Is Bald Cypress deer resistant?
Taxodium distichum
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Bald Cypress
A deciduous conifer that will grow in standing water and produces the woody knees around its base in permanently flooded ground. It also grows perfectly well in ordinary garden soil, which surprises people. Rusty orange autumn colour, then bare all winter.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 4.5 to 6.5
- Drainage
- Tolerates wet feet
- Water
- High
- Spacing
- 236 to 354 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- Low
Deer-resistant alternatives to Bald Cypress
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Bald Cypress keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Bald Cypress
Other trees with the same deer rating.
- Alternate-Leaved DogwoodCornus alternifoliaZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
- 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
- Balsam FirAbies balsameaZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
Protecting Bald Cypress
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 Bald Cypress grows
Hardy across most of these 51 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
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginianative
- Marylandnative
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohionative
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesota
- Missourinative
- North Carolinanative
- Tennesseenative
- Georgianative
- Texasnative
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delawarenative
- West Virginianative
- Kentuckynative
- South Carolinanative
- Floridanative
- Alabamanative
- Mississippinative
- Louisiananative
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahomanative
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 23 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Bald Cypress belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Bald Cypress
- Is Bald Cypress deer resistant?
- Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Bald Cypress grow in?
- Bald Cypress is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Bald Cypress grow in shade?
- No. Bald Cypress wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Bald Cypress get?
- Mature height is roughly 600–840 in. Growth rate is moderate.