- Fringetree. (Chionanthus spp.) Fringe trees aren't a household name, but they should be.
- Crape Myrtle. (Lagerstroemia indica)
- Saucer Magnolia. (Magnolia x soulangeana)
- Serviceberry. (Amelanchier spp.)
- Flowering Quince. (Chaenomeles spp.)
- Hawthorn. (Crataegus spp.)
- Chinese Dogwood. (Cornus kousa)
Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers that have a toxicity that deer avoid. Deer also turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents. Herbs such as sages, ornamental salvias, and lavender, as well as flowers like peonies and bearded irises, are just “stinky” to deer.
Ideally, 20 to 30 percent of your woodland should consist of these fruit- and nut-bearing trees. Deer love acorns, especially from white oaks, beech, chestnut and hickory. Soft mast from persimmon, crabapple, honey locusts, sumacs as well as domestic apple and pear trees will also attract deer.
Deer Resistant Evergreens for Privacy Screens
- Norway Spruce. Picea abies.
- Green Giant Arborvitae. Thuja standish x plicata 'Green Giant'
- Virescens Arborvitae. Thuja plicata 'Virescens'
- Leyland Cypress. Cupressus × leylandii.
- Skip Laurel. Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis'
- Yellow Groove Bamboo.
- Clumping Bamboo.
Deer love to nibble on the spring foliage and flowers of these trees, and may even eat the buds before they can bloom. Because Eastern redbuds are on the small side, it is easy for the deer to reach the branches on these trees. Deer will also chew on the bark if they are very hungry.
Deer eat not only hostas and many other perennials in summer but the winter foliage of many evergreen trees and shrubs, like arborvitae and yews. They eat the bark of young trees, as well as any twigs, buds, acorns and berries they can reach.
There aren't a lot of deciduous trees that the deer won't eat so make sure they start branching out of reach or that you can barricade them until they're tall enough. One tree that is a must in my garden, and not just for deer resistance, is Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata).
The fruit does provide food for forest animals such as squirrels, wood ducks, white tailed deer, mourning doves, beavers and birds. The Sweet Gum Ball Tree is also a very popular timber wood.
Yes, deer will and do eat pine trees. They will eat anything to survive. Because evergreens are the only greens left, and they are herbivores, it makes sense. Obviously, they can handle what we would think impossible, even Holly leaves and pine needles.
Deer Resistant Evergreens for Privacy Screens
- Norway Spruce. Picea abies.
- Green Giant Arborvitae. Thuja standish x plicata 'Green Giant'
- Virescens Arborvitae. Thuja plicata 'Virescens'
- Leyland Cypress. Cupressus × leylandii.
- Skip Laurel. Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis'
- Yellow Groove Bamboo.
- Clumping Bamboo.
Owen says one aspect that makes deer difficult to manage is that they're capable of learning, which separates them from insects that damage Christmas trees. In winter, when deciduous trees are bare and groundcover and grasses are snow-covered, deer will eat whatever they can to maintain body temperature and weight.
White pine buds are a favorite food of deer, and need protection to discourage deer browsing.
They will feed on a wide range of plants, with runner bean, beetroot, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, evergreen azaleas, camellia, roses, holly, ivy, rhododendron, Viburnum tinus, hardy geraniums, Sedum, tulip and grape hyacinth often being heavily damaged.
The best way to protect your tree is to physically block off deer with a fence or tree guard. Plastic or mesh tree guards are a quick fix. They wrap right around your tree's trunk and prevent deer from rubbing up against the bark. Or you can wrap your tree loosely in chicken wire or burlap if you'd rather.
According to Rutgers University, most hydrangeas are “occasionally severely damaged”. Which means that deer prefer other plants more, but when hungry deer will eat hydrangeas. Making hydrangeas that bloom on old wood especially susceptible to deer damage, as it could ruin the following year's blooms.
What are the fastest-growing trees for privacy? Hybrid poplar tops the list. It can grow upwards of five feet per year. The Leyland cypress, green giant arborvitae, and silver maple are all close seconds because they add about two feet to their height each year.
Hollies, both tree and shrub varieties, are frequently included on deer-resistant plant lists. But some hollies resist deer better than others. according to Rutgers University, is American holly or Ilex opaca, a native plant grown both as an evergreen shrub and as a tree that can reach 50 feet in height.
But here are some good alternative evergreens to provide a border or screen and not deer candy: Japanese or Sawara false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) cultivars/varieties include 'Filifera', 15-20 feet high, and 'Boulevard', 10 feet or higher.
Lilacs are considered deer-resistant, however, meaning that unless the deer in your area are feeling pressure from a lack of available food, chances are they will pass lilacs up in favor of other, more appealing plants. Supposedly, plants like catmint, lavender, thyme, sage and rosemary are also repulsive to deer.
Buddleia are considered to be deer resistant. Deer prefer many other plants and will only feed on the butterfly bush as a last resort.
Good Eats for Deer
Other deer-friendly plants include wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei, growing zone 4) and yew shrubs (Taxus sp. growing zones 5 through 10). These are among the most common shrubs ravaged by deer, but many others exist that the species is willing to eat.Here are some of my most useful observations when it comes to fencing deer out of the garden:
- Stockade fences work better than those the deer can see through.
- Sometimes the best fence is no fence at all.
- Go electric.
- Double fence layers work like a charm.
- Use “invisible” deer netting.
- Fence individual plants.
Deer-Resistant Hedges and Screens
White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis, found in Eastern states, is often eaten by deer, but Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, is normally left alone. Since this is one of the parents of the popular Green Giant Cedar, that plants resistance to deer is well-documented.Depending on the species and cultivar, junipers can grow as a hedging, ground cover and privacy hedge, and are seldom deer's first choice for food. However, in certain instances, deer have been known to nibble on blue juniper plants. Thankfully, a few methods will protect the blue juniper from hungry deer.
Norway spruce is not readily eaten. Deer mostly leave it alone. Every white pine I ever planted was nipped; not the spruce. Voles and mice love thick grass and eat the bark off hardwoods at ground level, but for the most part, leave the spruce alone.
In general, deer usually leave palms alone if there is somthing else to eat. However, if deer are starving, there are no palms are completely deer proof.
Arborvitae (Thuja spp.) make a particularly tasty snack for deer. Depending on the type, the trees grow from 10 to 200 feet tall and are used in the landscape as ornamental trees, hedges or privacy screens. They have red-brown bark and scaly leaves -- the latter of which deer will eat when necessary.
Both the red and black chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia and Aronia melanocarpa. They're both beautiful native shrubs, that do excellent with deer browse. Q. And they have amazing fall color, fruit, and are great wildlife plants.
A soil test is the best way to find a fertilizer for a Leyland cypress that is right for your soil. Lacking a soil test, fertilize a mature Leyland cypress with 18-8-8 fertilizer. The three numbers show the ratio by weight of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The nitrogen is the critical nutrient for trees.
Cypress. Cypress trees are conifers that do not produce cones, but small berries in USDA zones 7 through 10. Another deer-resistant cypress is blue Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens “Glauca”).
What Tree Can I Plant That a Deer Will Not Eat and Destroy? (Pine, Spruce, Fir) No tree is truly “deer resistant,” but there are a few types that deer typically steer clear of.
