Juniperus scopulorum or Rocky Mountain Juniper. Some of the cultivars will be about the size you want, such as 'Medora'.

I saw a row of these at Longhill Garden on the North Shore and they were lovely, and deer leave them alone.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Rocky Mountain Juniper - UConn database

This post was edited by steve_mass on Fri, May 30, 14 at 7:22

There can be serious problems with Juniperus scopulorum and juniper blights, at least in southeastern MA. I lost three Skyrockets to blight.

I mentioned this to the owner of a local reputable nursery and he told me (angrily) that the Rocky Mountain Juniper shouldn't even be sold around here.

I don't know where you're located but the zone 7 implies southeast or south coast or Cape Cod. I would think twice about planting Juniperus scopulorum cultivars in this area.

They were beautiful conifers, until they died.

Claire

I was going to suggest Castle Spire holly, Ilex ÃÂ meserveae 'Hackfee' but MOBOT (Missouri Botanic Garden) says it is sometimes severely damaged by deer; that's a 3 out of 4 where 1 means very rarely damaged. I first saw Castle Spire at Avant Gardens, in their private garden, and it was lovely. It fits your size requirements and tolerates shade.

Cephalotaxus harringtonia âÂÂFastigiataâ is supposed to be deer resistant and takes shade well. Not everyone likes it, since it resembles yew so closely, but I like the slightly different texture of the longer needles, and the deep green foliage.

Of all places, Mahoney's has a nice list of tall narrow shrubs, at http://www.mahoneysgarden.com/tall-and-narrow-trees-and-shrubs-evergreen-deciduous-and-fruit-trees. You might use that for cross referencing with a site that lists deer resistance. They have a photo of Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis' that looks lovely, and tolerates shade - I might have to try to find one of those for my own (deer-free) garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: MOBOT: Castle Spire

My neighbors kindly did the Meserve holly deer test for me. Two of them planted next to the house were completely stripped by the end of a normal winter.

Total fail.

Wider than specified, but clumping bamboo might be worth looking at. Fargesia rufa is reasonably evergreen here, shade tolerant, and apparently the deer have yet to figure out it is a plant.

Columnar boxwood is another possibility, though the new blight might be a problem.

I have politely interested deer during the summer. They turn into starving deer in the winter, and there is very little that is evergreen that they do not devour.

Thanks for the replies on this ... Sorry I didn't respond sooner. It looks like my decision will wait until Spring but I will review everything suggested here. Thank you.