I love "Cedars"

I have about 20 eastern red cedars [junipers] in my yard ranging from 2 ft tall to about 50. All but the big old one I call Grandpa were set out by my DH and me. None of those are more than 15 yrs old. They grow wild on our property and we transplanted them to the yard- for free. Just costed us time and labor. I don't know why more people around here don't have them in their yards as they are plentiful in the wild. We used to light them up for Xmas before they got too tall. I love the smell and look of them.


First one is old Grandpa. He's been hit by lightning and ice storms but is still hanging in there.

another ......

more trees.....

I am not sure what type cedar this one is. It doesn't look like any of the others. It is very open and kinda droopy, not tight and full like the others.

can you tell I love these trees?

They are great trees in the right place. And they're native to your area and of local provenance, so you have no concerns about introducing some exotic pest or planting something that is not locally adapted over the long haul that might die out in a decade or two.

Some of them in Oklahoma have been core-dated to about 800 years old. They get very picturesque in old age, especially on exposed sites -- almost like bristlcone pines. But I've seen many that were planted in the 1800s in old cemeteries that are still erect and symmetrical too. If you have my tree book, look at the photo on page 232, taken at the Shiloh Battlefield Cemetery (1860s vintage).

The drooping one probably is just showing some of the considerable natural variation in this species. Dozens of cultivars have been selected, ranging all over the map in size, shape, foliage texture, and color. And they are dioecious, so females have blue "berries" while males don't.

Guy S.

Guy,
So you are a tree expert? Well, I'll probably be picking your brain from now on- LOL! I'd love to read your book, too.

Berrygirl, I too love this tree. About 30 years ago I found a seedling at the base of the gutter downspout at my moms house in NH. I transplanted it to the back of her yard to see how it would do. A few years later, mom told me to get rid of it, she didn't like it. I transplanted it to my new house, right outside of my kitchen.
It's a female and produces many seeds that a Mockingbird guards throughout the Winter. A pair of Cardinals enjoy the seed also. I have collected over a dozen babies and they are now a living fence on my side yard.
This pic is of the original. I had to use a heavy rope to pull it back somewhat upright for a couple of months the next Spring, other than a bit more 'character', it is doing fine.
Andy P

Andy,
Wow, what a tree and a story!
You know mine get a little bent and broken with ice but always recover nicely. I too love the fact that these trees feed sooo many birds.

I've tried to take a pic of the birds from my kitchen but the screen confuses the camera. I'm going to have to remove the screen door and try again. The birds are only about 7 feet away.
Andy P

Berrygirl , do you have the eastern red cedar or the southern red cedar(var. silicicola)? They are almost the same except the southern species will form a clear trunk for about 5 feet off of the ground at maturity while the eastern red cedar will branch all the way to the ground. I live in Alabama and have many southern red cedars. They are popular as outdoor Christmas trees around here.

Actually they both will form a clear trunk if the lower branches are shaded. The open-formed one in her fourth photo might be more like typical J. silicicola, if there is such a thing. Some consider J. virginiana, J. silicicola, and J. scopulorum to be regional varieties of one very plastic (i.e. polymorphic) species. All can be very attractive trees.

Guy S.

escambia,
I dont know 100% for sure which Juniper[Cedar] I have, but have always assumed and thougth they were eastern reds.
I have an acquaintance who works at the local University-run arboretum. Maybe I should have him take a look at them.


Whatever kind they are, I so love and enjoy them- and so does the wildlife.

This message was edited Dec 22, 2005 11:19 PM

Yours seem a brighter green than the typical red cedars around here. In this area, the tree has a tendency to seem a little somber. A tough, tough customer, the blasted out, stripped down freeway cuts are usually colonized by this tree. Older trees, here, always have a clean trunk to about shoulder height or more. I love the bark.

Guy, first I've heard of J. scopulorum possibly being the same species. Very interesting.

Scott

Here is that same Cedar from the Blizzard pic. Pic was taken minutes ago.
The lower branches were removed last Spring. It's about 30 years old now.
I would not call it a beauty but the birds love it and I get a great view of them from the kitchen.
Andy P

Too bad you removed the lower branches. I think that just ruins the look of (almost) any conifer. Now you have to mow under the tree, too. I really prefer the look of berrygirl's trees, with their branches that go all the way to the ground.

Oh well, that's just my preference and .02.
Mike

treelover,
That's so funny you should say that.... If my DH had his way all my cedars would be naked half way up. I have fought him tooth and nail over the years to leave them natural. The cedars are mine and all the other trees in our yard are his.
I do have one cedar that is a little bare at the bottom- due to being attacked by a bull several years ago. I begged DH to cut it down but he wouldnt. It is of course his favorite one- LOL!

This is the bull cedar as I call it. Bare of limb about 3 ft from the ground.

and another view....

The trimming was necessary. That is my veggie garden behind the tree and after pruning for years it had to be done. I couldn't get back there, even now when it rains I must duck or get soaked. When it snows, forget it.
I could have cut only the obstructing branches but then it would appear off-balance. There is no grass under it. There is almost nothing that grows under it. After trimming it I had to remove about 2 inches of 'needles'. I've limed heavily trying to correct the very acidic soil.
My property slopes down toward the back so the wall keeps varmints out but leaves me with only one easy way in.
It's the only one that I've trimmed.
Andy P

Andy,
I think your cedar looks fine and it has lots of character.

I'm afraid it may get a bit more 'Character' next Spring when I trim it again. Do you see the branches above the little porch? Anything more than a dusting of snow brings them down to rest on that railing. I'm not sure what to do, I may just take it down completely, (don't hit me,lol) but it's too close to the wall and outgrown that location.
Andy P

We have a lot of native red cedars that grow all over our state and they do have a strong smell when the branch tips are pinched. I do like them for the wildlife habitat they provide but try to not let them take over. The berries are pretty this time of year after a snowfall. Many decorate them for
Christmas trees. Merry Christmas everyone.

cuckoo

Just in case anyone wonders what the berries/fruit look like, here is a pic I just snapped. Everything is wet, rain last night and mist this AM. (Aren't DCs great?)
This tree was literally covered with these blue beauties until we had that snow a couple of weeks ago. Then the birds got most of them.
Andy P