Viburnums tend to be of little interest to deer, though some seem to be more appealing. V. sargentii 'Susquehanna' is a fast growing, huge viburnum that the deer leave alone. V. lantana 'Mohican' is also very large and quite fast growing. Another large shrub that is deer resistant is Magnolia stellata--any of the cultivars. Very hungry deer might nibble my ninebarks, but they recover so fast and are generally so deer resistant that they're worth considering.

Some Viburnums are deer resistant around here, others they eat. I'd also suggest forsythia, Deutzia, caryopteris (smaller), a Heptacodium as a specimen in the border, weigela, and some of the larger Hypericum, perhaps. Hamamelis also resistant.

Deer resistance of garden plants is like fungus resistance in roses, get enough anecdotes accumulated and you see the consistent pattern is lack of consistency. Some plants may be left alone for years and then be eaten to the quick. For all practical purposes, the only absolutely reliable plant is one inside a secure and effective fence, with the deer on the other side.

bboy, while only a fence guarantees absolute security, I've gardened in deer country for many years, and am a garden consultant whose specialty is precisely that. Deer preferences do vary from area to area, but clearly certain plants are more appealing to others. But if deer have the run of a property, they will develop tastes for plants they ordinarily would pay little attention to. They're in the restaurant and they're going to sample the entire buffet. So the key is making the boundaries of the property generally unappealing. So if they're generally kept out--there are a large number of techniques--and if their first experiences with new plants is made unpleasant by the use of sprays, they tend to avoid those plants. In any case, very large shrubs are usually able to fend for themselves if they're generally unappealing, and if they've been sprayed regularly when they're small.

Of course, very heavy deer pressure is very different from moderate, and during a starving season like we're about to have here this winter, caused by a freeze that killed all the mast in the woods and a subsequent drought, all bets are off. This winter for the first time, I'll be netting almost everything, though in the past all I've ever done is spray the oakleaf hydrangeas.

>Of course, very heavy deer pressure is very different from moderate, and during a starving season like we're about to have here this winter, caused by a freeze that killed all the mast in the woods and a subsequent drought, all bets are off. This winter for the first time, I'll be netting almost everything, though in the past all I've ever done is spray the oakleaf hydrangeaTaking us back to what I said. The only method that you can be SURE OF is physical exclusion. If they have access to plantings then you have to depend on sprays or other transitory magic to be effective. And if you stop using them then damage resumes. Fence them out (effectively) and you are done with it, except for maintaining the fence.