Description
The Eastern Red Cedar is often mistaken for its near-namesake – the White Cedar. And, despite its name, it is atually a tree-sized juniper.
It has two kinds of bluish-green leaves, sharply pointed needles and softer, more rounded scale leaves. The cone looks like a berry, with a bluish-white powder on the surface.
It is slow growing but old bark peels off in long, fibrous strands. 
The Eastern Red Cedar is well adapted to dry soils and harsh conditions, and thrives even with salt spray from our roads.
As a native evergreen, this species is useful for windbreaks and hedges on tough, dry, limestone-based soils where little else grows. It rarely requires pruning but can be sheared into topiary.
If you want to create a cedar hedge, plant our small versions about 12 inches apart. They eventually will fill in and grow in height. Once they’ve reached the proportions you desire, trim them to square off the shape of the tree and to maintain the size you want.
| Eastern Red Cedar Facts and Features | |
| Mature Size | 10 m. (35 ft.) |
| Sun/Shade | Intolerant of shade |
| Moisture | Dry to average moisture |
| Soil | Prefers well-drained loamy, sandy or rocky soils with high pH. |
| Flowers | No |
| Fruit | No |
| Special Features | The red cedar is a small, hardy, slow-growing tree. Great for hedges or topiary |
