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Monday - November 19, 2012

From: Baltimore, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Deer Resistant, Privacy Screening, Shade Tolerant, Trees
Title: Evergreen Privacy Screen for Maryland
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson

QUESTION:

I am looking for an evergreen that will suffice to be planted as a privacy screen between my property and my neighbors. Looking to plant a row at the property line. The lot is shaded most of the day and receives maybe 2-3 hours of sun. I would prefer the plant be around 20'-40' when mature. Also, there are plenty of deer in the area so it needs to be deer resistant.

ANSWER:

Wow! That’s a lot of requirements [or at least “wishes”]. The more constraints you put on a solution, the more limited your options are, but I[we] got lucky and there are some good choices which I discuss at the bottom of this message. The proper way to go about this is to bring up the “Recommended Species” for Maryland – then “narrow the choices” by your requirements on the sidebar. The following Mr Smarty Plant question/answer pairs illustrate this and provide some interesting reading on similar questions:
Native Alternatives for Baltimore
Evergreens for Privacy in VA
Privacy Screen in Arlington VA
Shrubs for a Screen in DC
Large Shrubs for Privacy Screen in VA
Shrubs for a barrier fence in Alexandria VA

Now, just in case you are in a “just give me the answer” mood; I did this for shrubs/trees in the 12-36 foot range and partial shade [2-6 hours sun]. After that, you have to read the plant record to see if it is evergreen and to see if there is a comment as to deer resistance. Here is what I found:

The closest to having everything was Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle), which is both evergreen and listed as having moderate deer resistance.
Evergreens that might also be good choices include Ilex opaca (American holly), Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba rosebay) and Rhododendron maximum (Great laurel), but there was no mention of deer resistance.

Similarly, non-evergreens that are listed as deer resistant include Ptelea trifoliata (Wafer ash) which is listed as High Deer Resistance, and Cercis canadensis (Eastern redbud) or Viburnum rufidulum (Rusty blackhaw viburnum) with Moderate Deer Resistance.