My Deer Garden

Plant record · Tree

Is Cherry deer resistant?

Prunus sp.

Ripe red cherries on the branch
Photo by MPF, CC BY 2.5. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 4 of 4 · Frequently Severely Damaged

No. Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.

Type
Tree
Hardiness
Zones 4–8, genus range
Light
Full sun
Bloom
Spring
Maintenance
High
Toxic to
dogs, cats, and horses

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Cherry

Deer browse the foliage and strip low fruit, and bucks rub the smooth young trunks in fall, 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.

Protecting Cherry

Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.

  1. 1Protecting a young treeBrowsing costs a season. A buck rubbing a two-inch stem in October girdles it and kills it outright.
  2. 2How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  3. 3What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
  4. 4Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.

What to plant instead of Cherry

Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, and rated better for deer. If Cherry keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7
Drainage
Well drained
Water
Moderate
Spacing
177 to 236 in apart
Growth rate
Moderate
Maintenance
High

Where Cherry is used

One guide on this site plants it, and says where and what beside it.

Where Cherry grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — not hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Cherry

Is Cherry deer resistant?
Cherry (Prunus sp.) is rated Frequently Severely Damaged, step 4 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. 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.

Browse from here

Every list Cherry belongs to.

All trees·Deer favorites·Full sun plants·Mast and fruit trees

Hardy in these zones

Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .