It seems that most plants are not pet safe and I was wondering if there was anywhere that I could find things that are safe to plant in backyards with pets? Thank you so much.

Answer #1 · Maple Tree's Answer · Hi Melinda-Your right about most plants having some toxicity to animals. Fortunately most of our pets are pretty smart and won't chew or eat plants that are bad for them. Most of these are not palatable, smell bad, or have something that doesn't agree with them. I have always lived with animals all my life and found most plants they may chew on have a very low loxicity that at most gives them upset stomachs. I do have some plants that are toxic if chewed on but I have always been able to teach my animals not to pay attention to them or damage them by chewing on them. I have found it easier to teach my animals to stay away from things than trying to teach my children to do something. I actually consider them my children too. When looking up the toxicity of a plant I find that most have a rated toxicity of mild although there are some we want to be careful of. Especially our young pets need to be watched as they have the tendency to chew on anything. There are a lot of sites you can find that will list many plants that are toxic to dogs, cats, and grazing animals along with their toxicity levels. Unfortunately I find many of the sites never list the plant I am looking for or they contradict each other to the point I haven't learned anything. I normally use the ASPCA site when looking for information on toxic or non-toxic plants for dogs and cats. If the plant isn't listed they have phone numbers you can call and get information quickly. The Humane Society of The United States is another source of information on plant toxicity for many different animals. I noted links to these sites below that may be of some help to you. Your local veteranarian is also a great source for information. There has been several times I couldn't find the information I needed and called my veteranarian. They most of the time know the toxicity of most of the local plant life and if not will get back to you quickly with an answer. It would be hard to find a site that actually lists all plants that are not harmfull to animals that would help you. This is because many of these plants may not grow in your hardiness zone or meet your desires to create the type of garden or landscape you are looking for. The best thing to do is make a list of the plants you would like to have then look up each plant individually to find whether it is toxic or non-toxic to your animals. Always look at the plants toxicity level also as most would have to be ingested in large amounts to cause possibly very little harm to the animal. If you have any questions on a particular plant that you can't find information on let me know. I am always happy to help find the information needed if possible.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/plants_poisonous_to_pets.html

Please ask if you have any other questions.

John)