Western Red Cedar Tree (Thuja plicata) Hedge Plants 20-40cm

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Why You Would Want Western Red Cedar Hedge Plants – Thuja plicata

Our Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata hedge plants are great for making a fast-growing, dense evergreen hedge for year-round privacy, screening, wind protection and noise reduction with less maintenance than Leylandii. Unlike some other conifers, it grows well in partial shade and most soils, and is hardy to -20°C with a sweet, fruity scent when the foliage is crushed. [1][2]

It needs one or two trims a year, provides excellent wind shelter, reduces up to 50% of some noises, and provides permanent shelter for birds and insects. It is an excellent roadside hedge because it has been proven to capture airborne particulate pollution. [4]

Its small scale-like leaves form flattened sprays of dark glossy green foliage with paler markings underneath and it also produces small brown, oval woody cones. [1][5] Unlike Leylandii, Western Red Cedar can produce new growth from old bare wood, which is explained further below. [2][4][5][6][7]

It is particularly well suited to humid parts of Britain, with Forest Research stating that it performs best in areas receiving more than 800 mm of annual rainfall (see map on the left). [30]. In practical terms, this means a Western Red Cedar hedge is happy being planted to the left of UK (in geography terms, not political ones)

Things to watch out for are very poor or dry soil and windy winter weather. Western Red Cedar is harmful if eaten so no Red Cedar Sandwiches!

If you are convinced you need this hedge now and only need to know how many, then 60cm spacing is a good average. If you want easy maths, 2 per metre works.

How Fast Does a Western Red Cedar Hedge Grow?

Western Red Cedar can typically make around 40–60 cm of height growth per year in good conditions. British Forestry Commission trials recorded almost 57 cm per year over a three-year period, while Irish university research recorded approximately 41–42 cm per year in young plants. [19][20]

Growth depends heavily on soil, moisture, exposure, weeds and competition. Its strongest growth occurs on suitable moist, fertile sites, while specific Western Red Cedar research found that removing competing vegetation produced nearly three times as much height growth as merely removing overhead shade. [2][13]

Where Does Western Red Cedar Grow Best?

Western Red Cedar grows fastest in moist, well-drained, reasonably fertile soil. Fresh to moist, medium-to-rich soils are optimal. It will also tolerate chalk, clay, loam and sand, across acid, neutral and alkaline conditions, including gleys and some peat soils. [1][2]

A darker soil is generally indicative of fertility, so if you have darker soil that you can keep moist and not waterlogged, those are the conditions that are going to help you get maximum growth. [1][3]

Western Red Cedar is also a particularly useful hedge for a shaded position and can survive even quite heavily shaded conditions. This is one of the strongest growers when it comes to conifers in the shade. [1][2][5]

Cold is less of a problem than exposure. Western Red Cedar is H6 hardy, approximately -20°C to -15°C so even if you have penguins in your garden wearing a hat, gloves and a scarf, Western Red Cedar will be fine…unless they start using branches to fight off whales.

It is drying winds that cause problems, particularly for the younger plants, because the roots cannot replace the moisture lost through the foliage fast enough. You can mitigate this by keeping the soil moist. A mature hedge tolerates these conditions better but the evidence shows it can still be an issue. In short, if you regularly have strong winds at your location, you will need to pay more attention to watering.

Western Red Cedar Hedge for Privacy, Screening, Wind Shelter and Wildlife

Western Red Cedar makes a dense evergreen privacy hedge and screen and can comfortably be maintained at around 1.5–3 m high. [1][4]

It can also provide useful shelter from wind when established and can offer wind suppression protection up to 30 times its height. [9][21]

Its dense evergreen foliage also provides shelter for birds and insects throughout the year. [5] This means you may see your hedge listed on Air Bee and Bee.

If a high hedge is causing a serious problem for a neighbour, the council can issue a remedial notice requiring it to be reduced to a specified height and kept under control. There is no automatic 2 m maximum height, and the council cannot order a hedge to be removed, killed or reduced below 2 m. If the owner ignores the notice, they can be fined and the council can enter the property, carry out the required work and recover its costs. [15]

Do Western Red Cedar Hedges Reduce Noise and Air Pollution?

Yes, although the type of noise matters. Western Red Cedar is specifically recommended for noise-reducing hedges, and vegetation shelter belts including hedgerows can potentially reduce noise by up to 8 dB. [4] In useful language for you and me, this can mean some noises reduced by nearly half.

