Is Cherry deer resistant?
Prunus sp.
Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Cherry
Deer browse the foliage and strip low fruit, and bucks rub the smooth young trunks in autumn, which girdles and kills whole trees. A trunk guard for the first several years matters more than any repellent. Birds take the crop unless you net it. Prune only in dry summer weather to avoid silver leaf and bacterial canker.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 177 to 236 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- High
Deer-resistant alternatives to Cherry
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Cherry keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Common Flowering QuinceChaenomeles speciosaZones 4–8Seldom damaged
- Common SassafrasSassafras albidumZones 4–9Seldom damaged
- Dawn RedwoodMetasequoia glyptostroboidesZones 4–8Seldom damaged
- Eastern Red CedarJuniperus virginianaZones 2–9Seldom damaged
- Eastern White PinePinus strobusZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- English HawthornCrataegus laevigataZones 4–8Seldom damaged
Similar to Cherry
Other trees with the same deer rating.
Protecting Cherry
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- 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.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
Where Cherry grows
Hardy across most of these 50 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
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Cherry belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Cherry
- Is Cherry deer resistant?
- Cherry (Prunus sp.) is rated Frequently Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
- What hardiness zones does Cherry grow in?
- Cherry is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat. That is the range across the genus, so a named species or cultivar may be narrower.
- Does Cherry grow in shade?
- No. Cherry wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- Is Cherry toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Cherry as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.