List of Shrubs & Trees Deer Prefer to Eat

Deciduous Shrubs

• Deer like to munch on a variety of deciduous shrubs, including Japanese flowering quince, fragrant winterhazel, cornelian cherry dogwood, winged euonymus and the bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangea. Other deciduous targets include viburnum, Chinese and meserve holly, Manchurian lilac, common winterberry and mountain laurel shrubs, along with pink shell, pinksterbloom and Florida azaleas.

Evergreen Shrubs

• The wintercreeper euonymus, yew, Chinese juniper, Japanese holly and tam juniper are evergreen shrubs deer find very attractive. They also like firethorn, shore juniper, rhododendron, Japanese eunonymus and bearberry cotoneaster shrubs.

Evergreen Trees

• Evergreen trees ranked susceptible to deer include the Atlantic white cedar, balsam fir, atlas cedar, Leyland cypress and varieties of the Japanese maple with red leaves. The Nellie R. Stevens holly, arborvitae, and hemlock trees also fall victim to deer, as do the Austrian, Swiss mountain and Scotch pine.

Deciduous Trees

• The Norway maple, Eastern redbud, black locust, chestnut oak, fringe tree, European ash, bald cypress, goldenrain tree, and saucer magnolia fall among the deciduous trees deer set their sights on. The creatures also like apple, crabapple, cherry, plum and pear trees, plus alternate-leaved dogwood, European larch, staghorn sumac and common horsechestnut trees.