S & J Nursery’s Guide to Growing
Southern Red Cedar
in the Northeast Florida Landscape
( Juniperus silicicola )
Southern Red Cedar / Juniperus silicicola Origins:
– Northeast Florida Native plant selection.
Southern Red Cedar / Juniperus silicicola Preferred Exposure:
– Plant your Red Cedar into a full sun location.
Foliage | Bark of the Southern Red Cedar Juniperus silicicola:
– Evergreen foliage keeps stays green spring summer winter and fall. Deep
green color.
– Typically a single trunked tree with somewhat droopy branches as the plants age. New growth has a bright green wood that ages to brown.
Soil Preference / Salt tolerance of the Southern Red Cedar / Juniperus
silicicola:
– Southern Red cedars are tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, acid, sandy dry soils, loam, alkaline,etc. as long as the soils are well draining.
– High salt tolerant
Size Variance of the Southern Red Cedar Juniperus silicicola:
– Here in the Northeast Florida landscape, Southern Red cedars will grow to
30-45 feet in height with up to a 25 ft spread.
Growth Habit of the native Southern Red Cedar Tree:
– Very widely pyramidal growth habit.
Growth Rate of Juniperus silicicola in Northeast Florida:
– Extremely fast growing trees adding several feet to their height in a single
growing season.
Water Requirements of the Florida native Southern Red cedar Tree:
– Drought tolerant once established into the landscape from your S & J
Nursery container.
Blooms and Fruits / Butterfly or Bird Attracting:
– Fruits of the Southern Red cedar are rounded / cone shaped less than .5
inches in length fleshy purple or bluish purple. They are both bird and squirrel attracting!
EDIBLE PLANT:
The fleshy cones can be used just like other
juniper berries. However, according to this article by a Florida
foraging instructor, the foliage of the Southern Red cedar Juniperus
silicicola should not be used. http://www.eattheweeds.com/junipers/
Best Uses For Juniperus silicicola Southern Red Cedar in the North Florida | Jacksonville | St. Augustine area landscape:
– The dense evergreen foliage of the Southern Red cedar makes
it an ideal choice for a privacy screen to block out neighboring houses or unsightly views.
– Perfect native plant selection for a windscreen.
– High salt tolerance makes Southern red cedar an excellent coastal planting.
– Drought tolerant and virtually maintenance free, the Southern Red cedar is an easy care landscape plant selection for the Northeast Florida landscape.
– Perfect shape for a living Christmas tree.
Care of Southern Red Cedar:
– Water every day during the establishment period. See watering your newly planted trees for more information.
– Provide a 1 ft diameter circle of mulched area where grass is kept from growing for each inch of caliper (or diameter) of trunk measured 4 inches from the ground level.
– Fertilize each spring with a mixture of Milorganite and a slow release poly
coated plant food such as Osmocote or Stay Green general purpose plant food, sprinkling the fertilizer around the mulch circle underneath the foliage of the tree