Deer-Resistant Conifers

Several pine tree varieties are deer resistant.

Several pine tree varieties are deer resistant.

Deer are destructive elements in the home landscape. They browse on woody plants, including fir trees, living off buds, twigs, tender shoots, leaves and bark. One way to discourage visiting deer from damaging your yard is to plant deer-resistant plants. Some conifers do not taste good to deer or have unpleasant needles that deer pass over for easier-to-eat plants.


Cedars emit a pungent aroma in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8. Cedar of Lebanon trees (Cedrus libani), a native of Turkey, reach 80 feet tall. This slow-growing conifer takes 15 years to reach 15 feet tall. Deodar cedar trees (Cedrus deodara) originate from the Himalayan region, growing to 80 feet tall and spreading 40 feet wide at ground level.


Cypress trees are conifers that do not produce cones, but small berries in USDA zones 7 through 10. Kashmir cypress (Cupressus cashmeriana) grows to 40 to 60 feet tall and 15 to 20 feet wide with aromatic needles on drooping branches. Tecate cypress (Cupressus forbesii), a Southern California native, reaches 10 to 25 feet tall and 20 feet wide with red bark and green needles. Another deer-resistant cypress is blue Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens “Glauca”).


Junipers are another conifer that produces berry-like cones in USDA zones 4 through 9. “Blue Point” juniper (Juniperus chinensis “Blue Point”) reaches 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide with a pyramid shape covered with blue-green needles. Variegated Hollywood juniper (Juniperus chinensis “Kaizuka Variegata”) forms an irregular upright shrub 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide with a twisted look and green-gold variegated needles.


Pine trees produce large stiff needles that deer do not enjoy eating in USDA zones 6 through 9. Jeffrey pine trees (Pinus jeffreyi) grow up to 120 feet tall and 25 feet wide with a straight trunk and blue-green 8-inch-long needles. The red-brown cones reach up to 12 inches long. Sugar pine trees (Pinus lambertiana), native to coastal ranges throughout western America, reach 200 feet tall and 50 feet wide, forming a flat-topped shape when mature. This conifer produces one of the largest cones, measuring up to 20 inches long. Other deer-resistant pine trees include knobcone pine (Pinus attenuate), Mexican pinon pine (Pinus cembroides) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta murrayana).


Spruce trees produce stiff unpalatable needles with sharp edges in USDA zones 2 through 8. Engelmann spruce trees (Picea engelmannii), a North American native, reaches 130 feet tall and 25 feet wide with blue-green needles. White spruce (Picea glauca), another native, grows 60 to 70 feet tall and 10 to 12 feet wide with silver-green needles. Sitka spruce trees (Picea sitchensis), originating in the foggy areas of western America, produce a pyramid-shaped tree 80 to 160 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide.


Yews seem to just taste bad to feeding deer and they pass these conifers over unless starving in USDA zones 6 through 9. Japanese plum yews (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) are shrubs reaching 5 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 14 feet wide with dark green needles, which appear light green when first growing in. Prostrate Japanese plum yews (Cephalotaxus harringtoniana “Prostrata”) act like a ground cover with bright green new growth that matures to a dark green. This coniferous shrub reaches 2 feet tall and spreads 5 feet wide.

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