Juniperus virginiana aka Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is an evergreen conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. Other common names include pencil cedar and Virginia cedar. It grows wild across eastern and central North America. Its range runs from south-east Canada through the central and eastern United States, with a small outpost in Coahuila, Mexico. It is the only juniper found east of the Mississippi River. It often colonises old farm fields and highway verges.

In gardens it reaches about 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and 8 to 20 feet (2.5 to 6 m) wide. Old wild trees can exceed 50 feet (15 m), and the RHS cites 100 feet (30 m). Young trees form a dense cone or column. With age the crown opens and the branch tips may droop. Growth is moderate to fast.

The red-brown to grey bark peels away in long, narrow, fibrous strips. Mature foliage consists of tiny scale leaves pressed flat in four rows. Young shoots carry sharp, awl-shaped needles, and both types can share one branch. Summer foliage is sage green to blue-green and takes on a bronze or brown cast in winter. Crushed foliage smells of cedar chests.

As a conifer it has no true flowers. Most trees are either male or female. Males shed clouds of wind-borne pollen from small yellow cones in late winter or early spring. Females carry fleshy, berry-like cones about 1/4 inch (6 mm) across. These ripen from green to dark blue with a waxy white bloom in autumn. Birds, including cedar waxwings, eat them and spread the seed.

The tree needs full sun and tolerates shade only when very young. It grows in clay, loam, sand and chalk, and in acid or alkaline soil. Good drainage matters, since constantly wet ground or over-watering slows growth. Once settled it copes with drought, salt spray, urban pollution and poor, rocky ground. It is hardy to USDA zone 2 and rated H6 in the UK. Larger plants transplant poorly because of their coarse roots.

Gardeners use it as a specimen, screen, hedge or windbreak, and it suits coastal sites. It gives birds cover and food, and deer leave it alone. It also feeds the caterpillars of the juniper hairstreak butterfly and imperial moth. The aromatic, rot-resistant heartwood goes into cedar chests and fence posts. An oil from the wood repels moths and scents soaps. Many cultivars exist, from narrow spires to low spreaders.

The main disease is cedar-apple rust, which swaps between this tree and nearby apples. Orange, jelly-like galls hang from infected twigs in spring. Twig blight, phytophthora, canker and honey fungus may also occur. Pests include bagworms, juniper scale, juniper webworm, aphids and spider mites. The pollen triggers many allergies. Many people also consider the tree weedy, and it burns readily.

All parts may be mildly toxic. Eating large amounts can cause diarrhoea, and the volatile oils include thujone. The sap or foliage may irritate skin, so gloves are wise. The ripe cones are edible raw or cooked and can flavour stews. Young twigs and cones also make a tea, though it is not pleasant.