Seeing the different forms helps people become informed and also encourages them to purchase the correct tree for the correct location.

I myself have purchased Taylor. I have found another one online not in this article called glauca. It is the very upright slender version that is more silver. Not as slim as Taylor though.

The best part of these trees is that they require no maintenance are extremely tough and can take cold wet and drought very well.

Natives can be great parents that are low maintenance

Hello Kate,

‘Taylor is a very narrow cultivar of Juniperus virginana. While it grows tall, it only spreads 3-5 feet, thus requiring many plants to make a tight/full screen.

Josh Coceano
Scott Arboretum Horticulturist

Juniperus Virginiana var. Silicicola ‘Brodie’ is a female, not a male.

The great variability of form within Juniperus virginiana can be a detractor from a design point of view. Many of the cultivar selections are clones which pass on and retain a desired shape. Many of these clones, J. virginiana ‘Canaertii’ and ‘High Shoals’ for example, are females, while ‘Burkii’ is a non-fruiting male clone.

Eastern red cedar should do very well for you in Georgia. It’s hard to top a native plant that is adapted to the south’s heat, humidity, and clay soils. If fruit set is desired, consider planting a mix of seedling grown plants. If a particular shape or cultivar is desired, plant a known male and female cultivar.

Sometimes I see females on the roadsides with berries or on land not yet developed but then the developers come & wack all the red cedars down to pave & build a new business. In turn the landscapers in GA plant mainly plants like leyland cypress, crape myrtle, cryptomeria & many other foreign species. I want to spread the word in my community to use the red cedar more often and to help wildlife out by planting this tree and other North American native shrubs & trees.