Hedges are most useful against middle and higher-frequency sounds, such as high-pitched voices, sirens and barking dogs. Their effect on lower-frequency noise such as road traffic is smaller, and a hedge combined with a solid fence or wall is more effective where low-frequency noise is the main problem. A tall, wide evergreen hedge works best, and repeated clipping increases hedge surface density. [4]

Western Red Cedar is also useful for capturing airborne particulate pollution. Its small, scaly leaves provide a large surface on which particles can be trapped. Where pollution capture is important, a dense hedge at least 1.5 m high and around 1 m deep is recommended. [4]

Western Red Cedar vs Leylandii for Hedging

Both make fast-growing evergreen screening hedges, but there are important differences.

Leylandii grows faster. Leyland Cypress has very rapid early growth, while Western Red Cedar is classed as rapid growing. If outright speed is the only consideration, Leylandii has the advantage, growing at up to 100 cm a year. [2][10]

Western Red Cedar normally requires less trimming, typically needing one or two cuts per year, while established Leylandii may need up to three cuts during the growing season. [4][11]

Western Red Cedar is more forgiving if cut back too hard. Leylandii will not normally produce new growth from bare old wood, so having a large size reduction can leave you with bare patches. Thuja can regrow from old wood, although less reliably than Yew. [7][11]

Western Red Cedar is shade tolerant, while Leyland Cypress is light demanding. [2][10]

Western Red Cedar is better suited to wetter, moisture-retentive soils than Leyland Cypress and can tolerate poorly drained soils that would be less suitable for Leylandii. [2][10]

For buyers wanting a fast evergreen hedge with good shade tolerance, fewer annual cuts and some ability to recover after over-pruning, Western Red Cedar is a strong alternative to Leylandii. Leylandii remains the stronger choice where maximum growth speed is the overriding priority.

How to Plant and Space a Western Red Cedar Hedge

For a single-row Western Red Cedar hedge, 60 cm spacing is a good standard. You can plant more or less than this but it is a trade-off between cost and time to knit together. These are a good, cheaper alternative to the double staggered row.

A double staggered row will give you more noise reduction, wildlife shelter and wind suppression and the second row is suggested to be planted around 45 cm away from the first row. You can extend the plant spacing with a double staggered row to 90 cm. [4][5][9][12]

Prepare the whole hedge line rather than digging isolated holes as competition from nearby grass and weeds will reduce your growth rates. Clear a strip around 60–90 cm wide and break up the soil; plant at the same depth as the plants were previously growing, water thoroughly and apply around 8 cm of mulch after planting. This helps to keep the competition down and maintain soil moisture. [12] Don’t let the mulch touch the new plants. New hedges should be watered during dry periods for their first two years. [12]

Grass and weed control is particularly important. Research on Western Red Cedar found that completely removing competing vegetation resulted in nearly three times greater height growth than simply removing overhead competition. Competition for resources, particularly moisture, was more important than shade alone. This does not mean every garden hedge will literally grow three times faster, but it clearly shows why keeping turf and weeds away from young hedge plants matters. [13] Older hedges are less under threat from nearby grass and weed competition because their much larger root network gives them access to more water and nutrients. [8]

Western Red Cedar can also respond strongly to improved nutrition where nutrients are deficient. A USDA Forest Service trial on a poor site found significantly better growth following fertilisation. Most conifers growing in normal garden soil do not require routine feeding, but a general-purpose fertiliser can be used where growth is poor or soil fertility is low. [7][14]

If spare hedge plants are kept in pots for later replacements, remember that container-grown plants dry out much faster than those planted in the ground and will need closer attention to watering. [36]

How and When to Prune Western Red Cedar Hedges

Trim Western Red Cedar hedges in spring and late summer. Around one or two cuts each year are normally sufficient once the hedge is established. [1][4]

Start shaping the hedge while it is young. During the first two years, leave the main leading shoot intact until the hedge reaches the required height but trim straggly side shoots in summer to encourage dense, bushy growth. [18]

Western Red Cedar normally only needs trimming once or twice a year. [4][18] More frequent light trimming will produce a tighter, denser and more formal hedge, which can improve screening, noise reduction and pollution capture, but there is little reason to trim it three or four times a year unless you want a particularly immaculate finish. [4][22]

Can Western Red Cedar Hedges Be Hard Pruned?

Yes. Western Red Cedar can regrow from old bare wood, although recovery is not guaranteed. Using the S.W.A.G. (scientific wild arse guess) method, you have a 1 in 4 chance it will not grow back.

