Is Alternate-Leaved Dogwood deer resistant?
Cornus alternifolia
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Alternate-Leaved Dogwood
The only dogwood with alternate rather than opposite leaves, which is where the name comes from and the quickest way to identify it. Strongly tiered horizontal branching gives it the common name pagoda dogwood. Wants cool moist woodland shade and dislikes heat, drought and exposed sites.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5 to 6.5
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 177 to 236 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Low
Similar to Alternate-Leaved Dogwood
Other trees with the same deer rating.
- American PersimmonDiospyros virginianaZones 4–9Occasionally damaged
- AppleMalus sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeOccasionally damaged
- Atlantic White CedarChamaecyparis thyoidesZones 3–9Occasionally damaged
- Atlas CedarCedrus atlanticaZones 6–9Occasionally damaged
- Bald CypressTaxodium distichumZones 4–9Occasionally damaged
- Balsam FirAbies balsameaZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
Protecting Alternate-Leaved Dogwood
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- Protecting a young treeBrowsing costs a season. A buck rubbing a two-inch stem in October girdles it and kills it outright.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Alternate-Leaved Dogwood grows
Hardy across most of these 48 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvanianative
- New Jerseynative
- New Yorknative
- Connecticutnative
- Massachusettsnative
- Virginianative
- Marylandnative
- Michigannative
- Wisconsinnative
- Ohionative
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesotanative
- Missourinative
- North Carolinanative
- Tennesseenative
- Georgianative
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshirenative
- Vermontnative
- Mainenative
- Rhode Islandnative
- Delawarenative
- West Virginianative
- Kentuckynative
- South Carolinanative
- Alabamanative
- Mississippinative
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowanative
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 30 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Alternate-Leaved Dogwood belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Alternate-Leaved Dogwood
- Is Alternate-Leaved Dogwood deer resistant?
- Alternate-Leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Alternate-Leaved Dogwood grow in?
- Alternate-Leaved Dogwood is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Alternate-Leaved Dogwood grow in shade?
- Yes. Alternate-Leaved Dogwood tolerates full shade to part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Alternate-Leaved Dogwood get?
- Mature height is roughly 180–300 in. Growth rate is moderate.