Is Panicled Dogwood deer resistant?
Cornus racemosa

Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Panicled Dogwood
White fruit on bright red stalks, and the stalks stay colourful after birds strip the berries. Suckers into a dense thicket, which makes it excellent for wildlife hedging and wrong for a tidy border. Tolerates poor dry soil better than other native dogwoods.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7.5
- Drainage
- Average garden soil
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 71 to 118 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Deer-resistant alternatives to Panicled Dogwood
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Panicled Dogwood keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatumZones 2–8Rarely damaged
- BarberryBerberis sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- DaphneDaphne sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Devil's Walking StickAralia spinosaZones 4–9Rarely damaged
- Fragrant SumacRhus aromaticaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Japanese BarberryBerberis thunbergiiZones 4–8Rarely damaged
Similar to Panicled Dogwood
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Bigleaf HydrangeaHydrangea macrophyllaZones 6–11Occasionally damaged
- Bloodtwig DogwoodCornus sanguineaZones 5–7Occasionally damaged
- Blue HollyIlex x meserveaeZones 5–7Occasionally damaged
- Carolina RhododendronRhododendron carolinianumZones 5–8Occasionally damaged
- Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbienseZones 4–8Occasionally damaged
- Chinese LilacSyringa x chinensisZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
Protecting Panicled Dogwood
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- 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 Panicled 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
- Wisconsinnative
- Ohionative
- Indiananative
- Illinoisnative
- Minnesotanative
- Missourinative
- North Carolinanative
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texasnative
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshirenative
- Vermontnative
- Mainenative
- Rhode Islandnative
- Delawarenative
- West Virginianative
- Kentuckynative
- South Carolinanative
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansasnative
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraskanative
- Iowanative
- North Dakotanative
- South Dakotanative
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 29 US states in total.
Browse from here
Every list Panicled Dogwood belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Panicled Dogwood
- Is Panicled Dogwood deer resistant?
- Panicled Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Panicled Dogwood grow in?
- Panicled Dogwood is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Panicled Dogwood grow in shade?
- Yes. Panicled Dogwood tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Panicled Dogwood get?
- Mature height is roughly 120–324 in. Growth rate is fast.