A 12-year British Columbia/USDA Forest Service study removed branches and foliage from increasing proportions of Western Red Cedar trees. In the severest treatment, branches were removed from the lower 60% of total tree height, leaving the upper crown intact. After 12 years, about 75% of the severely pruned trees had produced new shoots, while around 25% produced none. About 60% produced at least one new shoot longer than 11 cm. [6]

More severe pruning stimulated more new shoots from the old bare wood. These can develop from dormant buds beneath the bark and from new buds formed in healing tissue around the cut. [6]

This proves Western Red Cedar can regrow from bare old wood, but it does not mean every severely reduced hedge will recover evenly. Thuja is one of the exceptions to the normal conifer rule about cutting into brown wood, although its recovery is less reliable than Yew. [7]

Before trimming, check carefully for active bird nests. It is an offence to intentionally damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is being used or built. [16]

Is Western Red Cedar Toxic?

Western Red Cedar should not be eaten by humans—not something we thought should need clarifying. The RHS and the Horticultural Trades Association both classify Thuja as “harmful if eaten; skin allergen”. The HTA places Thuja in its lower Category C rather than using the stronger “TOXIC if eaten” warning. This means it is in the lowest toxicity category and some people might get a reaction to skin contact. Its foliage contains an essential oil rich in thujone. [1][24][25]

The skin-allergy warning does not mean everyone who touches the hedge will react. Published evidence of allergy from Thuja plicata is mainly associated with prolonged occupational exposure to Western Red Cedar wood and wood dust. For normal hedge handling, wearing gloves when planting or pruning is a sensible precaution, particularly if you have sensitive skin. [1][26]

For dogs and cats, the evidence is much less concerning. The HTA guide was produced with toxicologists from the Veterinary Poisons Information Service and specifically assessed risks to household pets. Thuja is listed as a human hazard only, not as a significant hazard to dogs, cats or other pets. There is therefore no evidence from this UK veterinary assessment to justify describing a Western Red Cedar hedge as poisonous to ordinary household pets. [24]

Livestock are slightly different. Western Red Cedar is naturally browsed by animals: USDA records cattle eating Thuja plicata and sheep browsing young plants. However, the foliage contains thujone and veterinary research has specifically cautioned against feeding goats large quantities of Western Red Cedar during the first six weeks of pregnancy. The sensible precaution is not to feed hedge clippings to livestock or leave piles of freshly cut foliage where animals can gorge on them. [25][27][28]

Other Western Red Cedar Allegedly Interesting Information.

Western Red Cedar is sometimes confused with other cypresses, particularly Lawson Cypress. One of the easiest ways to tell them apart is the scent: crushed Western Red Cedar foliage has a distinctive sweet smell often compared with pear drops or pineapple. [29]

It is not actually a true cedar but a member of the cypress family, Cupressaceae. [31] It is also an exceptionally long-lived species, with specimens more than 1,000 years old and one recorded tree producing a ring count of 1,460 years. [32] In its native range it occurs from sea level to around 2,290 m altitude. [33] Western Red Cedar is also an important timber tree, valued for its lightweight, straight-grained and naturally decay-resistant wood. [33] The name plicata is Latin for “pleated”, referring to the arrangement of its scale-like leaves. [34] Other names include Pacific Red Cedar, Giant Cedar, Canoe Cedar and Shinglewood. [33] It was introduced to Britain in 1853, generally credited to plant collector Thomas Lobb. [35]

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See What Our Customers Are Saying About Our Western Red Cedar Cell Grown Plants.

Dear Alan, A few years on and the hedge is taking shape..........................thanks very much for all your professional help. We are delighted with the service and product! Kind regards, Stuart Sangster. 1115

Sorry I've not got back to you sooner. The package was damaged but the Western Red Cedar trees seemed to have survived and appear healthy. All 60 are now nestled firmly in the ground. Your website is very informative and refreshingly honest. We look forward to our next purchase. Keep up the good work. Suni 1114

Dear Alan,My experience of ordering from Trees Oneline has been most positive. The Western Red Cedar trees arrived in excellent condition (were left as requested in the dustbin by the courier so I did not have to sit around waiting from them to arrive) and the trees have now settled down and are growing well. I have already placed another order and shall be using this service on many more occasions both for my own garden and for our churchyard. The web-site was easy to navigate with excellent information about each tree, and there is a hint of humour which make makes the whole business a little more human. Many thanks, The Reverend David Derrick 1113

Hello, Yup got the grapes, cedar, pine n roses ! Thank you very much. Happy with them. Can't wait to see em growing. All the best Dr Ana Christensen DVM, PhD 0613