How to Find an Evergreen That Is Deer Resistant

If you live in a wooded area, your neighbors may make landscaping difficult, especially if those neighbors are deer. While you may like the aesthetic appeal of your hostas and fruit trees, to a deer, these landscaping plants look like the ingredients for a salad buffet. If you want year round landscaping with aesthetic appeal and deer resistance, you should select plants such as evergreens that are deer resistant.

Instructions

- 1
  Contact your local county extension service. Many extension service agents are knowledgeable about plants and can recommend evergreen varieties that grow well in your region that are also resistant to deer.
- 2
  Look online at university agricultural program websites for deer resistant plant recommendations. Universities such as Rutgers or Washington State University have archived articles that not only recommend evergreens that deer will not eat, but also recommend deer repellents that can save tender plants that deer will eat.
- 3
  Examine evergreen plants in your garden center. Deer avoid plants with prickly defenses, such as thorny holly leaves or rose canes. These plants not only make attractive and deer-resistant landscaping, but you can also plant them beneath the windows of your home as an added security measure. Deer also tend to avoid plants with foliage that is sticky, hairy, feathery or emits an unpleasant odor.
- 4
  Read the tags on evergreen landscaping shrubs in your local garden center. Many informational tags indicate which plants are resistant to deer.
- 5
  Select evergreens that deer are known to dislike. According to Nature Hills Nursery, deer stay away from juniper, pines, firs and spruces. Most of these trees are commercially available from local landscapers or garden centers.

List of Shade-Loving Plants

Cement & Water Features

Overall Landscape Planning