Highlights
Not one of America’s cedars is a true cedar. The real ones, Cedrus, are four Old World species in the pine family. Ours are junipers, arborvitae, white cedars, incense cedar and Alaska yellow cedar, all in the cypress family, with scaly, fragrant sprays that stay green all winter.
They earned the name with aromatic wood and a knack for hard places. Eastern red cedar has the best drought resistance of any conifer native to the eastern United States. Somewhere in this group is a tree for the spot you’ve given up on.
Is a native cedar a good choice for my yard?
Yes, if…
- You have a dry, sunny, difficult spot. Eastern red cedar grows on everything from dry rock outcrops to wet swampy land, salt included.
- You want winter food for birds. Juniper cones are eaten by many wildlife species, waxwings and ruffed grouse among them.
- You have a wet, acidic low spot. Atlantic white cedar prefers sandy, peaty, moist to wet, acidic soil.
- You want a native hedge. Western redcedar makes excellent hedges when trimmed.
Skip it if…
- You grow apples and don’t want to spray. Cedar-apple rust requires two hosts: apples and junipers.
- Deer are heavy and you want arborvitae. NC State warns that on northern white cedar, “damage from deer browsing can be a serious problem.”
- You garden beside remnant prairie on the Great Plains. Red cedar is native there, and it is also “a well-known invader in the prairie region” now that fire is rare.
- You’re outside their range. Each species covers only a slice of the country.
Why native cedars matter
Caterpillars, including two hairstreaks
Junipers (Juniperus) host 111 native moths and butterflies in the Shropshire-Tallamy caterpillar records. Arborvitae (Thuja) host 89, the white cedars (Chamaecyparis) 30 and incense cedar (Calocedrus) 13. Two of those caterpillars are small green butterflies: eastern red cedar hosts juniper hairstreak, and Atlantic white cedar supports Hessel’s hairstreak.
Winter food and shelter
Eastern red cedar’s fruits are eaten by many wildlife species. Northern white cedar is highly preferred by white-tailed deer for both shelter and browse.
A nest made of bark
In central Texas, Ashe juniper’s peeling bark is used for nesting material, most notably by the rare golden-cheeked warbler. The tree that gets cleared from rangeland is the one that bird builds its home from.
Cedar, juniper or arborvitae: which one am I looking at?
True cedars are four species: Atlas cedar, cedar of Lebanon, deodar and Cyprus cedar (Kew’s Plants of the World Online). Deodar comes from northeastern Afghanistan, western Nepal and northwest India, and cedar of Lebanon from Turkey to Lebanon and Cyprus. Our “cedars” all belong to the cypress family.
Check the cone
- Soft and blue like a tiny berry: a juniper. Eastern red cedar’s are “soft and resinous.”
- A small, dry, oval cone: arborvitae (Thuja), about 6 to 18 mm long.
- A tiny woody ball with shield-shaped scales: Chamaecyparis, the white cedars (4 to 12 mm).
- A cone that opens like a beak: incense cedar, with cones that “resemble a duck’s bill.”
- Round, with a little hook on each scale: Alaska yellow cedar (Oregon State).
‘Green Giant’ arborvitae is a hybrid, Thuja (standishii × plicata), with an Asian parent. Fast, yes; native, no. ‘Emerald Green’ is a narrow, columnar selection of our own northern white cedar.
Meet the native cedars
Sixteen species in five genera (Juniperus, Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Calocedrus and Callitropsis), plus a coastal variety of eastern red cedar.
Eastern red cedar
Juniperus virginiana
The eastern workhorse, unbothered by drought, salt and poor soil, and ranked secure by NatureServe. Only female trees carry cones, “blue, frosted-looking, and abundant.”
- Height: 30 to 40 feet
- Cones: frosted blue, on female trees only
- Sun: full sun
- Soil: dry to moist, any well-drained soil; not constantly wet
- Zones 2 to 9
- Native regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest and Southwest
Rocky Mountain juniper
Juniperus scopulorum
The interior West’s version, slower and narrower. It prefers calcareous and somewhat alkaline soils and can’t take wet ground. In the humid Southeast, NC State points to eastern red cedar, which “handles hot, humid weather better.”
