American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Western Red Cedar
Thuja plicata. Large tree, 50 to 90 feet where planted, zones 5 to 8; full sun, part shade or shade; average or wet ground.
We do not grow western red cedar, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Pacific redcedar, giant redcedar, giant cedar, canoe cedar, shinglewood, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 50 to 90 where planted; up to 234 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 5 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, winter interest, erosion control |
| Pollen | February to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to November |
| First crop | 10 to 20 years (trees in stands from 20 to 30) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen. A lone tree sets seed with its own pollen, but self-pollination leaves about a third fewer filled seeds, so trees in a group set more good seed. |
| Lifespan | Usually lives 800 to 1,000 years and can live 1,460, and the oldest dated one was at least 664. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on western red cedar marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Planting season | Fall or spring. Its sources speak of nursery seedlings set out in fall or the next spring; Silvics adds that container stock planted in spring did better than bare-root stock inland. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list |
| Ground | Stream banks, floodplain forests, rich moist slopes, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 6 states |
Western red cedar is native in 6 states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of western red cedar's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Balsam Poplar
Populus balsamifera Large tree Zones 2–5 30–100 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Tamarack
Larix laricina Large tree Zones 2–6 50–75 ft
Shares stream banks, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Morton Arboretum, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Calscape, the Wildflower Center, the Gymnosperm Database, the City of Seattle and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.