Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

  Ahhh, that sounds pretty ugly.  Mr Smarty Plants understands your distress.  The general process we use to recommend a nice native that should fit the situation is to use the recommended species page, then use the “Narrow Your Search” function to see what might appeal.

When I select “New Jersey” and a height of 12-36 feet, I get 17 possibilities.  Of these:

   Cercis canadensis (Eastern redbud) is the only tree that explicitly lists moderate deer resistance.  There were two representatives from the Dogwood family [Cornus].  They are Cornus alternifolia (Alternateleaf dogwood) and Cornus florida (Flowering dogwood).  

         
Cercis canadensis                        Cornus florida

   I found a few more candidates that listed “fast growing” as a characteristic.  There were two species from the Prunus genus,  Prunus serotina (Black cherry) and Prunus virginiana (Chokecherry). Take note though, that Prunus are considered poisonous.  This may lead it to be deer resistant as it is primarily the effect of seeds and leaves on livestock that is of issue.  If this one looks like your preference, you might might  want to review what they have on Prunus in the Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Database or in the Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System and compare this information to your situation.  Another candidate, Rhus copallinum (Winged sumac), was noted as fast growing, but also as a deer browse.

         
Prunus virginiana               Rhus copallinum

The following four trees interested me as possibilities, but did not explicitly quote “fast growing” or deer resistance as specific traits.
·          Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)
·          Asimina triloba (Pawpaw)
·          Malus coronaria (American crab)
·          Pinus virginiana (Virginia pine)

                   
Sassafras albidum             Asimina triloba             Pinus virginiana

  A very good source for information on New Jersey native plants is the New Jersey Native Plant Society.  This link takes you to their home page, which leads you to contact information, horticultural questions, lists of natives by county, etc.. And, finally, you should contact the Rutgers University Monmouth County Extension Office, which has horticultural information for your area, contacts with Master Gardeners and other resources that can give you closer-to-home information than we can.