Eastern Red Cedar

This species looks and sounds like a cedar tree from a distance but it is 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 redcedar is well adapted to dry soils and harsh conditions, and thrives even with salt spray from our roads. Like its relative Thuja occidentalis and many other conifer species, Thuja plicata is grown as an ornamental tree, and for screens and hedges, throughout the world in gardens and parks. A wide variety of forms, sizes, and colours is available.