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Are Dogwood Trees Deer Resistant? (Quick Answers)

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Dogwood is a flowering plant that is found mostly in Europe, eastern Asia, and North America. These trees and their elements are commonly used for making medicines. Apart from making medicines, this tree has a lot of benefits. In today’s article, we will be discussing dogwood. 

Are Dogwood trees deer resistant?

Depending on the location, your gardens can be invaded by deers. Planting dogwood trees can be an ideal solution to prevent deer from eating up all your garden as they are mostly deer resistant. It can sustain deer damage to your garden. Their smell basically  prevents the deer from invading.

Depending on different species, dogwood has its functionalities. It means they can be somewhat effective against various types of Dogwood trees. The first thing that prevents deer from invading the Dogwood trees is their height. 

The Dogwood trees are generally 15 to 35 feet tall, preventing the deer from striking the garden. Below is a brief discussion on how deer reacts to a different type of Dogwood trees: 

Flowering dogwood trees: 

Flowering Dogwood trees are generally planted in early spring because the soil is usually moist and conducive to planting. 

As per the experts, since most of the Dogwood trees are deer resistant, the flowering Dogwood trees can be also considered as deer resistant.

Kousa dogwood trees: 

Kousa dogwood tree is a short-sized dogwood tree that can be an ideal option as a deer-resistant addition to your garden. In addition to having beautiful flowers, they can be a great option to prevent deer from ruining your garden.

Pink dogwood trees: 

Yes, the pink Dogwood trees can also be considered as a deer-resistant option to the garden, but it requires a lot of light and well-drained soil to plant. 

Red dogwood trees: 

The shrubs of the red Dogwood tree are considered deer resistant because it reaches a maximum of 9 feet in height which technically makes it unreachable for the deer.

Gray dogwood trees: 

Gray Dogwood trees can be an efficient option to prevent the white-tailed deer from entering your garden. The smell of the Gray Dogwood tree prevents them from getting close to the plants.

ivory halo dogwood trees: 

Ivory halo Dogwood trees are considered deer resistant. Characteristics of the shrubs of the ivory Halo dogwood trees make it a good option to protect the earth from your garden. 

Red twig dogwood trees: 

Red twig Dogwood trees are considered one of the most beautiful species of Dogwood trees and will help you by increasing the beauty of your garden as well as preventing the deer from entering it.

Red osier dogwood trees: 

In addition to growing flowers, the smell of her dossier Dogwood trees prevents their deer from getting close into the garden or the tree itself.

Do deer like to eat dogwood trees? 

Since the Dogwood trees are considered a deer-resistant plant, eventually the deer would not eat the Dogwood trees. Although the most common species, named Cornus Alba, is considered as the most deer resistant plant among the other dogwood trees. 

Dogwood trees are very tall, that’s why the deer cannot reach them to eat the shrubs. Apart from that, the smell from the Dogwood trees prevents the tear from entering your garden and eating the plants. 

The deer do not like plants that smell or spread fragrances around them. Generally, the deer won’t eat the Dogwood tree, but if it’s quite hungry and in need of food it might go for it. 

So, you can be quite relieved that the deer would not eat the shrubs or the leaves of the dogwood tree and cause any type of harm to your garden.

3 reasons why dogwood is deer resistant 

There are plenty of reasons why the dogwood Tree is considered deer resistant. One of the main reasons why the deer do not like the dogwood tree is because it spreads a smell that the deer would not like. 

Apart from that, the elements present in the Dogwood tree are not preferred by the deer as their food. There could be more reasons, such as the Dogwood tree is quite taller for the deer to reach and cause any harm to the trees. 

Below is a brief description of a few reasons why the Dogwood tree is considered deer resistant: 

The deer do not like the plant: 

It may be the reason why deer do not like a Dogwood tree because it does not prefer the test or the texture of the tree. 

It could also mean that the deer are most likely to eat plants native to the local areas and do not spread a smell that would prevent them from eating the plant. 

The dogwood trees are tall: 

In some cases, we can see that there are a few Dogwood trees that are very taller in length and that is what makes the trees deer resistant. 

Generally, the deer could not reach the height and cause any harm to the tree by eating its shrubs or leaves. 

The smell of the Dogwood trees deters deer: 

Generally, the Dogwood trees spread a smell around the area that prevents the deer from eating or causing damage to the trees. 

Deer do not like to eat the plants that spread the smell. That is why the dogwood trees are considered deer resistant.

Which dogwood species are the most deer resistant?  

The Dogwood trees are deer resistant to their characteristics. But the Dogwood trees are available in different species that makes them different in terms of effectiveness against the deer. 

The effectiveness of the Dogwood trees against the deer is not the same. Some species are very less effective against the Dogwood trees, whereas some are strongly effective. 

Some of the most deer-resistant dogwood species include kousa dogwood, red osier dogwood, and red twigged Dogwood.

If you’re looking for an effective solution for your garden to prevent deer from entering it, you can plant these trees. Generally, the closer Dogwood trees are higher in length and will prevent the deals from causing damage to its leaves and shrubs. 

Apart from that, the white flowers from the trees will enhance the beauty of your garden. That is why planting the highly effective dogwood tree in your garden is recommended.

How to protect dogwood from deer? 

Although the Dogwood trees are considered to prevent deer from entering your garden, it is not fully ensured that they will be highly effective against all types of deer. 

That is why it is better to take some measures as a precaution to avoid any type of damage in your garden. Although the Dogwood trees can withstand sustainable damage from the deer, on the Dogwood, trees will be a bad idea. 

That is why you can take some steps to prevent deer from damaging the Dogwood tree. 

Fencing: 

The first thing that Gardener will do to prevent deer from damaging the trees is to fence them around. 

It is recommended to put a higher level of fences around the garden to prevent the deer from entering your garden. Also, you need to make sure that the fences become strong enough to stand any type of outer force. 

Tenax 2A120056 Economy Deer Control Fence, 8'x330', Black

Install netting: 

Nothing can be another effective solution to prevent errors from causing any damage to your Dogwood trees. 

For this job, nylon netting is recommended. Install nylon netting over the shrubs and cover them with a mesh screen. This will eventually do the job. 

VIVOSUN 5 x 30ft Heavy-Duty Polyester Plant Trellis Netting 1 Pack

Cover the shrubs using burlap: 

Deer can be a serious issue to the young shrubs of Dogwood trees. That is why it is highly recommended to cover the shrubs using burlap to prevent the deer from causing any damage to the Dogwood tree.

What animals eat dogwood trees? 

 Although the deer do not like to eat the elements present in the Dogwood trees, it can become a tasty appetite for the other animals in the jungle or around the garden. So, protecting the Dogwood trees from deer won’t be enough to maintain them. 

Several types of insects and animals eat the Dogwood tree. Most of the animals preferred the fruits of the Dogwood tree. They simply consume the fruit of Dogwood trees as their food. 

There are plenty of animals around the garden, or maybe some type of pets that can fly to your Dogwood trees and cause damage to the shrubs. 

You need to have an idea of those animals so that you can take possible steps against them to prevent any type of damage to your garden. Some of the animals are mentioned below: 

  • Eastern Bluebird 
  • Dark-eyed junco 
  • American Robin 
  • Wild Turkey 
  • Woodpecker 
  • Red fox 
  • Squirrel 
  • Northern cardinal.

Final thoughts 

Dogwood trees are deer resistant since the deer cannot reach the height to cause damage to the shrubs and leaves of the tree. Also, the texture or the taste of the fruit inside the tree is not preferred by the deer so it won’t cause any damage to your Dogwood tree.

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