Downy Arrowwood
Viburnum rafinesqueanum Shrub Zones 3–8 3–10 ft
Shares rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 3 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Companion species
Pick one native tree or shrub and see what grows with it. The matches come in three groups. Some species share its ground in the wild, and others live under its canopy or are the trees it can be planted beneath. The rest suit the same yard because they want the same sun, soil and climate. Every match is explained on the page, so you can see why a species is listed.
Eastern red cedar carries the cedar-apple, hawthorn, quince and juniper broom rusts over winter. They spend the rest of their lives on crabapples, hawthorns, serviceberries, chokeberries and mountain ash. The University of Minnesota Extension says not to plant it within a few hundred yards of them, so the 25 trees and shrubs of those kinds that we grow are left out here.
The 25 species left out
Allegheny serviceberry, American crabapple, American mountain ash, Bartram's serviceberry, black chokeberry, blueberry hawthorn, cockspur hawthorn, downy hawthorn, downy serviceberry, green hawthorn, Harbison's hawthorn, littlehip hawthorn, mayhaw, Nantucket serviceberry, parsley hawthorn, pear hawthorn, prairie crabapple, red chokeberry, roundleaf serviceberry, shadblow serviceberry, southern crabapple, three-flower hawthorn, Washington hawthorn, weeping hawthorn and western mayhaw.
In the wild
Eastern Red Cedar grows in rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges
These natives share that ground, so they will look right together and want the same care.
Celtis occidentalis Large tree, 40–60 ft
Ceanothus americanus Shrub, 2–3 ft
Zanthoxylum americanum Shrub, 10–20 ft
Rhus aromatica Shrub, 2–6 ft
Vaccinium pallidum Shrub, 1–3 ft
Rhus typhina Shrub, 15–25 ft
Celtis tenuifolia Small tree, 15–30 ft
Ceanothus herbaceus Shrub, 2–3 ft
In the yard
Under its canopy
Shrubs that take the shade an eastern red cedar casts and like the same soil.
Gray Dogwood
Cornus racemosa Shrub Zones 4–8 4–10 ft
Shares rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Blackhaw Viburnum
Viburnum prunifolium Shrub Zones 3–9 12–15 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 3 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Mapleleaf Viburnum
Viburnum acerifolium Shrub Zones 3–8 3–6 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild. Hardy in zones 3 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Carolina Buckthorn
Frangula caroliniana Shrub Zones 5–9 10–20 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild. Hardy in zones 5 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Roughleaf Dogwood
Cornus drummondii Shrub Zones 5–8 6–15 ft
Shares rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 5 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
In the yard
Beside it
Plants that want the same sun and soil, for a bed, a hedge or a grove, with the same size class first.
Winged Elm
Ulmus alata Medium tree Zones 6–9 40–60 ft
Shares rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 6 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Hop Hornbeam
Ostrya virginiana Medium tree Zones 3–9 25–40 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild. Hardy in zones 3 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum Medium tree Zones 4–9 30–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Chinquapin Oak
Quercus muehlenbergii Medium tree Zones 3–8 40–60 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild. Hardy in zones 3 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Post Oak
Quercus stellata Medium tree Zones 5–9 35–50 ft
Shares rocky ground and dry uplands in the wild. Hardy in zones 5 to 9 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Shingle Oak
Quercus imbricaria Medium tree Zones 4–8 40–60 ft
Shares dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild. Hardy in zones 4 to 8 of the eastern red cedar's 2 to 9.
Plan the planting
- When these flower and fruit, in the bloom and fruit calendar.
- What to plant under a big tree, and how to plant without harming its roots.
- The habitat around a tree is part of the tree: what keeps its roots alive.
- Native hedges, screens and windbreaks: which to use, and how far apart.
Be first
Email me when Eastern Red Cedar or a companion is ready to order
For Eastern Red Cedar, Downy Arrowwood, Gray Dogwood, Blackhaw Viburnum, Mapleleaf Viburnum, Carolina Buckthorn, Roughleaf Dogwood, Winged Elm, Hop Hornbeam, Sassafras, Chinquapin Oak, Post Oak: one email per plant when it is priced or back in stock, and nothing else.
How the matches are made
- Natural communities. Every species we grow is tagged with the communities it lives in: floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats, stream banks, rich moist slopes, dry uplands, sandy barrens, rocky ground, old fields and edges, the forest understory, the Appalachians and the coast.
- In the wild. Up to eight natives that share one of those communities with it and grow wild in one of its states. The most communities in common come first, then the native range most like its own. A species in a yard list is not repeated here.
- Under its canopy, or trees to plant it under. Up to six species at least two sizes apart, the smaller one taking part shade or shade: shrubs under a medium tree, shrubs and small trees under a large one.
- Beside it. Up to six that share a sun with it, the same size first.
- The order of a yard list. Every yard pick shares a zone, a soil and a state of native range with it. A shared community counts two points, and a shared sun or soil one. Under a canopy, a species of the forest understory counts two more, and one that takes full shade one more. Of equal scores, the one hardy in more of its zones comes first.
- Your zone. With a zone chosen, the yard lists keep only species rated hardy in it.
- Black walnut. The 37 species we grow that the Morton Arboretum lists as sensitive to its juglone are left out of its answer, and it is left out of theirs. Under a walnut, the species on Morton's tolerant lists come first and are marked.
- Eastern red cedar. The 25 crabapples, hawthorns, serviceberries, chokeberries and mountain ash we grow are left out of its answer, and it is left out of theirs: the cedar-apple, hawthorn, quince and juniper broom rusts live on both, and the University of Minnesota Extension says to keep them a few hundred yards apart.
- A tree we do not grow. The note under the menu names a relative we grow, in the words of its page.
The communities are our own tags. The states of native range are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, read on 2026-09-23, as the native trees by state tool reads them. Zones, sun and soil are each species' own page. The juglone lists are the Morton Arboretum's, read on 2026-10-05, which warns that "any list regarding this topic is incomplete and some of the information may be anecdotal." The rusts' hosts are the University of Minnesota Extension's, read on 2026-10-06. What to plant under a big tree and the article on juglone cover the subject.
Sharing a habitat tag does not mean two plants always grow side by side, and a tag says nothing about how far apart to plant them. Use the planting-site check for the spot itself, and the growth estimator for how much room each one will want in twenty years.