Eastern Red Cedar

Juniperus virginiana

Hills guide picknative · Central Texassold locally

Eastern Red Cedar is a large tree native to Central Texas that grows 30–50 ft tall and 15–25 ft wide. It wants full sun and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms green in late spring. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Eastern Red Cedar against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Dense evergreen conifer, columnar when young, broadening with age. Blue berrylike cones on female trees.

Why it works here

Genuinely bulletproof — takes drought, caliche, wind and neglect. Berries feed cedar waxwings; dense growth is prime winter cover.

Watch out

Male trees are a serious winter allergen. Bagworms can strip a young tree. Not the same species as Ashe juniper, though the pollen complaint is similar.

The facts

10 sources

Type: Large tree
Sun: Full sun (6+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 30–50 ft
Spread: 15–25 ft
Bloom: Late Spring · green
Foliage: Evergreen
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on calcareous, clay, deep, dry, limestone, loam, sand, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Aromatic foliage; deer leave it alone. Bucks still rub young trunks.
Wildlife: Supports birds and butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesSan Antonio Prairie

780 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

3, 10, 15, 30, 45, 95 gallonballed & burlapped

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.