Cedar trees require partial shade for sunbathing (sunlight equals less than six hours of continuous sunlight per day). Cedars are large trees, so plant them in full sun, at least ten feet apart. Do not plant cedar next to apple trees or other apple family trees such as hawthorn.
Cedar trees can grow at a rate of up to 25 inches per year if all conditions are ideal. However, it is more common for their growth to be between 12 and 24 inches per year. Cedars take about two years to reach a size suitable for transplanting. Cedars grow throughout the entirety of their lives.
Drought-tolerant cedar bushes and trees do not perform well in heavy soils and confined spaces. As very tall and long-lived trees, cedars typically grow faster for the first 10-20 years of life and then slow down, resulting in moderate to slow growth rates. Western red cedar is a long-lived, slow-growing tree that is 200 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Western red cedar is a long-lived, slow-growing tree that is 200 feet tall and 20 feet wide.
Red and Blue Cedars
Eastern red cedar is one of the most adaptable cedars, growing in USDA plant hardiness zones 2 through 9. Eastern red cedar is native to the eastern United States, where it grows everywhere from barren rocky cliffs to marshy swamps. The aesthetic green foliage of the eastern cedar makes it an excellent tree choice.
Like other blue cedars, it retains its color throughout the year, with some reporting that color is most intense in late summer. While it tolerates almost any growing condition except full shade, it does best in deep, moist, well-drained alluvial soils with a pH of 4.7 to 7.8 and in full sun to partial shade. It is able to withstand adverse growing conditions that many other tree species cannot.
It thrives in scorching summer heat (similar to conditions in its homeland) and tolerates temperatures as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. Fertilize cedar hedges in early spring when the flowers are blooming. Don’t fertilize your hedges in late summer, as the hedges need to rest in winter.
Cedar Flowers throughout the Year
Male and female flowers are inconspicuous and develop on separate trees in April. However, the female plant has green flowers and the male plant has yellow flowers, both of which bloom in late winter. While both bloom in late winter, the females of the eastern red cedar produce green flowers while the males produce yellow ones. The blue fruits on the female trees are eaten by a wide variety of wild animals, including the songbird Cedar Waxwing, named after the tree.
There are many types of evergreen trees and they grow at different rates. A large shade tree that quickly reaches 70 feet in height with an average growth rate of 2.5 feet per year. Eastern Red Cedar The US Forest Service reports that, on average, trees between 26 and 30 years old are 18 to 26 feet tall, meaning a growth rate of about 7 inches to 1 foot per year. Native trees can grow to over 200 feet, although most cultivated trees remain 60 to 80 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide.
Location Requirements for Cedars
Cedar usually grows in areas with moist soil. Lebanon cedars prefer acidic soils, but they can also be grown in neutral to alkaline soils. Cedar trees prefer to be planted in acidic soils, but will also grow in clay.
When grown from seed in nurseries, Eastern Red Cedar will take one to two years to reach a suitable size for transplanting. Cedar hedges will not need to be cut in the first year or when they are below 3 feet. Once the tree has matured, caring for a cedar involves nothing more than regular mulching and removing dead or diseased branches.
While cedar trees don’t have many problems to deal with, cedar trees attract some nasty insects, including cypress moths, weevil, red spider mites, and juniper scales. Rodents and rabbits can also be a problem and risk for very young trees. Mulch helps the soil retain moisture and keeps weeds from competing with trees for valuable nutrients.
These trees can grow in almost any type of soil, whether it be acidic, moist, clay, loamy, sandy, moist, or alkaline. They can also grow in clay and are best used as a windshield as they are drought tolerant. They are a great choice for anchoring a large rock garden or xeriscape area, and they make great windbreaks because they grow quickly and fill open spaces well.
Ideal Placements for Cedar Trees
Because some cedars can grow to 60 feet and 35 feet wide, they may not be the best choice if you have a small yard. Planting larger varieties of trees too close together can cause them to stun as they mature, so proper spacing can play an important role in a tree’s success. On the other hand, if you want young trees to grow faster, if the plants are growing in poor soil, or if they need to repair damage, fertilize the cedar regularly.
Because of their fastest growing rate, cedars can often grow over 25 inches per year, but they usually grow 12 to 24 inches per year. Eastern red cedar can grow to 40-50 feet tall and 2 feet wide until mature. When planted in well-drained soil, medium-high-speed germination can exceed a height of 8 feet in just five years. Trees grow rapidly in the first 10-20 years, forming open pyramids.
The Himalayan Gold Cascade Cedar starts out spreading widely, but will become more conical with age (see photo linked above). The deep yellow color is reminiscent of Aurea, a large, fast growing variety of Himalayan cedar.
Growth Structures of Cedar Trees
Old cedar trees don’t necessarily look bigger after a certain point, but if you cut down one of them, you can see that it was old because of the density and darkness of the heartwood inside the tree. The name cedar is used to refer to several types of erect evergreen trees.
A sometimes confusing variety of other cypresses and shrubs is called cedar because of their strong resemblance to true cedars. Luckily, you can forget about all of that for now, because we’ll be focusing on what we should call the REAL cedars, which is cedars from the genus Cedrus, which is a member of the Pinaceae family, the pine family.
California frankincense (Calocedrus decurrens) is found in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 to 8, although it grows best in zones 6 and 7. Native to California, Oregon, and western Nevada, cedar incense is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8. Green Rocket (r) Hybrid Cedar, one of our many fast-growing shield trees, is shaped like a tall, vertical pyramidal rocket; 6-10 feet wide to 25 feet high. A weeping variety of blue satin (C. atlantica “Glauca pendula”) only reaches 10 to 15 feet in height and can be adorned as a small tree or cedar specimen.
If your Lebanese cedar rots or falls accidentally, be sure to plant the tree away from your home or other large structures that could be damaged by the fallen tree. If you choose not to grow Lebanese cedar seedlings in a nursery, you can also plant a tree from seed.