Thanks for the question.

The short answer to your question is that there are few plants which are truly deer resistant. At this time of the year (mid-April 2022) and new foliage is emerging, deer may prefer things other than Pillar Arborvitae. However in the middle of winter when other food is scarce, deer will resort to eating practically anything.

Now for a slightly longer answer. The American Pillar Arborvitae is a variety of white cedar (Thuja occidentalis).  Its growing zone is 3. Duluth is in growing zone 4 so there should be no problem in its growing in Duluth. Deer love to eat white cedar though some varieties are less preferred by deer than others. In researching this, I find that some sources assert that Pillar Arborvitae is deer resistant whereas other sources do not list it as being deer resistant.

In summary, there does not appear to an absolute guarantee that deer will not eat Pillar Arborvitae. Clearly if a nursery is selling Pillar Arborvitae it is in their best interests to promote it as being deer resistant. If no other food is available (Duluth winters), I believe that deer would feast on it. Pillar Arborvitae is a fast growing and beautiful white cedar variety. If you do decide to plant it, our suggestion is that during the winter months you wrap the lower 8 feet of it with burlap or something similar to it to prevent deer access. See the following for more information on this and related points:

https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/tree/white-cedar

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/deer-resistant-arborvitae-36727.html

https://www.hunker.com/12306993/deer-resistant-arborvitae

https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/protecting-trees-and-shrubs-winter - :~:text=Use a white commercial tree,to five winters or more.

Good Luck

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