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I bought a house in Hudson, NY in November. The previous owners had screened it from the trailer park next-door with a row of Arborvitae. They're maybe twelve feet tall, and they'd already suffered some deer damage the previous year. This winter, 2014-15, the deer simply turned the whole row into a salad bar. I tried to fence, but they just laughed at my efforts.

The damage is pretty bad. Should I prune back to the growth line, if I can figure out where that is? Could I just let the trees keep growing and plant something more deer resistant at the base? Suggestions?

I'm 61 and haven't lived in the house since I was 18, so I'm really on new territory here. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Niall C.
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Judy Nelson
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  • Is there room between the property line and the arborvitae to put a temporary fence up in the winter? – kevinskio Apr 20 '15 at 11:02
  • There is a fence behind the trees, and I put up a temporary one this winter, but apparently it was not very effective! – Judyvla Apr 20 '15 at 12:37
  • Hi @Judyvla! It looks like the system has created a couple of user accounts for you. If you’d like to merge them (there are some [advantages](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/help/why-register) to doing so), the instructions are [here](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/help/merging-accounts). Welcome to the site! – Niall C. Apr 20 '15 at 15:47
  • Hmmm, standard solution is a twelve foot tall fence. I don't think that's going to work for you. – kevinskio Apr 20 '15 at 16:26
  • @kevinsky here, and 8' fence or double 4' work well on residential properties... but yeah, aesthetically defeat the purpose of ornamental plantings, unless you can do the whole outside perimeter. – J. Musser May 10 '15 at 01:01
  • I've had luck with leaning the fencing (no-climb fence, with holes big enough for hoofs) at an angle. More than simply not wanting to step on it, they don't want to be tangled in it. You can also put it in a sort of table formation, and even plant things amongst the fencing so you won't even notice it. I used this for beans this summer and it worked. Make sure it's at least 3 feet wide (from the arborvitae), and a foot or two high near the arborvitae. Mule deer here stay away from things in the mint family (sages, rosemary, thyme, germander, savory, oregano etc.) and these look nice too. – Eric Deloak Nov 21 '15 at 18:15

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You can cut Arborvitae back to a growing green shoot. Any further, and the foliage will not grow back. Arborvitae should be pruned back in early spring, not late fall.

One thing that might discourage the deer-and I have seen this work if heavy deer country-is to lay wrinkled chicken wire flat on the ground around the area you are trying to protect. The deer hate putting their feet on the unsteady ground. You need to create a complete moat around your plants.