It is widely known that the Eastern red cedar’s wood contains a natural oil that kills the small larvae of the common clothes moth, thus repelling the adults. But fresh branches tucked into a tabletop plant has the opposite effect on human visitors, adding sensory pleasure to any January visit. Trimming with this aromatic conifer releases a woody scent of the rugged outdoors, as compelling as cinnamon and cloves are in the kitchen.

Don’t be tricked into thinking this native tree is a true cedar. Look to the botanical name, Juniperus virginiana, for understanding that it is actually a juniper. Let’s set the record straight that true cedars are found in the entirely different genus, Cedrus. The name, Eastern red cedar, is a horticultural misnomer.

Yet this doesn’t diminish the red cedar’s beauty or practicality. Plant red cedar as an inexpensive evergreen privacy hedge to delineate your property from a neighbor’s. Use as a windscreen to break winter’s chill from your house and save energy costs. Or, site a cultivar with a smaller, but still column-like form in foundation landscaping to call attention to or hide a particular feature on a house structure.

Red cedar spreads readily in Shepherdstown farmland through bird droppings. Saplings easily sprout in abandoned fields or poor, dry soils, thus labeling this tree commonplace rather than ornamental. But red cedar stands tall to add an understated, natural look to landscape design with textured, blue-green foliage.

Red cedar is coniferous, i.e., the plants bear both cones and evergreen leaves. All junipers are dioecious (separate male and female plants). In late winter, tawny cones bearing pollen appear on the branch tips of male plants. The purple-blue, berry-like fruits on female trees are actually encapsulated seed cones. Juncos, bobwhites and many other birds are drawn to these juniper “berries” as a plentiful food source.

Referred to as the “Tree of Life” by Native Americans, red cedar is considered sacred for its spiritual and medicinal properties. Farmers value the decay and insect-resistant wood for long-lasting fence posts. Bird lovers choose birdhouses constructed from red cedar for their durability.

Colonial craftsmen selected this wood for creating furniture, given its workability, attractive grain and violet-brown colored heartwood. Early Americans planted avenues of red cedar to dress up dirt roads leading to rural manor houses. For a local example of this display, investigate the juniper planted alongside the entrance drive to historic Tuckahoe Plantation, Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home in Richmond, Va.

Wintertide is the season to appreciate Eastern red cedar’s cultural heritage and functionality in the home landscape. For care requirements, visit Cooperative Extension plant profiles, available online for all readers of educational gardening publications.

Kristi Hendricks is a graduate of Shepherd College and West Virginia University and a Master Gardener with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at belowthejames@yahoo.com.