Name
Northern White Cedar (T)
Scientific Name
Thuja occidentalis
Wildlife Value
Good
Average height
55'
Origin
Native
Shade Tolerance
Moderate
Drought Tolerance
Good
Growth Rate
Slow/Mod
Fruit
Tiny cones
Special Characteristics
  Foliage resembles scales
Transplant Size 
12" to 18"
 
 
General Description
A conifer tree with fan-like branches and scaly leaves. The bark is red-brown, furrowed and peels in narrow, longitudinal strips. The foliage forms in flat sprays with scale-like leaves 3-5 mm long. The cones are slender, yellow-green ripening to a brown color. The branches may take root if the tree falls. Seed germination does well in moist conditions in areas of undisturbed forests. 
 
Pests
Deer find the soft evergreen foliage a very attractive winter food, and strip it rapidly.
 
Uses
White Cedar is widely used as an ornamental tree, particularly for screens and hedges. It is also used commercially for rustic fencing and posts, lumber, poles, shingles and in the construction of log cabins, White cedar is the preferred wood for the structural elements, such as ribs and planking, of birchbark canoes and the planking of wooden canoes. It is used in craft, construction as well as medicine. The essential oil within the plant has been used for cleansers, disinfectants, hair preparations, insecticides, liniment, room sprays, and soft soaps. Others have used the foliage and bark to make teas known for the high vitamin C content.