We have them growing wild in several different spots. The common denominator I see at all of them is that they are growing in partial shade near the roots of large trees. One exception to that is the one at my gate. It came up in a fence row and the closest tree to it is probably 20 feet away, but a large tree. This one gets a lot of sun compared to the others. None of the places I see them has wet soil, but it is flat ground and the moisture retention is pretty good.
I always see browsing on them regardless of where I find them, but not browsed to the extent that it kills them. Just recently I walked through the small woods (only 2 acres) on the 11 acres my son just bought. I was surprised to find several of them, and they were browsed fairly hard. This seems a little strange, because the woods is next to the road and has houses nearby. All of the browsing there would have to take place at night.
The spot I found where they flourished the most was at the west side of my big woods on a property line fence. Some old woven wire from previous fencing had been left near the newer wire and formed almost a cage that kept deer from being able to get close to them easily. Several came up there and looked really good. These probably get 1/2 day of evening sun.
Not sure if this helps any, but just what I notice on the ones growing wild.