My Deer Garden

Plant record · Tree

Is Flowering Dogwood deer resistant?

Cornus florida

White notched bracts of flowering dogwood
Photo by Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 3 of 4 · Occasionally Severely Damaged

Partly. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.

Type
Tree
Hardiness
Zones 5–9
Light
Part shade
Height
180–300 in
Bloom
Spring
Maintenance
High
Native range
32 US states

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

About Flowering Dogwood

The native dogwood everyone wants, and increasingly hard to keep alive: anthracnose and borers have killed it across much of its range, particularly on stressed trees in full sun. Site it in light woodland shade with steady moisture, or plant kousa dogwood instead, which resists both.

Do deer eat dogwood trees?

Yes, the flowering dogwood. Rutgers rates Cornus florida Occasionally Severely Damaged, the third tier, and NC State's entry says it twice: "The foliage is browsed by white-tailed deer," and "Deer eat the leaves and twigs." The same entry lists deer among the challenges the tree resists, which is the contradiction NC State's entries carry for several plants, and Rutgers' tier is the reading to trust. A young tree at 4 feet is all within reach, and bucks rub the smooth trunk in fall, which kills trees the browsing would only set back.

Are any dogwoods deer resistant?

The shrubs and the Asian species do better. Rutgers rates kousa dogwood Seldom Severely Damaged, one tier up, along with the red osier and red twigged shrub dogwoods; the pagoda dogwood, cornelian cherry and the panicled and bloodtwig dogwoods sit in the third tier with the flowering one. Kousa is also the tree NC State's disease list argues for.

Where it grows

NC State: zones 5a to 9b, 15 to 25 feet, full sun or partial shade, flowering March to May, tolerant of compaction, fire, storm damage and wind. The problem list is the reason flowering dogwoods die: "Frequent Disease Problems," dogwood anthracnose above about 1,800 feet, spot anthracnose lower down, powdery mildew, canker, and the dogwood borer among the insects. A tree stressed by full sun and dry ground gets all of them.

Protecting flowering dogwood

A trunk guard for the first several falls against buck rub, which no repellent prevents, and a cage or the 20 percent egg spray Colorado State rates High on the foliage while the crown is within reach. In light woodland shade with steady moisture the tree is under less stress from everything, deer included.

If it is browsed

Browsed foliage regrows the same season and a young tree loses a year of growth. A trunk girdled by rub does not recover; that is the damage to guard against first.

Protecting Flowering Dogwood

Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so decide on the options before it gets browsed rather than after.

  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. 3Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  4. 4Check 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.

What to plant instead of Flowering Dogwood

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

Soil and care

Soil pH
5.5 to 6.5
Drainage
Consistently moist
Water
Moderate
Spacing
94 to 142 in apart
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
High

Where Flowering Dogwood grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone, and native to 32 of them. 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 — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — native, and hardy. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — native, and hardy. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — native, and hardy. 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 — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — native, and hardy. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — not hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — native, and hardy. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — native, and hardy. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — native, and hardy. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Native and hardyHardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Flowering Dogwood

Is Flowering Dogwood deer resistant?
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged, step 3 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
What hardiness zones does Flowering Dogwood grow in?
Flowering Dogwood is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Flowering Dogwood grow in shade?
Yes. Flowering Dogwood tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
How big does Flowering Dogwood get?
Mature height is roughly 180–300 in. Growth rate is slow.

Browse from here

Every list Flowering Dogwood belongs to.

All trees·Sometimes destroyed·Part shade plants·Mast and fruit trees

Hardy in these zones

Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

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 .