Do Deer Eat Blue Rug Juniper

Deer use juniper as a meal of last resort.

Do deer eat blue rug juniper.

Excellent when used as a large scale groundcover or cascading over walls. For the past several years i have had about a dozen blue star junipers in my shrub garden and the deer have never touched them. However in certain instances deer have been. Deer have a sensitive sense of smell and do not like plants with a heavy fragrance which juniper has.

Blue rug juniper thrives in poor soils in full sun. I planted them specifically because i was told by local nursery staff that the deer won t eat juniper. Notably drought tolerant and loves hot dry locations. Blue rug juniper can be grown in planting zones 3 to 9.

Depending on the species and cultivar junipers can grow as a hedging ground cover and privacy hedge and are seldom deer s first choice for food. Deer often cause damage to trees shrubs and other landscape plants causing avid gardeners and tree planters to spend money on deer repellents or deer tubes. Unfortunately if the deer have eaten juniper branches back. If damage is limited to the new shoots in spring it pays to take a wait and see attitude.

Wiltoni blue rug juniper juniperus horizontalis wiltonii. Blue star juniper juniperus squamata blue star. A recommended list of deer resistant plants. The female berries were used by native americans to brew a tonic tea and may be eaten by grouse wood rats and deer.

The sharp needles of the juniper will discourage them after one bite and the bitter taste of the bark will also stop them from browsing the plant. Juniper generally is low maintenance simply requiring some pruning to control its growth. Blue rug juniper is a hardy evergreen plant with silvery blue foliage that can take on a purple tone in the winter months. It has a uniform full dense growth habit with intensely wonderful silver blue evergreen foliage.

The following list represents plants that deer and rabbits usually will not eat. Blue rug juniper juniperus horizontalis wiltonii is a drought tolerant ground cover that craves good soil drainage this juniper is a practical solution for sunny slopes where water runs off so quickly that plants are apt to go thirsty. Like other junipers these shrubs prefer full sun and well drained soil with an acidic ph. No tree or shrub is completely deer proof but some are more deer resistant than others.

And because deer have a sensitive sense of smell they tend to dislike any plants with a strong odor. Blue rug juniper shrubs are one of the best groundcover junipers.