A few champion Eastern redcedar trees

Some of the nations largest red cedars (Juniperus virginiana)

I posted earlier today about a very large Eastern redcedar tree that I saw at the Fort Donelson National Cemetery in Dover, TN. I estimated its circumference to be over 120 inches.

This made me curious about how the Fort Donelson red cedar compares with champions of the species. Here are some of the statistics for large Eastern redcedars that I found on the internet. As you can see, the Fort Donelson tree has a seriously big trunk, but it's not a contender for national champion.

Bon Homme County, South Dakota:
Circumference: 80 inches
Height: 69 feet
Crown spread: 30 feet
Bigness index: 157

Peru, Nebraska
Circumference: 9.08 feet (about 109 inches)
Height: 71 feet
Crown spread: 34 feet
Bigness index: 189

Lawrence County, Indiana
Circumference at 4 ½ Feet: 120 inches
Height: 86 feet
Crown spread: 31.5 feet
Bigness index: 207

Monroe County, Arkansas
Circumference: 131 inches
Height: 60 feet
Crown spread: 45 feet
Bigness index: 202

Wilson County, Kansas
Circumference: 134 inches
Height: 57 feet
Crown spread: 40 feet
Bigness index: 201

Clermont County, Ohio
Circumference: 153 inches
Height: 66 feet
Crown spread: 29 feet
Bigness index: 226

Wilcox County, Alabama
Circumference: 168.6 inches
Height: 62 feet
Crown spread: 40 feet
Bigness index: 240.6

St. Augustine County, Texas
Circumference: 187 inches
Height: 78 feet
Crown spread: 47 feet
Bigness index: ?

Image of redcedar trunk: "The heart within" by Flickr user meonomous
Creative Commons License 2.0

Large Eastern red cedar tree at Fort Donelson, TN

Juniperus virginiana, redcedar, common juniper of the Eastern U.S.

When we visited Fort Donelson at Dover, TN, last weekend, we saw several interesting specimens of Eastern red cedar (juniperus virginiana or "redcedar").

The very large redcedar tree above grows in Fort Donelson National Cemetery. It has the largest trunk of any red cedar I've ever seen. I didn't have a measuring tape with me to measure the trunk precisely, but it is over 10 feet in circumference.

Here is how I reached my statement of the circumference of the tree:

1. The trunk is more than 2 tree-hugs in circumference, but less than 2-1/2 tree-hugs.
   
2. When I stretch my arms out sideways, it is a little over five feet from the fingertips of one hand to the fingertips of the other hand. Thus 2 tree hugs equals at least 10 feet.
3. I didn't hug the trunk at its largest point.
   

An Eastern redcedar specimen this large must be several hundred years old. Red cedars often live 300 years -- or sometimes longer if conditions are optimal. This red cedar tree has been helped by its circumstances: it has not competed with other trees for sunshine, growing space, nutrients, or water for the last 140 years. During times of drought, it has probably been watered, and it's also possible that, along with the lawn, it's had some fertilizer over the years.

Related posts:
A few champion Eastern redcedar trees
Eastern redcedar: Pioneer species
Eastern redcedar: A tree that birds love

Eastern redcedar, pioneer species

Juniperus virginiana

This field in Christian County, Kentucky, is apparently enrolled in the Crop Reduction Program (CRP.) The land hasn't been touched for several years. No crops have been raised. There's been none of the usual plowing, cultivating and harvesting. It hasn't even been mowed.

Look how the young redcedars (juniperus virginiana) are coming into the abandoned field. The redcedar is a pioneer species, and old fields are one of the places where it frequently invades and establishes itself. Hardwoods may eventually follow, but first redcedars will have their day.

I took this photo this morning, and you can see that the cedars are still in their reddish-brown winter color. In summer, they will become much greener.

The berry of the redcedar is eaten by many birds and animals and the seed is distributed as it passes through their digestive tracts. This is apparently how the seeds have spread across this field. It also accounts for the many, many redcedars that grow in fencerows here: they are the result of birds perching on the fences.

It is interesting that the red-cedar's berry is not really a berry at all, but rather a small, plump, sealed cone. Each cone has up to four seeds in it.

When I was a kid, growing up in the Nebraska Sandhills, the eastern redcedar was widely planted in windbreaks. I suppose it was inevitable that eventually the tree would go wild as birds and animals spread the seeds. When I revisited the Nebraska Sandhills in 2000 for the first time in 15 years, I was shocked to see little cedar trees scattered across many pastures, much like the field in the photo above! Nowadays, ranchers are fighting the tree, instead of planting it. It's ironic.

