Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar)

A Maryland DNR Recommended Tree and Deer-Resistant

Eastern red cedar is a broadly conical, dense, evergreen conifer that typically grows 30–65’ tall. This is usually a dioecious species (separate male and female trees). Female trees produce round, gray to blackish-green cones that ripen in Fall the first year. Male trees produce cones that are tiny and yellowish, often numerous. Bark is thin and shreddy; leaves are scale-like. Tolerates deer, drought, and dry soils; can be extremely long-lived. Will tolerate shade only in youth. We cannot guarantee the male or female ID on this plant.

Eastern red cedar is a species of juniper native to eastern North America.The Eastern red cedar is a pioneer tree, one of the first trees to repopulate cleared, eroded, or abandoned land. It is also often found on sandy soils near the shoreline around the Bay. It thrives in adverse conditions, tolerating drought and cold. Evergreen foliage provides nesting and roosting cover for sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, juncos, and warblers. The berry-like female cones are attractive to many migrant and wintering birds, such as cedar waxwings, bluebirds, and wild turkeys—which then disperse the wingless seeds. Host to the imperial moth and the juniper hairstreak butterfly. Also an alternate host to cedar apple rust, a fungal disease of apples, which means it is a potential concern if planted near apple orchards.

Photo by Kathy Thornton