Is Japanese Yew deer resistant?
Taxus cuspidata
Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Japanese Yew
Heavily browsed in winter, and one of the few plants that is genuinely dangerous to have eaten. Taxine alkaloids will kill a horse or a cow outright, and deer strip it with no apparent ill effect at all. For a garden that means yew is close to unplantable where pressure is real. A hedge browsed to a browse line does not recover: yew is one of the few conifers that will resprout from old wood, but the regrowth is slow enough that you are looking at a disfigured hedge for years. If you want a deer-safe evergreen of similar habit, boxwood is the usual substitute, and Japanese plum yew looks close enough that it is sold specifically as the deer-resistant alternative.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7.5
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Fertility
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 47 to 94 in apart
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- Moderate
- Salt
- Moderate
- Pollinators
- None
- Evergreen
- Attracts birds
Deer-resistant alternatives to Japanese Yew
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Japanese Yew keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
- Arrowwood ViburnumViburnum dentatumZones 2–8Rarely damaged
- BarberryBerberis sp.Zones 4–8, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Blackhaw ViburnumViburnum prunifoliumZones 3–9Seldom damaged
- BuckthornRhamnus sp.Zones 3–7, genus rangeSeldom damaged
- Carolina SilverbellHalesia carolinaZones 4–8Seldom damaged
- Common SweetshrubCalycanthus floridusZones 4–9Seldom damaged
Similar to Japanese Yew
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
Protecting Japanese Yew
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- 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 Japanese Yew grows
Hardy across most of these 48 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Japanese Yew belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Japanese Yew
- Is Japanese Yew deer resistant?
- Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata) is rated Frequently Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer will destroy this. Do not plant it unprotected.
- What hardiness zones does Japanese Yew grow in?
- Japanese Yew is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 7. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Japanese Yew grow in shade?
- Yes. Japanese Yew tolerates part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- How big does Japanese Yew get?
- Mature height is roughly 120–300 in. Growth rate is slow.
- Is Japanese Yew toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Japanese Yew as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.