Deer-Resistant Shrubs for Shade

Shrubs for shade that deer usually leave alone. See mature size, growth rate, and hardiness zone for each one. Split into narrower lists below.

More specific collections

Bachelor's Button

Alder-Leaved Viburnum

Big Leaf Periwinkle

Japanese Skimmia

Shrubs give a garden its bones, and a badly browsed one stays lopsided for years. These also take shade. Dry shade is the hardest place in the garden to plant, and a few of these manage it. Most are grown for their flowers.

shrubs: 91
hardiness zones: 3 to 11

Deer leave these shrubs alone, and they still flower. These shrubs flower in spring, summer and late autumn, so the border keeps its colour long after the first flush. Most of the colour is white, yellow and pink.

spring: 69
summer: 29
late autumn: 8

The variety runs deeper than the type suggests: the planting can be put together in almost endless ways. Viburnum, Berberis and Illicium have the most entries, and borders and hedges are the commonest uses.

borders: 52
hedges: 48