When is a cedarwood not a cedar ? When it ’s an eastern redcedar . The name is a misnomer . This plant is in reality a juniper , as its botanic name ( Juniperus virginiana ) point . rightful cedars belong to theCedrusgenus and are not aboriginal to this country . Sources are discrepant on the discourse of the common name , variously touch to it as eastern red cedar ( two words ) , eastern redcedar ( one word ) , eastern red - cedar tree ( hyphenated ) , and red cedar , among many other name calling .
To say this plant has an image problem is an understatement . It has been snubbed over the years by tree aficionado , part because it is so common . This omnipresent native evergreen plant is the most widely distributed conifer in the eastern part of North America . It grows prolifically along fencerows , highway , and back roadstead , as well as in ley and opened fields that are not routinely cut down or maintained . The seedlings can quickly take over a piece of land , making this tree diagram equivalent to a “ first responder ” in populating abandoned properties and neglected sphere . It would not be unreasonable to regard this flora as weedy and even invasive in poorly manage sites . In fact , it has been document as a threat to prairie and scrubland ecosystems in states such as Oklahoma and Kansas .
Another problem with the easterly redcedar is its role as an alternating legion for cedar - Malus pumila rust , a Gymnosporangium pathogen that is destructive topomefruit trees such as Malus pumila , pear , and Cydonia oblonga . By the way , pome fruitsare members of the works familyRosaceae , sub - familypomoideae .
Despite the negative just cite , the eastern redcedar has sight of good character . It is :
• Resistant to extreme point of drought , heating plant , and stale . Regardless of where you brook on the issue of global warming , this is a flora that can take such conditions with aplomb.• Tolerant of a panoptic range of soils — short dry stain , alkaline dirt , and dry rocky outcrops , as well as wet miry land.• Tolerant of windy conditions , so much so that the species was constitute as windbreak to offset the dust bowl term of the 1930s.• Salt tolerant , which means it can be used near roads , drive , and sidewalks . It can tolerate brackish marshy sites in the southeastern part of Virginia and coastal backbone sand dune that are dependent to salt spray.• A important source of food and protection for wildlife . The blue fruit on the female tree diagram are consumed by a wide mixture of wildlife , include the Cedar Waxwing songbird , which is mention for this tree.• A moderate to long - lived evergreen plant . Some specimens have been know to be more than 500 years . Large specimen are often found in former cemeteries and other elderly , undisturbed properties .
PLANT PROFILE
Not to be confused with the westerly redcedar ( Thuja plicata ) , which is native to the westerly U.S. and an entirely different mintage , the easterly redcedar is native to the eastern half of the United States . Hardy in USDA zona 2 – 9 , it is wide distributed from Canada to Florida and west to Texas . Below primer , an easterly redcedar seedling ab initio has a penetrating taproot . But as the plant life ages , it develops an extensive shallow , fibrous root organisation enabling it to persist on outcrops and shallow soils . Above priming , the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree produce 1 ’ to 2 ’ per twelvemonth on a undivided bole . It matures at about 40 ’ to 50 ’ marvelous and 8 ’ to 20 ’ astray , becoming libertine with long time . Very old specimens are capable of growing 80 ’ or more feet tall and 30 ’ or more feet wide . The national champion eastern redcedar , place in the Lone Hill Methodist Church Cemetery in Coffee County , Georgia , is 57 ’ magniloquent with a 75 ’ wide of the mark pate spread .
Eastern redcedars are dioecian , which means that male and distaff tree are disjoined works . It ’s easy to tell the conflict between the two . While both blossom in late wintertime , distaff eastern redcedars produce green flowers and the males raise yellow efflorescence . The distaff Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree bear modest ( one-quarter - column inch ) , overweight , Chuck Berry - like cones that appear in springiness and suppurate in the fall . The “ berries ” are broadly blue with a milklike salad days , giving them a gray - blue appearance , and contain 1 to 4 seeds each . The male trees acquit brown , pollen - bearing cone on the branch tips . Their pollen is break up by the flatus .
The fragrant , scale - like foliation is sticky to the touching and can be common or fine - cutting . It varies in color from gray or blue - park to dark green and tends to “ bronze ” In wintertime .
TIMBER VALUE OF EASTERN REDCEDAR
First observe at Roanoke Island , Virginia in 1564 , and described by the early colonist as “ the tallest and cerise cedar in the world , ” the eastern redcedar quickly became prized for building purposes . Finding the duramen to be rot - resistant , the settler used it to construct piece of furniture , rail fence , magnetic pole , coffins , and lumber cabin . It is famously known for its fragrant oil , which is a natural louse disgusting . Because the perfume repels moths , the redolent wood has been used for centuries in the construction of dresser , closets , and wardrobes to protect woollen clothing . Redcedar sawdust or Ellen Price Wood chip may also be used in kennel bedding to repel flea and minimize odors .
