Types of Cedar Trees for US Yards: True Cedars vs. “Cedars”

Only four trees in the world are botanically true cedars, all in the genus Cedrus, and only three of them are commonly planted in the US: deodar, Atlas and cedar of Lebanon. Most trees Americans call cedar, including eastern red cedar, western red cedar, northern white cedar and incense cedar, are actually junipers, arborvitae or cypress relatives. That matters when you shop, because the true cedars are large, warm-temperate trees for zones 6 to 9, while several “cedars” are cold-hardy natives that grow happily in zone 3. Here is how to tell them apart and which one fits your yard.

Part of our Trees & Shrubs guide →

In this guide

1. How to Tell a True Cedar from a “Cedar”
2. True Cedars (Cedrus)
3. Trees Called Cedar That Are Not True Cedars
4. Cedar Trees by Zone and Use
5. Which Cedar Should You Plant?
6. Planting and Care Basics
7. Frequently Asked Questions

How to Tell a True Cedar from a “Cedar”

You can identify a true cedar in about ten seconds by looking at the foliage and cones.

• Needles: true cedars have stiff needles, roughly 1 to 2 inches long, growing singly on new shoots and in dense tufts of a dozen or more on short, knobby spurs along older branches.
• Cones: true cedar cones sit upright on top of the branches like small barrels or eggs. They break apart on the tree to release seed rather than dropping whole.
• Habit: wide, layered branches, often with a nodding or drooping leader on young deodars.

“Cedars” from other genera instead have tiny, overlapping scale-like leaves that form flat or feathery sprays, and small cones that look like berries (junipers) or little wooden rosettes and bells (arborvitae, incense cedar, cypress). Crush a sprig of almost any of them and you will get the familiar aromatic “cedar” smell, which is how they all earned the name.

True Cedars (Cedrus)

Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara)

Native to the western Himalayas, deodar is the most widely planted true cedar in the US, especially across the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic coast, the Pacific Northwest and California. It has soft, gray-green to blue-green needles and graceful drooping branch tips. Expect 40 to 70 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide in landscapes, faster growth than the other Cedrus, and a pyramidal form that broadens with age. It is generally rated for zones 7 to 9, with cultivars such as ‘Shalimar’ and ‘Kashmir’ selected for better cold tolerance into zone 6. It tolerates heat and some drought once established but dislikes poorly drained clay.

Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica)

From the Atlas Mountains of North Africa (some botanists now treat it as a variety of cedar of Lebanon). The blue Atlas cedar, ‘Glauca’, with its silvery-blue needles, is the form most nurseries sell. It grows 40 to 60 feet tall and 30 to 40 feet wide, with a stiffer, more open habit than deodar. Zones 6 to 9 are typical. The weeping blue Atlas cedar, ‘Glauca Pendula’, is a sculptural specimen that can be trained along a fence or arch and stays far smaller than the species, making it the true cedar most suited to a normal-sized yard.

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)

The biblical cedar: a slow, massive tree that develops dramatic flat-topped tiers with age. It is the hardiest of the commonly grown true cedars, roughly zones 5 to 7, and some seed sources from Turkey are hardier still. It wants full sun, room and patience; young trees are slow to look like the iconic old specimens. Best for large properties, parks and estates in the Mid-Atlantic, lower Midwest and Northeast.

Cyprus cedar (Cedrus brevifolia)

The fourth true cedar, with very short needles. It is rare in US nurseries and mostly seen in arboretums and specialist collections.

Trees Called Cedar That Are Not True Cedars

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

A juniper native across the eastern two-thirds of the US and hardy roughly from zone 2 to 9. It is a narrow to broadly pyramidal tree, usually 30 to 50 feet tall, with dense green foliage that bronzes in winter and blue, berry-like cones that feed birds. It tolerates poor, dry, alkaline soils, wind and salt, making it a tough windbreak and screening tree. Two cautions: it is the alternate host for cedar-apple rust, so keep it away from apple and crabapple trees, and it spreads aggressively into prairies and pastures in the Plains. Our guide on how to grow juniper covers its care.

Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)

A giant arborvitae from the Pacific Northwest, where it can top 100 feet in the wild. Landscape trees grow 50 to 70 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide, with glossy, drooping sprays of scale leaves. It needs consistent moisture and cool summers; it struggles in hot, dry regions. It is hardy in zones 5 to 7, with some sources stretching to 8. The popular ‘Green Giant’ privacy tree is a hybrid involving this species; see Green Giant arborvitae care if you want a fast screen.

Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

Better known as American arborvitae, this is the source of countless hedge cultivars, including ‘Emerald Green’ (‘Smaragd’). The species reaches 40 to 60 feet in the wild, but landscape cultivars range from globe forms under 3 feet to narrow columns of 10 to 15 feet. Hardy in zones 2 or 3 to 7. Deer browse it heavily in winter, so protect it where deer pressure is high. See Emerald Green arborvitae care for hedge spacing and watering.

Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)

Native to the mountains of Oregon, California and Nevada, incense cedar is a narrow, columnar tree with bright green, fan-like foliage sprays and cinnamon-red, fibrous bark. Its wood is used for pencils. In landscapes it grows 30 to 50 feet tall but only 8 to 10 feet wide, making it one of the best large evergreens for a tall, narrow screen. It is adaptable to heat and drought once established and is generally hardy in zones 5 to 8, performing well even in parts of the East.

Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)

A false cypress native to coastal swamps and bogs from Maine to Mississippi. It is the cedar to choose for wet, acidic soil where others fail. It grows narrow, 40 to 50 feet tall in the wild, with blue-green foliage; compact cultivars are available. Zones 4 to 8 or 9.

Alaska cedar and Port Orford cedar

Alaska cedar (now usually listed as Callitropsis nootkatensis, Nootka cypress) is best known in its weeping form, ‘Pendula’, a tall, narrow tree with curtain-like hanging branches, hardy in zones 4 to 7. Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is a Pacific Northwest native with many dwarf cultivars, though it is vulnerable to a root rot in its native range.

Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)

Not a cedar either, but a popular, fast-growing evergreen with soft, awl-shaped needles in spirals. ‘Yoshino’ and ‘Radicans’ are common screening choices in zones 6 to 8, and dwarf forms such as ‘Globosa Nana’ suit small beds. It is a frequent alternative to Leyland cypress in the Southeast.

Cedar Trees by Zone and Use

Tree	Genus	Typical zones	Landscape size	Best use
Deodar cedar	Cedrus (true)	7–9 (some 6)	40–70 ft x 20–40 ft	Large specimen, South and West
Blue Atlas cedar	Cedrus (true)	6–9	40–60 ft x 30–40 ft	Blue specimen tree
Weeping blue Atlas	Cedrus (true)	6–9	Shape depends on training	Focal point, smaller yards
Cedar of Lebanon	Cedrus (true)	5–7	40–60 ft, very wide with age	Large properties
Eastern red cedar	Juniperus	2–9	30–50 ft x 8–20 ft	Windbreaks, wildlife, dry soil
Western red cedar	Thuja	5–7(8)	50–70 ft x 15–25 ft	Moist, cool-summer sites
Northern white cedar	Thuja	2/3–7	Cultivars 3–15 ft wide range	Hedges, screens
Incense cedar	Calocedrus	5–8	30–50 ft x 8–10 ft	Narrow screen, dry sites
Atlantic white cedar	Chamaecyparis	4–8/9	Narrow, 20–50 ft	Wet, acidic soil

Sizes are typical landscape ranges; wild trees often grow larger. For more evergreen options by region, browse our trees and shrubs hub.

Which Cedar Should You Plant?

• Cold Upper Midwest or northern New England (zones 3–4): eastern red cedar or a northern white cedar cultivar. True cedars will not survive.
• Mid-Atlantic and lower Midwest (zones 5–6): cedar of Lebanon or a hardy blue Atlas cedar for a specimen; incense cedar for a narrow screen.
• Southeast (zones 7–9): deodar cedar is the classic choice; Japanese cedar for faster screening.
• Pacific Northwest: western red cedar for moist sites, deodar or Atlas for drier spots.
• Small yard: a weeping blue Atlas cedar trained as a focal point, or a compact arborvitae cultivar. Most true cedars are simply too big for a typical lot.
• Wet or boggy ground: Atlantic white cedar.

Planting and Care Basics

All cedars, true or not, want full sun for dense growth. True cedars and incense cedar need well-drained soil and dislike standing water; plant them high, with the root flare at or slightly above grade. Spring or early fall planting gives roots time to establish. Water deeply once or twice a week for the first two growing seasons, then only in prolonged drought. Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch over the root zone, kept off the trunk.

Give true cedars their full mature width from the start: a deodar planted 8 feet from a house will be a problem within 15 years. Cedrus rarely need pruning beyond removing dead wood and, if you want a single leader, removing a competing one while the tree is young. Avoid cutting back into bare wood on any conifer, since most will not regrow from it. If needles brown in winter or after drought, our guide on why evergreens turn brown helps sort out the cause.