Dense Shade-Loving Bushes That Are Deer-Resistant

Evergreens 6 Feet and Taller

• Tall, dense, shade- and deer-tolerant evergreens include the common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), a 20-foot-tall shrub with glossy, dark foliage that grows well in partial shade. It has a dense, rounded form and blooms with fragrant yellow flowers. The mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) has poisonous, lustrous foliage and blooms with pink and white flowers in late spring. This native evergreen thrives in partial shade and grows to 15 feet tall. Oleander (Nerium oleander) detracts deer with its toxins and its fragrant pink, white, lilac and red flowers. This 12-foot-tall evergreen grows well in partial shade and has tough, dark foliage.

Deciduous 6 Feet and Taller

• Fortune’s forsythia (Fontanesia fortunei) grows to 15 feet tall and has dense, multiple stems covered with glossy, dark foliage. It thrives in partial shade and blooms with white-green flowers. The Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) grows in a dense, spreading form. This 6-foot-tall shrub blooms with yellow flowers and grows best in partial or full shade. Red elderberries (Pieris japonica) contain toxins and grow to 25 feet tall. These native shrubs thrive in partial shade and have dense, lustrous foliage.

Evergreens Less Than 6 Feet Tall

• The dwarf yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria “Nana”) grows to 5 feet tall in a dense, rounded mound of spiny, lustrous foliage. This evergreen blooms with white flowers, followed by red berries, and thrives in partial shade. The compact white fir (Abies concolor “Compacta”) grows to 30 inches tall in a dense mound of pointy, gray-blue needles. This dwarf cultivar tolerates light shade, heat and drought. The Duke Gardens yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) has dense, fragrant needles and grows to 5 feet tall. It grows well in partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. The creeping gardenia (Gardenia augusta “Radicans”) also thrives in partial shade. This 2-foot-tall evergreen forms a dense mound of tough, dark foliage and blooms with aromatic white flowers.

Deciduous Less Than 6 Feet Tall

• The Caucasian daphne (Daphne caucasia) grows to 5 feet tall and prefers partially to fully shaded sites with moist soil. This shrub contains toxins, grows in a dense mound of pale-green foliage and produces aromatic white flowers. Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) also blooms with fragrant blossoms. This dense, spreading shrub grows to 4 feet tall and tolerates partial shade, drought and severe pruning. The 3-foot-tall Emerald Pygmy Japanese barberry (Berberis japonica) has dense, blue-green foliage and grows well in partial shade. It blooms with yellow flowers in spring.