Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. A recent caller to Making It Grow complained that nearby growing Eastern Red Cedars, Juniperus virginiana, were causing his dogwoods to die. Actually, these trees have no disease interaction but both are beneficial to wildlife and should be planted in our yards. In large spaces, use them as windbreaks.
Cedars are dense, their foliage provides hiding places for small birds from raptors and on the energy-sapping cold and wet days of winter, birds can huddle near the trunk and find shelter below the canopy of fern-like needles. That same dense foliage makes these trees a favorite nesting site for chipping sparrows, robins, and mockingbirds. Female cedars produce berry-like fruits that are devoured by certain birds – think cedar wax wings! As cedars age, and they are very long-lived, they can make a dramatic statement as they become open and craggy, worthy of admiration.
