Is Flowering Dogwood deer resistant?
Cornus florida
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
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.
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
Deer-resistant alternatives to Flowering Dogwood
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Flowering Dogwood keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Flowering Dogwood
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 Flowering Dogwood
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 Flowering Dogwood 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.
- Pennsylvanianative
- New Jerseynative
- New Yorknative
- Connecticutnative
- Massachusettsnative
- Virginianative
- Marylandnative
- Michigannative
- Wisconsin
- Ohionative
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesota
- Missourinative
- North Carolinanative
- Tennesseenative
- Georgianative
- Texasnative
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshirenative
- Vermontnative
- Mainenative
- Rhode Islandnative
- Delawarenative
- West Virginianative
- Kentuckynative
- South Carolinanative
- Floridanative
- Alabamanative
- Mississippinative
- Louisiananative
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahomanative
- Kansasnative
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbianative
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 32 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Flowering Dogwood belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Flowering Dogwood
- Is Flowering Dogwood deer resistant?
- Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. 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.