Why is red cedar bad?
Eastern red cedar has a thin bark and flammable foliage that easily ignites making it highly susceptible to fire. It contains cedrol, a volatile terpene, and other oils that ignite and burn easily. The conical growth form brings the flammable foliage close to the ground.
Is eastern red cedar a real cedar?
Eastern redcedar is not a true cedar. It is a juniper and the most widely distributed native conifer in the Eastern United States. This hardy tree is often among the first trees to occupy cleared areas, where its seeds are spread by cedar waxwings and other birds that enjoy the fleshy, bluish seed cones.
Is eastern red cedar valuable?
Those conditions notwithstanding, the eastern redcedar has three significant advantages going for it. It is able to withstand adverse growing conditions that many other tree species cannot tolerate. The rot-resistant heartwood makes it a very valuable timber tree.
Are eastern red cedars invasive?
Since the beginning of European settlement in North America, fire has been suppressed enabling Eastern Red-cedar (cedar) to expand its range outside of these protected areas. Cedars are native, but have become invasive and, when left unmanaged, have the ability to form dense stands.
What are Eastern red cedars good for?
Eastern red cedar is a tree. The wood, berries, and leaves are used for medicine. People take Eastern red cedar for cough, bronchitis, joint pain (rheumatism), water retention, and flatulence. They also take it to improve appetite and digestion, and as a treatment for fungal infections and worms.
Can you build with Eastern red cedar?
Because the heartwood is rot resistant, eastern red cedars are prized for building purposes such as outdoor furniture, gazebos, decks and fences. If you are looking for a tree to create a windbreak, eastern red cedar is a good choice. It is resistant to extremes of drought, heat and cold.
What’s the difference between Eastern and Western red cedar?
The Eastern Red Cedar is much shorter overall than the Western Red Cedar, typically being between 16 to 66 feet tall (5 to 20 m) with a trunk between 12 to 39 inches (30 to 100 cm) in diameter. The Western Red Cedar is also quite long-lived, with some members of the species living more than 900 years.
How can you tell eastern red cedar?
Identification of Eastern Red Cedar Redcedar is single-trunked and the only native juniper that is upright and columnar. The bark has shedding thin strips, the seed cones are berry-like and glaucous (blueish), the leaves are scale-like and pressed tightly against twigs.
How much is an Eastern Red Cedar worth?
Cedar logs are fairly valuable , that’s 8′ sticks or longer with a 6″ top and you can usually also sell the pulpwood which is pretty much everything that doesn’t make a log and is 8′ or longer . Logs will probably bring you somewhere in the area of $120 a cord on average and the pulp about $60-70 a cord .
How much is a red cedar tree worth?
It typically sells for $5 per board foot. Cedar wood that may exhibit a few minor characteristics which do not detract from their high appearance and quality such as a very light torn grain, very light skips on the non-graded face and very light warp are sold for half the price.
Is Eastern red cedar water resistant?
This same oil makes cedar decay and insect resistant and waterproof; the perfect wood of choice for long term use. The wood also has low shrinkage and is very stable once applied.