- Height: 30 to 40 feet
- Cones: waxy blue, ripening the second year
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: dry and well drained, often limy
- Zones 3 to 7
- Native regions: Midwest, Southwest, California and Northwest
Ashe juniper
Juniperus ashei
Central Texas’s cedar, mostly on the Edwards Plateau. It is usually many-stemmed and rarely grows over 30 feet. Its long, shreddy bark is nesting material for the rare golden-cheeked warbler.
- Height: up to about 30 feet, usually many-stemmed
- Cones: berry-like, ripening from fall into winter
- Soil: shallow, rocky, limestone
- Native regions: South, Midwest and Southwest
Creeping juniper
Juniperus horizontalis
The groundcover of the group. It forms a dense mat up to 10 feet wide and stays under a foot and a half tall.
- Height: up to 1.5 feet; 4 to 10 feet wide
- Cones: small, round, blue
- Sun: full sun
- Soil: sandy or rocky, occasionally dry, acidic to neutral
- Zones 3 to 9
- Native regions: Northeast, Midwest and Northwest
Northern white cedar
Thuja occidentalis
The native arborvitae, which grows into a real tree if left unclipped. It generally grows best on limestone-derived soils. Deer adore it: FEIS calls it “one of the best winter browse species for white-tailed deer in the northern Lake States.”
- Height: 40 to 60 feet
- Cones: small, dry and oval, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: moist, neutral to alkaline
- Zones 3 to 7
- Native regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South and Midwest
Western redcedar
Thuja plicata
The great tree of the Northwest Coast, where Native Americans used it to build lodges, totem poles, and seagoing canoes. It needs steady moisture and will suffer in hot, humid climates.
- Height: 50 to 70 feet in gardens, far taller in the wild
- Cones: elliptical, about 1/2 inch
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: consistently moist, well drained; no drought
- Zones 5 to 7
- Native regions: California and Northwest
Atlantic white cedar
Chamaecyparis thyoides
The East Coast’s swamp cedar, native to a narrow coastal belt 50 to 130 miles wide from southern Maine to northern Florida. Wetland drainage and heavy cutting have shrunk its swamps. It feeds the caterpillars of Hessel’s hairstreak.
- Height: 60 to 80 feet
- Cones: about 1/4 inch, crumpled-looking
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: wet, acidic, sandy or peaty
- Zones 3 to 9
- Native regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and South
Port Orford cedar
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Wild only in southwest Oregon and northwest California, yet nearly 300 types or cultivars have come from it. A root rot, Phytophthora lateralis, reached Coos County about 1952 and still spreads. Oregon State’s Everett Hansen developed a resistant clone, CF1, for grafted plants.
- Height: 40 to 60 feet in gardens, 110 to 180 feet in the wild
- Cones: round, 1/3 to 1/2 inch
- Sun: full sun
- Soil: moist but well drained, sheltered from wind
- Zones 5 to 8
- Native regions: California and Northwest
Incense cedar
Calocedrus decurrens
The pencil tree. Its wood is soft, easily whittled, and has straight grain. Its leaves stay glossy dark green all year. It grows slowly, can live over 500 years and is very drought-hardy once settled.
- Height: 30 to 70 feet
- Cones: like a duck’s bill
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: well drained; dry once established
- Zones 5 to 8
- Native regions: Southwest, California and Northwest
Alaska yellow cedar
Callitropsis nootkatensis
The droopy one, with hanging, flattened sprays that give off an unpleasant, mildewy odor when crushed. Nurseries often sell it as Chamaecyparis, but Kew accepts Callitropsis. In southeast Alaska it is dying back because thinner snow leaves its shallow roots to freeze (Hennon and colleagues).
- Height: 60 to 90 feet
- Cones: round, about 1/2 inch, a hook on each scale
- Sun: full sun to part shade
- Soil: moist and well drained
- Hardy to zone 4
- Native regions: California and Northwest
More native junipers
- Southern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola), a coastal variety, on brackish marshes, barrier island swales, and coastal dunes.