A similar situation exists in the Missouri Ozarks:

Early surveyors found very little cedar—only on bluffs where fires could not reach it. Nowadays it is everywhere, especially in old fields and disturbed soils. Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S. Forest Service biologists are trying to get rid of the cedars that have invaded old fields, to restore the cedar-free savanna and prairie-like habitats that once characterized the flatter uplands of the Ozarks.

Source: "Native plant of the month: Red Cedar" by Dr. Lynda Richards, published in The Ozark Chronicles

The field in the photo above will soon become a field of red-cedars if nature is allowed to take its course. The field is not beyond reclaiming yet. It could still be brush-hogged. Most areas could be plowed without too much trouble from tree roots. But if the cedars are allowed to continue growing here, this soon won't be cropland anymore.

My personal opinion: I hate to see this field being taken over by redcedars when we are looking at corn shortages due to the demand for corn for ethanol. It is time to eliminate some of the crop reduction programs and bring fields like this one back into production.

Related posts:

A few champion Eastern redcedar trees
Eastern redcedar: A tree that birds love
Attracting bluebirds
Large Eastern red cedar tree at Fort Donelson, TN

Attracting bluebirds

Trees and plants for bluebirds, advice about bluebird house placement

Eastern bluebird - United States Geological Survey photo

If you want to attract bluebirds year after year, consider planting some of the fruit-bearing trees and other plants that they like. Fruits are an important part of their diet, though they eat insects, snails, and spiders as well. Here are some of their favorites:

Fruit-bearing trees for bluebirds: Dogwood Redcedar Wild cherry Serviceberry Sumac Bayberry Holly Hackberry

Other fruit-bearing plants for bluebirds: Pokeweed Virginia creeper Poison ivy Mistletoe Wild grape Blackberry Elderberry Bittersweet Blueberry

Where to place a bluebird nestbox:

In unspoiled nature, bluebirds nest in holes or cavities in dead trees. Obviously, dead trees don't have much foliage around the nest area -- just vines, at most. Bluebirds prefer their man-made houses to be placed in similarly open areas. They don't like a birdhouse that is hidden within a bushy clump of leaves and branches.

A steel fencepost in the longest size that you can find (7 ft. is generally available) makes a good, inexpensive pole for mounting a bluebird house. The steel post is difficult for animal predators to climb and if the box is mounted at the top of it, it is at an adequate height to satisfy bluebirds.

Bluebirds (and many other birds) prefer to nest near a source of water. If you don't have a stream or pond, provide a birdbath and be sure to tend to it.

Bluebirds are territorial. They are require at least a 100-yard circle of "private property". If you live in a neighborhood of closely-spaced houses and your next-door neighbor has a bluebird nest in his birdhouse you probably won't get a nesting pair in your yard. However, you'll still be able to enjoy the birds as they come to your yard to feed on the fruit you've provided for them!

Related post: Eastern redcedar: A tree that birds love

Eastern Red Cedar : A Tree for Birds

Juniperus virginiana, eastern redcedar

This is the bark of the eastern red-cedar (juniperus virginiana, photo at left.) The indigo bunting, a vividly blue bird that I love to see, uses strands of cedar bark in its nest. The gray catbird also weaves cedar bark into its nest. I wonder if the bark has enough cedar aroma to help control mites?

The eastern red-cedar is a native of every state east of the Rocky Mountains. (See this range map.) Wherever it grows, it's a very important tree for birds.

The cedar waxwing eats so many cedar berries that it's named after the tree. Many other songbirds consume cedar berries regularly during the long months of winter -- bluebirds, mocking birds, grosbeaks, purple finches, and mockingbirds just to name a few from a long list. The fruit is also eaten by gamebirds -- wild turkeys, quail and pigeons.

In spring, the redcedar is sought out by various birds as a nesting spot because of the dense cover it provides. I have discovered several mockingbird nests in the cedar trees on our small rural property, and robins, song sparrows and chipping sparrows are also known to nest in cedars.

In winter, redcedars provide a sheltered roosting place for many songbirds, including juncos, various sparrows and myrtle warblers.

Tonight I walked down to the mailbox at sunset, accompanied by our two cats. I was amused when we passed a red-cedar growing at the edge of the neighbor's pasture. It was full of little birds. I knew that by the chorus of breathy little chirps they were making to each other. I think they were sending up a warning about the cats. If they hadn't been speaking, I would never have suspected that cedar tree was so full of birds!

The red-cedar is really a juniper; it's not a cedar at all. Scientists write its common name as "redcedar", but if I spelled it that way,  most people would never find this page with a search engine. That's why I've written its name sometimes as "red-cedar" and sometimes as "redcedar."

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Related posts:
A few champion Eastern redcedar trees
Eastern redcedar: Pioneer species
Attracting bluebirds
Large Eastern red cedar tree at Fort Donelson, TN