Deer Plant: Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)
Class: browse; highly preferred by deer
Description: A perennial shrub to small tree with a broad open crown found in bottomlands and uplands. This browse plant is common in forest understory and upland slopes and twigs are sparsely armed with straight spines, so be careful around them. The flowers and fruits are small.
Note: Photos are from various species of hawthorn.
Hawthorn Photos:
Is Hawthorn an excellent deer food?. A friend told me that deer really like to eat the fruit of this plant. I am thinking in purchasing a few trees, but before I want to know if deer it.
Lincoln, hawthorn is a good deer food in the locations where it is found. It’s a good staple that deer tend to use most during the late spring and summer and even into the fall. If you plant some, make sure to purchase a local species grown locally and the make sure to protect the plant from deer browsing until it’s well established. Best time to plant would be Oct-Nov.