- Alligator juniper (J. deppeana), with bark resembling the back of an alligator.
- One-seed juniper (J. monosperma), often shrubby, 10 to 40 feet with several curved limbs.
- Utah juniper (J. osteosperma), the most common tree in the Great Basin.
- Western juniper (J. occidentalis): one in the Sierra Nevada reached 2,675 years before it died.
- California juniper (J. californica), 3 to 15 feet, crooked and multistemmed.
- Common juniper (J. communis), possibly the most widely distributed tree in the world.
Which native cedar is right for my region?
Eastern red cedar in the East and Midwest, Rocky Mountain juniper in the interior West, western redcedar in the Northwest.
- Northeast: eastern red cedar for dry sun, northern white cedar for moist, limy ground, Atlantic white cedar in coastal swamps.
- Mid-Atlantic: eastern red cedar in sun, Atlantic white cedar in wet, acidic ground.
- South: eastern red cedar inland, southern red cedar on the coast, Atlantic white cedar in swamps.
- Midwest: eastern red cedar and creeping juniper, Rocky Mountain juniper on the western Plains.
- Southwest: Rocky Mountain juniper up high, Ashe juniper in the Texas Hill Country, one-seed and Utah juniper in dry country.
- California: incense cedar in the mountains, Port Orford cedar in the far north, California juniper at the desert edge.
- Northwest: western redcedar for moist sites, Alaska yellow cedar where summers stay cool.
Where native cedars shine in your yard
- The roadside strip, for eastern red cedar.
- A hedge or screen of native arborvitae.
- Banks and wall tops, covered by creeping juniper.
- A wet, acidic low spot for Atlantic white cedar.
- A narrow evergreen column of incense cedar in the West.
Beginner tip
Ask the nursery whether a juniper is male or female. Eastern red cedar is a dioecious species: only females carry the blue cones birds eat. If nobody knows, plant three and let the odds work.
How to grow native cedars
Match the soil first
These genera disagree. Junipers want it dry and often limy, northern white cedar moist and limy, Atlantic white cedar wet and sour, western redcedar steadily moist. Get the soil right and the rest is easy.
Plant small
Incense cedar is a difficult tree to transplant. Buy small, keep the root flare at the soil line, and water deeply through the first two summers.
Protect arborvitae from deer
One study of northern white cedar defined the deer browsing range as under 1.83 m, about 6 feet. Fence or cage young trees until they clear it.
What are good pairings for native cedars?
Give eastern red cedar dry, sunny company: little bluestem, butterfly weed and prairie dropseed. Near Atlantic white cedar, inkberry likes the same wet, acidic ground. Under western redcedar, try salal and western sword fern. For more evergreens, see our native evergreen conifers guide, or browse pines and hemlocks.
Where can I buy native cedars?
Atlantic white cedar and the regional junipers usually take a native nursery. Check the Latin name on the tag. Near Port Orford cedar’s range, buy plants grafted onto a resistant clone. Start with our list of native plant nurseries or order online.
Cedar-apple rust and the Plains question
Cedar-apple rust
This fungus requires two hosts, apples and junipers, and the damage shows up on the apple. NC State says orchards within 2 to 5 miles of junipers should be managed. At home, the easier fix is the apple: Red Delicious, Gala Supreme, McIntosh and Liberty are considered resistant, while Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty are highly susceptible.
Red cedar on the Great Plains
In grassland country, eastern red cedar volume is up more than 15,000 percent within its native range, and Nebraska lost about 25,000 acres of grassland a year to it from 2005 to 2010. The Forest Service attributes prairie invasion mainly to the absence of fire. In the East this changes nothing; beside remnant prairie, skip the cone-bearing females.
The tree that gets cleared from rangeland is the one that bird builds its home from.
Native cedar FAQs
Is eastern red cedar a cedar?
No, it’s a juniper. True cedars (Cedrus) are four Old World trees in the pine family.
Do deer eat cedars?