Prior to 1940 , pencils were made almost entirely from cedar but are now made from cheaper wood sources or synthetic fabric . In the past , easterly redcedars were ordinarily used as Christmas trees . While still used in percentage of the Dixie , the metal money is not extensively grow for this aim any longer , possibly because it may be slower growing than other commercially grown evergreens . When used for ornament , it gives off a powerfully scented perfume , making a house odour marvellously gay .
time value FOR WILDLIFE
The heavy offset of the easterly redcedar cater important refuge and tax shelter for song birds and biz birds , such as quails , bobwhite quail , ruffed grouse , pheasants , and turkeys . Butterflies and small mammals also gain from the cover this Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree provides . The flaccid , silvery barque peels off in long , flexible landing strip which squirrels and other small mammals utilize in their nest materials . The Chuck Berry are an authoritative beginning of food for thought for more than 50 bird species as well as a assortment of mammal coinage , including rabbits , fox , raccoons , grass , opossums , and coyotes . The twigs and leaf are often eaten by hoofed browsers , such as mule deer and whitetail deer .
HERBAL holding
Juniper berries , which are used to flavor knock rummy , are purported to number from this coinage but , in fact , come from a related to species , Juniperus communis . American Indians did make a tea from the twigs as a remedy for sore throats and coughing but the berries themselves are believe to be mildly toxic .
ethnic REQUIREMENTS
The cultural requirements for this tree seem to run counter to what most plant favor . This tree can produce under condition that would cause other species to crash and bite . While it can abide just about any arise conditions , other than full shadiness , it does respectable in deep , moist , well - drained alluvial soil with a pH value place from 4.7 to 7.8 and full sun to part shadiness .
PROPAGATION
easterly redcedar is easily distribute by seed . In fact , birds and small mammals wipe out the berries and then “ disperse ” the seeds along fence billet , telephone lines , or other perching sites . Cultivars , however , need to be propagated from base cutting in parliamentary law to get a knockoff of the parent plant .
PESTS / DISEASES
The eastern redcedar should be planted a lower limit of 500 ’ away from Malus pumila Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . As antecedently mention , it is an alternative host for cedar - apple rust , a fungal disease that causes serious leaf and fruit slur harm on Malus pumila trees . The disease has a minor outcome on the easterly redcedar itself . impertinence take the fungal spore appear on twigs in other April as petite dimpled ontogenesis , ranging in size of it from 0.375 ” to more than 1 ” in diameter . quick spring rain trigger off the galls to produce gelatinlike , orange , starfish - similar protrusion called telial horns . The telial horns dry out up and fall off with the arrival of teetotal weather condition but , by then , the rust spores will have floated out . The disease can be forestall from overspread to apple trees by spray the crust in early April with a suitable fungicide .
Eastern redcedars are relatively free of serious pest and disease problem . They are , however , susceptible to bagworms , which should be pick off and destroyed before the bollock hatch . Do n’t put the bagworms in the compost . The eggs can live in the compost and brood out later . seal off them in a moldable travelling bag and put them in the trumpery or direct them in a pailful of soapy water so that they submerge .
EASTERN REDCEDAR SELECTIONS
A numeral of eastern redcedar cultivar have been engender to capture some of the more suitable aspects of the species . Many of the cultivars may be more worthy in modern landscapes than the straight metal money . uncommitted in various shades of light-green or grey-headed , the cultivar can be grandiloquent and narrow or forgetful and overspread and several cast in between . Just a few of the 34 cultivars lean in Michael A. Dirr’sManual of Woody Landscape Plantsinclude :
• ‘ Burkii ’ , a non - flowering male cultivar with a minute , pyramidal human body ranging in height from 10 ’ to 15 ’ with a spread of 4 ’ to 10 ’ . Although this cultivar has honest resistance to the cedarwood - orchard apple tree rusting pathogen , it is best not to plant it near apple trees .
• ‘ Emerald Sentinel ’ , a female eastern redcedar cultivar that create abundant fruits . It has a narrow , conical - shaped form and grow about 25 ’ tall and 8 ’ widely . This cultivar mostly retain its disconsolate green colour throughout the winter month . In 1997 , the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society list this selection as a “ Gold Medal ” flora . discover as one of the toughest plants uncommitted , ‘ Emerald Sentinel ’ is tolerant of utmost climatic and ground conditions .
• ‘ Blue Arrow ’ , a small , upright , non - flowering cultivar with attractive blue - green foliage . This narrow , columnar tree only develop 15 ’ tall by 2 ’ wide , seduce it an first-class option as a vertical chemical element in a mixed border , a featured tree in a small garden , or as a hedge . Its shorter size also makes it a good choice under power descent .
