Deer-resistant evergreen shrubs
Evergreen shrubs are the hardest case in a garden with deer, because holding leaves through winter is exactly what makes a plant valuable to you and valuable to them. In February there is very little else green within reach, which is why so many evergreen hedges that were untouched for three years get stripped in a single hard winter. The junipers, hollies and boxwood here are the ones that hold up. Semi-evergreen plants are deliberately excluded: a shrub that thins out in a cold winter does not do the job this list exists for.
46 plants
Rarely Damaged12

Boxwood
Buxus sempervirens
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 60–240 in

Drooping Leucothoe
Leucothoe fontanesiana
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–6
- Height
- 24–72 in

Japanese Pieris
Pieris japonica
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 96–120 in

Japanese Plum Yew
Cephalotaxus harringtonia
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–9
- Height
- 60–120 in

Japanese Skimmia
Skimmia japonica
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–8
- Height
- 24–84 in

Leatherleaf Mahonia
Mahonia bealei
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–9
- Height
- 48–120 in

Moonglow Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum 'Moonglow'
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 360–480 in

Mountain Pieris
Pieris floribunda
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–6
- Height
- 48–72 in

Oregon Grape Holly
Mahonia aquifolium
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 36–72 in

Prince of Wales Juniper
Juniperus horizontalis 'Prince of Wales'
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–9
- Height
- 6–18 in

Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 8–10
- Height
- 48–60 in

Sweet Box
Sarcococca hookeriana
Rarely damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 48–60 in
Seldom Severely Damaged27

Armstrong Juniper
Juniperus chinensis 'Armstrongii'
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 600–720 in
Autumn Sage
Salvia greggii
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–9
- Height
- 24–36 in
Banana Yucca
Yucca baccata
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub

Bearberry Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster dammeri
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 12–12 in
Big Sagebrush
Artemisia tridentata
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Height
- 108–108 in

Bog Rosemary
Andromeda polifolia
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 2–6

Cherry Laurel
Prunus laurocerasus
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–8
- Height
- 120–240 in

Chinese Holly
Ilex cornuta
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–9
- Height
- 96–180 in

Chinese Juniper
Juniperus chinensis
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 600–720 in

Coast Leucothoe
Leucothoe axillaris
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8

Creeping Juniper
Juniperus horizontalis
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–9
- Height
- 6–18 in
Curl-Leaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Height
- 360–360 in

Dwarf Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea 'Nana'
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 480–840 in

English Holly
Ilex aquifolium
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–8
- Height
- 360–600 in

Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–9
- Height
- 72–216 in

Goldust Plant
Aucuba japonica
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–10
- Height
- 72–120 in

Holly Osmanthus
Osmanthus heterophyllus
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 7–9
- Height
- 96–240 in

Inkberry
Ilex glabra
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–11
- Height
- 60–120 in

Japanese Garden Juniper
Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 6–18 in

Leatherleaf Viburnum
Viburnum rhytidophyllum
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 120–180 in

Mountain Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–7
- Height
- 360–480 in

Mugo Pine
Pinus mugo
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 2–7
- Height
- 240–300 in
Oneseed Juniper
Juniperus monosperma
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 480–480 in

Pfitzer Juniper
Juniperus chinensis 'Pfitzeriana'
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 600–720 in
White Sagebrush
Artemisia ludoviciana
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–10
- Height
- 36–36 in

Willowleaf Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster salicifolius
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–8
- Height
- 24–36 in

Youngstown Andorra Juniper
Juniperus horizontalis 'Youngstown'
Seldom damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 3–9
- Height
- 6–18 in
Occasionally Severely Damaged6

Catawba Rhododendron
Rhododendron catawbiense
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Height
- 72–120 in

Japanese Euonymus
Euonymus japonicus
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–9
- Height
- 120–180 in

Japanese Holly
Ilex crenata
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 5–8
- Height
- 60–120 in

Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Height
- 48–180 in

Rosebay Rhododendron
Rhododendron maximum
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8

Shore Juniper
Juniperus conferta
Occasionally damaged- Type
- Shrub
- Hardiness
- Zones 6–9
- Height
- 12–18 in