It depends which one. Rutgers rates eastern red cedar “seldom severely damaged,” western arborvitae and Atlantic white cedar “occasionally severely damaged,” and northern white cedar (arborvitae) “frequently severely damaged.” Hungry deer will heavily browse even red cedar.
Which native cedar makes the best hedge?
Western redcedar in the Northwest, northern white cedar in the East. In deer country, fence the white cedar until it clears about 6 feet.
Do junipers cause cedar fever?
Ashe juniper does, in central Texas. Its pollen season starts in mid-December, peaks in mid-January and tapers off by early March. The pollen “isn’t particularly allergenic or harmful, but its concentration is what irritates most.” A fever over 101.5 degrees probably isn’t the pollen, so call your doctor.
Why does my juniper have no berries?
It’s probably a male. Eastern red cedar trees are dioecious, so only females make the fleshy blue cones.
Plant nerd fact
Thousand-year-old cedars on a cliff
On the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario, northern white cedars grow on bare cliff rock. Two of them were dated at 935 and 1,032 years, and the tree-ring records list a crossdated northern white cedar in Ontario at 1,653 years.
A native cedar is the tree for the problem spot: too dry, too salty, too wet, too exposed. Ask for the species, ask whether it’s male or female, and give it room. Happy planting!
Sources
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee. “Juniperus virginiana,” “Thuja,” “Thuja plicata” and “Chamaecyparis.” Flora of North America North of Mexico, vol. 2. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Great Plains Society of American Foresters. “Position Statement on Eastern Redcedar in the Great Plains.” 2020. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Hennon, Paul E., et al. “Shifting Climate, Altered Niche, and a Dynamic Conservation Strategy for Yellow-Cedar in the North Pacific Coastal Rainforest.” BioScience 62, no. 2 (2012): 147–158.
- NatureServe. “Juniperus virginiana.” NatureServe Explorer. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- NC State Extension. “Juniperus virginiana,” “Juniperus scopulorum,” “Juniperus horizontalis,” “Thuja occidentalis,” “Thuja plicata,” “Chamaecyparis thyoides,” “Chamaecyparis lawsoniana,” “Calocedrus decurrens,” “Cedrus deodara” and “Cedrus libani.” Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Oregon State University Department of Horticulture. “Callitropsis nootkatensis,” “Calocedrus decurrens” and “Chamaecyparis lawsoniana.” Landscape Plants. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Reuling, Laura F., Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic, and Dustin R. Bronson. “The Northern White-Cedar Recruitment Bottleneck: Understanding the Effects of Substrate, Competition, and Deer Browsing.” Forests 10, no. 6 (2019): 501. mdpi.com/1999-4907/10/6/501.
- Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research. “OLDLIST: A Database of Maximum Tree Ages.” Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Cedrus” and “Callitropsis nootkatensis.” Plants of the World Online. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. “Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance.” Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Shropshire, Kimberley J., and Douglas W. Tallamy. “Lepidoptera of North America North of Mexico: An Annotated List Containing Geographic Ranges and Host Plant Records.” ZooKeys, 2025. Host counts from the UDELep data, May 2025.
- Stuckey, Jonathan. “Cedar Fever Season Has Arrived in Texas.” Texas A&M Forest Service, December 18, 2024. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- USDA Forest Service. Fire Effects Information System: “Juniperus virginiana,” “Juniperus scopulorum,” “Juniperus ashei,” “Thuja occidentalis,” “Chamaecyparis thyoides,” “Calocedrus decurrens,” “Juniperus deppeana,” “Juniperus monosperma,” “Juniperus osteosperma,” “Juniperus californica” and “Juniperus communis.” Accessed October 12, 2026.
- USDA Forest Service. Silvics of North America, vol. 1, Conifers: “Juniperus virginiana,” “Thuja occidentalis,” “Thuja plicata,” “Chamaecyparis thyoides,” “Chamaecyparis lawsoniana” and “Libocedrus decurrens.” 1990. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. National Arboretum. “Thuja ‘Green Giant’.” 1999. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Villani, Sara. “Cedar-Apple Rusts.” NC State Extension, June 6, 2018. Accessed October 12, 2026.
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