Over the spam of 25 years, we have done thousands of estimates and seen all types of deer damage to all different plants and shrubs, some of them surprising. Deer need to eat 30% of their body weight every 3 weeks. Deer eat all year long. They generally eat conifers in the winter and flowering perennials in the spring and summer. Depending on population, density and food availability you tend to see deer eat one plant in one area, and then they may not eat that plant in another location. For example, near Valley Forge Park in PA where deer density is high and food availability is low, deer will even eat pachysandra and holy bushes after they’ve devoured all of the hemlocks and arbravitae. If you see deer eating blue spruce or pachysandra, the deer is starving and will most likely not make it through the winter.

We’ve put together a list of some of the most common plants (in no particular order) that deer love to eat here in the Mid Atlantic region.

Remember, if deer are hungry enough, they will eat almost any plant to survive, except barberry.

#1 Hosta

Deer love hosta because they require minimal effort to eat and have a high water content.

#2 Yew

Yew is a favorite winter snack among deer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

#3 Azaleas

Deer. love to nip the azalea buds right before they bloom.

#4 Fruit Trees

What better than flowering plants, but fruit trees. If you have deer around your property, you may notice you don’t have a lot (if any) of fruit on your apple or cherry trees.

#5 Arborvitae

Arborvitae are probably deer’s favorite food in the winter. If you start to look around, you should find that many arbs are eaten from the bottom up about 6-ft.

#6 Ivy

Easy to get to because it grows up and the leaves are tender.

#7 Blueberries

Now why wouldn’t the deer eat this? Not only do you need to protect your blueberries from birds, but deer also love them.

#8 Roses

Atleast the deer won’t eat the stems.

#9 Tulips

With a heavy deer population, you will never see the tulips open.

#10 Vegetable Gardens

You will never get a harvest without a deer fence.

If you have questions or concerns about any plants on your property, please reach out to us. We are always hear to help.