Hello,

We wanted to put in arborvitaes along our back property line for
screening however every nursery tells us they are deer candy
(at least here in upstate NY) and don't do it !

Is there any substitute that is deer resistant and resembles the
pyrimidical shape of arborvitaes? Ideally we would like the shrub
to be anywhere from 6 to 12 ft high , 8 ft wide max. Any suggestions?

TIA

Jerome wrote:

Hello,

We wanted to put in arborvitaes along our back property line for
screening however every nursery tells us they are deer candy
(at least here in upstate NY) and don't do it !

Is there any substitute that is deer resistant and resembles the
pyrimidical shape of arborvitaes? Ideally we would like the shrub
to be anywhere from 6 to 12 ft high , 8 ft wide max. Any suggestions?

TIA

You might want to consider a holly hedge. Some of the meserve hybrids are
extremely cold tolerant as well as being less appealing to deer than many
other plants. 'China Girl' and 'China Boy' are probably the most cold
tolerant pair, relatively fast growing to 10x8' but more of a mounding
habit than pyramidal,. easily pruned. There is no true deer resistant
plant - it just depends on their appetities and what else is available,
but holly is not high on their list.

pam - gardengal

If you are looking for a pyramidal plant more similar to arbovitae than the
holly Pam suggests, you might consider some cultivars of Juniper virginiana.
I think deer are not as fond of juniper as of arbovitae, although as Pam
mentions, there are no plants that are 100% safe when the deer starvation
times arrive.
"Pam" wrote in message
...


Jerome wrote:

Hello,

We wanted to put in arborvitaes along our back property line for
screening however every nursery tells us they are deer candy
(at least here in upstate NY) and don't do it !

Is there any substitute that is deer resistant and resembles the
pyrimidical shape of arborvitaes? Ideally we would like the shrub
to be anywhere from 6 to 12 ft high , 8 ft wide max. Any suggestions?

TIA

You might want to consider a holly hedge. Some of the meserve hybrids are
extremely cold tolerant as well as being less appealing to deer than many
other plants. 'China Girl' and 'China Boy' are probably the most cold
tolerant pair, relatively fast growing to 10x8' but more of a mounding
habit than pyramidal,. easily pruned. There is no true deer resistant
plant - it just depends on their appetities and what else is available,
but holly is not high on their list.

pam - gardengal