Landscape Design Tree Planting

Keep Deer Away with These Trees and Shrubs

Discover beautiful, deer-resistant trees and shrubs that protect your landscape while adding year-round color and interest.

August 13, 2018

Deer standing on its hind legs to browse leaves from a low-hanging fruit tree branch in a grassy, wooded area.

One of the most common culprits for browsing on trees are deer. They love nibbling on fruits and nuts and have no shame leaving their mark.

Tree guards, repellents, and fences can be great deterrents to keeping them away and protecting your trees. But at times, the effort of constantly playing defense can get exhausting. Luckily, there are trees and shrubs that provide great shade, look beautiful, and rarely appeal to deer.

These trees and shrubs are sectioned into two categories: rarely damaged and seldom severely damaged and are best for landscapes prone to deer damage.

Rarely damaged: the highest degree of deer resistance a tree can receive.

Seldom Severely Damaged: the second highest degree of deer resistance a tree can receive.

Shop Flowering Trees

Close-up of white arrowwood viburnum blooms with lacecap-style flowers and green buds among dark green leaves.

Arrowwood Viburnum | This shrub brings seasonal interest with creamy white spring flowers, summer blue-black berries, and foliage that turns yellow, red, or purple in fall.

mall ornamental tree in bloom with white flowers in a grassy landscape, with evergreen trees and bare deciduous trees in the background.

Downy Serviceberry | An all-season tree with white spring blooms, vibrant red and gold fall foliage, and summer berries loved by birds—and perfect for pies and preserves.

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Close-up of pink saucer magnolia blossoms on bare branches, with soft-focus blooms in the background.

Saucer Magnolia | A true show-stopper with early spring blooms like porcelain goblets, lush green summer foliage, and striking silvery-gray bark—one of America’s favorite flowering trees.

Soft-focus close-up of lilac blossoms on branching stems, with a dreamy pink-and-purple background.

Fragrant Lilac | A garden favorite with lilac, lavender blooms and nostalgic fragrance in spring. Hardy and versatile—perfect as a specimen, hedge, border, or windbreak.

Branch of a flowering shrub covered in soft pink blossoms and fresh green leaves, with a blurred green background.

Beautybush | Fast-growing and easy-care, the beautybush dazzles with pink blooms from late spring into summer, deep green foliage, and reddish fall color for lasting interest.

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Goldenraintree | Goldenraintree offers year-round beauty with yellow summer blooms and lantern-like pods in fall and winter. Hardy and adaptable—though invasive, so plant with care.

Japanese Flowering Cherry | A spring showpiece with white-pink blossoms and almond fragrance, plus summer appeal with glossy bark, dark green leaves, and elegant branching.

Close-up of a white Kousa dogwood flower with four pointed petal-like bracts surrounding a cluster of small green-and-yellow florets, framed by glossy green leaves.

Kousa Dogwood | Kousa dogwood combines delicate beauty with toughness—star-like spring blooms, layered summer canopy, brilliant red fall color, and unique winter bark.

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Rose of Sharon | Easy to grow with an upright form and large summer blooms in white, pink, red, purple, or violet—adding vibrant color when few plants are in flower.

Shop Evergreen Trees

Close-up of a pine branch with long green needles and two pine cones—one green and one maturing to brown.

Austrian Pine | Known as the toughest European pine, this hardy tree thrives under harsh conditions—perfect for windbreaks and demanding landscapes.

Close-up of blue-green Colorado spruce needles on a branch, with a soft, blurred green background.

Colorado Blue Spruce | A magnificent ornamental conifer with tiered, symmetrical branches and striking blue-green needles—one of the most popular landscape evergreens.

Close-up of Douglas fir branches with soft green needles, layered against a blurred green forest background.

Douglasfir | Beloved worldwide, the Douglasfir is celebrated for its strength and grace—one of the noblest and most striking trees in nature.

Close-up of a pine tree branch with numerous brown cones and green needles against a clear blue sky, conveying a natural, serene atmosphere.

Norway Spruce | A versatile European evergreen widely used for lumber, pulpwood, Christmas trees, and windbreaks—dense branching and soil tolerance make it a landscape favorite.

Sunlit Scots pine branches with long green needles and several brown pinecones, set against a bright blue sky and softly blurred trees.

Scots Pine | A hardy, adaptable evergreen ideal as a windbreak or specimen tree. Popular for Christmas trees and reclamation sites thanks to its form and needle retention.

Close-up of an eastern white pine tree branch with soft, green needles and yellowish, cone-like structures against a blurred background, conveying a natural, serene tone.

Eastern White Pine | An iconic American tree, once prized for ship masts and later for lumber that built homes and businesses—historic and enduring in beauty and utility.

ornamental white spruce at winter on the snow.

White Spruce | More than just beautiful, the white spruce is a versatile evergreen—ideal for windbreaks, screens, and landscaping, and a mainstay in pulp and lumber industries.

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Youngstown Juniper | A trailing evergreen with silvery-green foliage that turns bronze or purple in cold weather—ideal for rock gardens, foundations, walls, and erosion control.

Shop Shade Trees

Close-up of a paper birch trunk with white peeling bark and dark horizontal markings, with soft green foliage blurred in the background.

Paper Birch | The iconic white paper birch symbolizes beauty and history—long valued in North America for its elegance and practical uses since early human activity.

A close-up of a tree's vibrant green leaves, showcasing their texture and natural beauty against a blurred background.

River Birch | River birch thrives almost anywhere with rapid growth, drought and wet tolerance, curling bark, and resistance to birch borer—ideal for diverse landscapes.

Shop Shade Trees

Cluster of small green, cone-like fruits hanging from a branch with soft, feathery needle-like leaves, against a blurred green background.

Dawn Redwood | A fast-growing, low-maintenance tree that can reach 120 feet in 30 years. Native to China but now thriving worldwide, it’s an impressive landscape choice.

Close-up of an evergreen branch with dense, scale-like green foliage covered in clusters of pale blue-white berries, with a softly blurred background.

Eastern Redcedar | A hardy, aromatic evergreen that tolerates heat, salt, and poor soils—ideal for windbreaks, screens, hedges, or as a striking specimen tree.

A tall leafy tree stands alone in a sunny grassy field under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds, with several wire tree guards spaced across the pasture.

European Beech | One of the finest specimen trees, the European beech offers year-round beauty—from shimmering spring leaves to dense summer shade and vibrant fall color.

Close-up of sunlit sassafras branches covered in bright yellow-orange fall leaves, with a blurred canopy of autumn foliage and patches of blue sky in the background.

Sassafras | A native beauty with aromatic foliage and unique mitten-shaped leaves that turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange, scarlet, and purple in fall.