · late February to late April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Curly onion 10 in · late July to early September · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Cypress spurge 12 in · early May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 16 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'Dutch Master' 18 in · early April to late April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'February Gold' 12 in · mid March to early April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'Ice Follies' 16 in · early April to late April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'Jetfire' 10 in · late March to mid April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete' 7 in · late March to mid April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Daffodil 'Thalia' 14 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Darwin hybrid tulip 24 in · late April to mid May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Donkey-tail spurge 6 in · early April to mid May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Drumstick allium 2½ ft · late June to late July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Dwarf English boxwood 2½ ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Dwarf flowering almond 4½ ft · late April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Elderberry 'Black Beauty' 8 ft · early June to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Elderberry 'Black Lace' 6½ ft · early June to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Elderberry 'Lemony Lace' 5 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Elephant ear 5 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Florida anise 8 ft · mid April to mid May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Garlic chives 20 in · late August to mid September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Giant allium 5 ft · early June to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Glory-of-the-snow 6 in · late March to mid April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Golden garlic 12 in · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Golden Japanese euonymus 6 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Golden St John's wort 'Sunburst' 3 ft · late June to late July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Greigii tulip 10 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Ground clematis 'Purpurea' 5 ft · early June to mid July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Hardy cyclamen 5 in · late August to mid October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Hellebore 'Ivory Prince' 16 in · early March to late April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Hellebore 'Pink Frost' 16 in · late February to mid April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Hyacinth 10 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' 10 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Jack-in-the-pulpit 18 in · early May to late May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Japanese anemone 'September Charm' 3 ft · mid August to early October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Japanese onion 'Ozawa' 10 in · early October to early November · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Japanese skimmia 3½ ft · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Jonquil 12 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Kalm's St John's wort 3 ft · early July to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Korean boxwood 'Wintergreen' 3½ ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Lady tulip 12 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Lantana 3 ft · late May to mid October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Lenten rose 18 in · late March to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Littleleaf boxwood 'Winter Gem' 4 ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Nodding onion 18 in · early July to early August · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Ornamental onion 'Millenium' 18 in · mid July to late August · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' 2½ ft · late May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Ornamental onion 'Summer Beauty' 20 in · early July to early August · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Ornamental rhubarb 6 ft · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Pasque flower 10 in · early April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Pink lily leek 6 in · late May to mid June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Plume poppy 7 ft · early July to mid August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Poet's daffodil 16 in · early May to late May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Purple leaf sand cherry 8 ft · late April to early May · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Purple lobelia 3½ ft · mid July to mid September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Purple milkweed 3 ft · early June to mid July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Schubert's allium 20 in · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Showy milkweed 3½ ft · mid June to late July · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Sicilian honey garlic 3½ ft · late May to mid June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Sneezeweed 4 ft · early August to late September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Sneezeweed 'Mardi Gras' 3 ft · early July to early September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Sneezeweed 'Moerheim Beauty' 3 ft · mid July to early September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Sneezeweed 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' 3 ft · late June to early October · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Solitary clematis 24 in · mid June to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Spreading plum yew 2½ ft · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Spring snowflake 10 in · early March to late March · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • St John's wort 'Hidcote' 3½ ft · late June to mid September · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Star of Persia 20 in · late May to late June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Stinking hellebore 24 in · late February to mid April · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Swamp milkweed 4 ft · early July to early August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' 3½ ft · early July to mid August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses · host plant
  • Sweetshrub 'Aphrodite' 6½ ft · late May to late August · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Tarda tulip 5 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 18 in · late April to mid May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Angelique' 18 in · early May to late May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Apeldoorn' 22 in · late April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Ballerina' 22 in · early May to mid May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Fusilier' 12 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Lilac Wonder' 7 in · mid April to early May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Purissima' 16 in · mid April to late April · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Queen of Night' 24 in · early May to late May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Tulip 'Spring Green' 18 in · early May to late May · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Turkestan onion 10 in · mid May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Turkestan tulip 10 in · late March to mid April · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • Waterlily tulip 8 in · late March to mid April · moderate, to dogs, cats and horses
  • White bleeding heart 2½ ft · early May to early June · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Winter cyclamen 3 in · early February to late March · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Wintercreeper 16 in · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses
  • Wintercreeper 'Emerald 'n' Gold' 20 in · grown for its leaves · moderate, to people, dogs, cats and horses

Mild 236

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