Cooperative Living January 2021 - 34

BranchingOut | by Steve Carroll, Contributing Columnist
RED CEDAR
W
ith winter's arrival, most tree branches are bare or
clinging to last season's now-brown leaves. Not
the conifers, though - pines, hemlocks and
relatives - which maintain green needles year-round.
Virginia's most common conifer is Eastern red cedar
(Juniperus virginiana). Red cedar can be found across the state
and favors dry to moist, well-drained soil. It prefers full or
partial sun, and under prime conditions can reach 2 feet
in diameter and 50-75 feet in height. Red cedar is tough
but susceptible to fire due to its thin, fibrous bark and
oil-rich needles.
Look for red cedar along roadsides, in fields, on abandoned
farmland and along fencerows. This last outcome results from
perched birds that ate the berries and passed them through.
This species can be a bit weedy.
RED CEDAR CHARACTERISTICS
Most conifer species produce male and female cones on the
same tree. But a red cedar tree is either male or female. Male
cones are inconspicuous, though their wind-dispersed pollen
may be evident. Female cones are persistent, developing into
fleshy, bluish-white, modified cones - juniper berries - that
stand out against the foliage.
Another quirk is that trees produce two types of needles.
Small, prickly needles in twos and threes are especially
common on young trees and twigs, whereas older branches
and trees feature needles lying flat along four sides of
branches.
Red cedar's wood is fragrant, medium-hard and strong.
The decay-resistant heartwood is used for fence posts and
rails, poles and furniture. Because it repels insects, cedar
is used for chests, closets and cabinets.
It was once widely used
to manufacture pencils, but
these are now more often
made from incense cedar, a
Western tree. Grains can be
distilled over juniper berries
to make gin, but those
berries usually come from
common juniper (Juniperus
communis).
Native Americans
steamed the aromatic wood
and inhaled the vapors for
respiratory ailments, heated
needles in sweat lodges for
head colds, and boiled
berries and leaves to make
cough syrup.
32 | Cooperative Living | January 2021
An orange,
gelatinous cedar
apple rust gall
on red cedar.
Juniper berries
against winterbronzed
needles.
Red cedar is vital to songbirds, game birds and mammals,
which use trees for cover, nest sites and food, especially since
the berries persist even through the winter. Caterpillars feed
on the needles, which serve as the primary host for the juniper
hairstreak butterfly.
YOUR OWN RED CEDAR
Red cedar cultivars are available in the nursery trade, with
pyramidal, columnar, spreading and dwarf growth forms.
These may be planted as specimen trees, foundation plantings,
hedges and screens, and are even used in topiary.
Thinking about planting red cedar? If so, keep in mind
their ecological connection to apples, crabapples and relatives.
Cedar apple rust, a fungus, forms galls on cedars. As these
mature in spring, they form orange, gelatinous " horns " from
which the wind carries spores. Apple trees infected by these
spores suffer leaf drop and form undersized, blemished fruit.
The fungus then forms reproductive structures on apple leaves
and spores disperse back to cedars.
Galls on cedar can be pruned or treated with fungicides,
though this can be labor-intensive and will provide little
benefit to apples if surrounding properties have cedars. You
can plant rust-resistant cedar or apple cultivars, but if you
live within a mile or so of an orchard, you might consider
a different tree.
Red cedar has much to contribute to our properties.
They attract and support wildlife, provide a wind block and
add a touch of green during our least-colorful season. 
Mature red cedars
have fibrous,
fire-sensitive bark.
Steve Carroll is a botanist and ecologist who speaks and writes
about trees, gardening and the world of plants. He is the co-author
of " Ecology for Gardeners, " published by Timber Press.
co-opliving.com
PHOTO BY JNAPOLI01
PHOTO BY JOSHUA MAYER
PHOTO BY MIKE LEWINSKI
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living January 2021

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