• ‘ Canaertii ’ , a conical distaff tree form with dark fleeceable foliage that takes on a brownish cast in the winter . This cultivar produces a enceinte fruit hardening . It grows 30 ’ magniloquent and 8 ’ to 15 ’ widely . Its habit becomes looser and more open with age .
• ‘ Taylor ’ , a densely branched , columnar cultivar that typically grows 15 ’ to 20 ’ tall but only 3 ’ to 4 ’ wide . In higher acme and ironical sites , this cultivar develops more folio wax , giving the leaf a silverish - blue coloring that stays attractive throughout the growing time of year . This cultivar has a conventional look to it , alike to that of an Italian Cypress . The Missouri Botanical Garden selected this cultivar as a Plant of Merit for its outstanding caliber and dependable performance . To quality for this honour , the plant needed to be easy to farm and maintain as well as have owing ornamental value .
• ‘ Grey Owl ’ , a panoptic , slow - uprise shrub form with finely textured silvery grizzly foliage . This female var. produce large amounts of berries on a compact , astray - spreading shrub that originate 3 ‘ marvelous and 6 ’ wide . This cultivar has good resistance to true cedar apple rust .
• ‘ Pendula ’ , a full specimen tree , which mature to 40 ’ tall and 15 ’ to 25 ’ wide . The branch tips droop , giving the tree diagram a tears habit . This female form boast abundant blue , fleshy cones .
HOW TO USE EASTERN REDCEDAR IN THE LANDSCAPE
Use eastern redcedar as a specimen plant or in grouping . utilize it plant as a hedge , a border , a screen , or as a windbreak . It can even be clipped into a topiary form . Some of the little form may be institute in gravid pots for display purpose or in a mixed shrub border . This mintage may be used in large rainfall garden or on slope to help stabilize soil .
SUMMARY
On the one hand , eastern redcedar is a native Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with many positive attribute that make it a desirable woody plant in the modern landscape painting . On the other hand , this plant can potentially have a negative impact in some ecosystems if it is not managed well . And therein lies the dilemma . In the past , see fervour kept the tree from live open field . As human population increased and spread across the commonwealth , controlled fires lay off being a viable choice . In addition , many properties are no longer sharply managed , lead in condition that are more idealistic for the spreading of this tree than in the past . As a lower limit , the eastern redcedar can be a nuisance Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , particularly in open fields and abandoned prop where young seedling are not on a regular basis mowed or cut into out . Worst case , it has the electrical capacity to negatively impact certain ecosystem by crowding out other species . Those conditions notwithstanding , the eastern redcedar has three significant advantage go for it . It is able-bodied to hold up contrary growing conditions that many other tree species can not tolerate . The rot - resistant duramen take a leak it a very worthful forest tree . It is an authoritative germ of food and tax shelter for a wide diverseness of wildlife coinage . For these reasons alone , this coinage deserve a berth in the landscape painting . In a controlled environment and in the right setting , it is a landscape asset worth having .
SOURCES
A Natural chronicle of Trees of Eastern and Central North America(Peattie , Donald Culross , 1977 )
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants , Sixth Edition ( Dirr , Michael A. , 2009 )
Native Plants of the Southeast(Mellichamp , Larry . 2014 )
“ For the Birds , Butterflies , and hummingbird : create Inviting Habitats , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension ( VCE ) Publication HORT-59,ext.vt.eduedu / HORT-59
“ Trees and Shrubs that Tolerate Saline Soils and Salt Water Draft , ” VCE Publication 430 - 031,ext.vt.edu/430/430 - 031
“ easterly redcedar , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication , pubs.ext.vt.edu/3010 - 1477
“ easterly redcedar,”dendro.cnre.vt.edu//factsheet(Virginia Tech Landowner Fact Sheet )
“ Eastern Redcedar , ” National Forest Service , na.fs.fed.us
“ Juniperus virginiana , ” Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products , www.hort.purdue.edu
“ Juniperus virginiana , ” University of Connecticut College of Agriculture , Health and Natural Resources Plant Database , Univ.of Conn. Plant Database
The Morton Arboretum , Fact Sheets , www.mortonarb.org / easterly - red - cedar
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal Plants , phsonline.org / amber - medal - plants / juniperus - virginiana
“ Juniperus virginiana — Another Look , ” The Scott Arboretum ’s Gardenseeds blog , gardenseeds.swarthmore.edu//2011 / juniperus - virginiana
“ Juniperus virginiana , ” Fire Effects Information System,(Anderson , 2003 ) . U.S. Department of Agriculture , Forest Service , www.fs.fed.us / database / feis
