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Top 10 Deer – Resistant Hedges
Many of us battle daily with large resident deer populations that love to devour our rose bushes, fruit trees, and generally our favorite and most prized plants. While some small things can be protected with fencing or deer-repellant spray, these defenses are simply not practical for protecting long hedges.
Fortunately, we grow a selection of deer proof hedges as well as hedges that deer just don’t prefer to eat unless they are really hungry. Not only does planting a deer-resistant hedge keep them from eating the hedge itself, but planting a tall hedge around the rest of your garden will help keep the deer away from everything else, as they prefer not to jump over borders that they can’t see over. This will also help protect small trees that they like to rub on even if they don’t care to eat them.
These are our top 9 deer-resistant hedges:
Deer-Proof Hedges
Disclaimer: we can’t really promise that anything is fully “deer-proof”, as some deer have different tastes and very hungry deer will be a lot less picky. Based on our experience, though, these five are about as close to deer resistant shrubs as you can get:
Green Mountain Boxwood
Green Mountain Boxwood (Buxus x ‘Green Mountain’) is a hybrid boxwood hedge that deer avoid at all costs. The leaves are dry and leathery, and there is a faint hint of feline urine in the smell when the foliage is bruised. If a deer had to choose between eating boxwood and starving to death, it would probably choose the latter. One of the best deer resistant shrubs to be considered.
Cherry-Laurels
Cherry-Laurels are a tried and true deer-proof hedge. All three of our types – English (Prunus laurocerasus), Schip (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Schipkaensis’), and Portuguese (Prunus lusitanica) – are totally unattractive to deer. It might be the smell, taste, or tough texture of the leaves, or possibly a combination of factors. We don’t really care what it is, honestly, just knowing that it works is enough for us.
Virescens Western Red Cedar
Virescens Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata ‘Virescens’) is native to the western coast & widely used deer resistant shrubs in the United States. No one really knows why, but deer completely leave it alone. It is very similar to the American Arborvitae of the east coast, which deer devour, so it seems like they should eat this one, too. All we can say is “they don’t.”
Virescens Western Red Cedar
Virescens Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata ‘Virescens’) is native to the western coast of the United States. No one really knows why, but deer completely leave it alone. It is very similar to the American Arborvitae of the east coast, which deer devour, so it seems like they should eat this one, too. All we can say is “they don’t.”
Green Giant Arborvitae
Green Giant Arborvitae is a hybrid between Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) and Japanese Arborvitae (Thuja standishii). It seems to have inherited extreme deer-resistance from its Western Red Cedar parent, because they don’t touch this one either. It grows fast, which is another bonus since it can quickly become a tall enough hedge to discourage them from trying to leap over it or go through it. Also, Discover more hedges. One of the best deer resistant shrubs to be considered.
Teton Firethorn
Teton Firethorn (Pyracantha ‘Teton’), as the name suggests, is covered in long, sharp thorns. Deer seem to look past the thorns on roses, but rose thorns seem fleshy and soft when compared with those of the Firethorn. They are sharp. They grow quickly, too, so they make a great fence to keep deer out of the whole garden.
Teton Firethorn
Teton Firethorn (Pyracantha ‘Teton’), as the name suggests, is covered in long, sharp thorns. Deer seem to look past the thorns on roses, but rose thorns seem fleshy and soft when compared with those of the Firethorn. They are sharp. They grow quickly, too, so they make a great fence to keep deer out of the whole garden.
Deer-Resistant Hedges
Most deer, if not too desperate, will avoid these hedges. Part of it has to do with timing, especially for the deciduous hedges on this list, as the trees are leafless when the deer are the most hungry. Others are just not preferred.
European Beech
European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is not a deer-favorite. In summer, the leaves are a bit tough and leathery, and there are lots of other and more desirable options to choose from. In winter, when other options are limited, the beech has only bare branches and dry, crunchy leaves. Not exactly a choice salad.
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