Is Carolina Hemlock deer resistant?
Tsuga caroliniana
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Carolina Hemlock
More tolerant of city air and drought than eastern hemlock, with a denser and more formal habit. It is still vulnerable to hemlock woolly adelgid, which has devastated wild hemlock stands and requires ongoing treatment to manage. Needs cool moist soil and shelter from wind.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5 to 6.5
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 94 to 142 in apart
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Tolerances and uses
- Evergreen
Deer-resistant alternatives to Carolina Hemlock
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Carolina Hemlock keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Carolina Hemlock
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
- Bald CypressTaxodium distichumZones 4–9Occasionally damaged
Protecting Carolina Hemlock
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 Carolina Hemlock grows
Hardy across most of these 43 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginianative
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Ohionative
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Missouri
- North Carolinanative
- Tennesseenative
- Georgianative
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolinanative
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- 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 6 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Carolina Hemlock belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Carolina Hemlock
- Is Carolina Hemlock deer resistant?
- Carolina Hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Carolina Hemlock grow in?
- Carolina Hemlock is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 7. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Carolina Hemlock grow in shade?
- Yes. Carolina Hemlock tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Carolina Hemlock get?
- Mature height is roughly 360–840 in. Growth rate is slow.