Is Forsythia Deer-resistant?

21 years ago

There is a wooded strip of land along a stream between our backyard and another street. We grow a vegetable garden behind the fence and would like to make that area a bit prettier to look at. For now, there are only weedy shrubs growing next our vegetable garden, so we want to clear the area and plant more appealing shrubs, like forsythias, red-twig dogwood, and butterfly bush. Are those deer-resistant? We have a few deer wandering around from time to time, but not a lot.

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BruMeta

21 years ago

I have a bad deer problem northeast of you in NY, across the border but near Wayne and Pike Counties, and have been combatting them for years with some success, replanting beds with deer-resistant plants and protecting those which are not. In the winter, I fence in all shrubs. With snow cover, they eat anything and everything. Here are my experiences with the plants you mention.

Forsythia. I took mine out, not because of deer, but for other reasons. Did they nibble on it in winter? Yes, and since it blooms on old growth, at least try easily removed netting. No nibbling in summers though.
Buddleia (butterfly bush). Yes, I had a few nibbles one summer on just one of them, but generally deer pass them by. In winter I don't worry about it, since they get cut way back in spring and bloom on new growth.
Cornus alba (red-twig dogwood). My understanding is that deer do not bother this much. In winter they might, but that shouldn't matter, since the plantsÂfor best winter colorÂneed to be cut back to nearly ground level in the spring.

Good questions. I would like to hear how the dogwood does for you.

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Comments (6)

brenda_near_eno
21 years ago
I've had some luck with
leucothe
illicium
kalmia
mahonia
redtwig dogwood
spireia
calycanthus
buddleia
cotoneaster
edgeworthia
but if hungry enough they will eat it all.
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kitova
21 years ago
look at: http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/default.asp

this study was done in our area, central new jersey, but deer could be more or less desperate where you are. i generally stick to the "rarely severely damaged" (translation: they never touch it) to "seldom severely damaged" (translation: they will nibble at it occasionally but not badly).

we have forsythia everywhere in our neighborhood and we have lots of deer (one every day in my yard). the forsythia seem to bloom just fine. so do the buddleias. i've never seen my local mother and 3 bambis eating either in summer.

as for red-twigged dogwood, i've heard the same as you, brumeta, but never planted one nor noticed any in our area... p.s., other flowering shrub considerations are magnolia, bottlebrush buckeye, rose of sharon, weigelas, and lilacs
rain-ri
13 years ago
We need a privacy hedge or shrub about 8 feet long. Live near wind/water/deer.

Any suggestions?'

Near a patio.

Just lost all of our trees in snowstorms
bbpytel
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
In Central Jersey deer DO EAT Forsythias and eat them all year long! I am aggravated reading online about the false hope that this plant is deer resistant or deer do not prefer them. There are loads of stuff to eat where I live (next to a corn field) and the deer even snack on the Forsythia leaves during the summer. In the fall, the bucks will DESTROY the woody part of the bush. I have given up hope figuring out what these creatures will not bother. I do know they will NOT eat mint of any kind and Lemon Balm (smells like Pledge) does are good job keeping them away.
Bonnie Crim
6 years ago
I live in Virginia, a state that is abundantly beautiful with a huge assortment of plants. I’m in a rural area, surrounded by tons of trees and foliage. I have forsythia in my front yard. I hate to watch the deer nibble on them every day, when they have a buffet all around them. No this plant is not deer resistant.