eastern redcedar

Juniperus virginiana · Cupressaceae · all Juniperus records · also called Eastern red cedar · Wikipedia

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Eastern redcedar is not fire resistant; six published assessments classify it as highly flammable or unsuitable for Firewise landscaping.

The published assessments agree across the eastern United States. Eastern redcedar receives a 4 from the USDA Forest Service and state Firewise programs, whose scale runs from 1, “Firewise,” to 4, “Not Firewise.” North Carolina experts rated it high in both 2005 and 2025. Ohio State puts it at VH, the top of its five-band flammability scale, while Virginia Tech assigns H on its three-band scale. Kentucky extension guidance says eastern redcedar can be highly flammable and names it among plants to remove near a home.

That agreement matters because the ratings come from several regional programs using different scales. Virginia’s finding is somewhat broad because every evergreen tree and shrub in its list receives an H, but the other assessments still reach the same conclusion through their own classifications. None presents eastern redcedar as a borderline or fire-resistant choice.

Eastern redcedar is a low-water tree in the cypress family that reaches about 50 feet at maturity and is native across much of the United States. Those qualities may explain its landscape appeal, but they do not soften the fire verdict. Near structures, it should be treated as a highly flammable tree and kept out of defensible space.

Fire-resistant trees instead

Form: tree
Mature height: ~50 ft
Light: Full sun
Water need: low
Rated in: Alabama; Austin, Texas; Global; Kentucky +6

On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence: 6 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Alabama; Austin, Texas; Global; Kentucky; NC; North Carolina; North Carolina / southeastern US; Ohio / Midwest; Virginia / Mid-Atlantic; eastern US
Maintenance

Typed publication scope: 6 scopes across 6 cited fire sources

Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes · Official scoped edition
- AL; partial normalized coverage
  The Alabama Forestry Commission's five-page AFC-FP-04 booklet is an Alabama publication and contains 31 printed suggested or fire-prone plant occurrences. FireApproved publishes 27 exact species or genus owners and holds one infraspecific form plus two named cultivars; this historical source scope does not establish current site suitability for a particular Alabama property.
Fire-Resistant Landscaping in North Carolina (AG-874) · Official scoped edition
- NC; complete normalized coverage · 2025-03-26
  The complete three-table AG-874 plant list is explicitly for North Carolina and contains 202 low-, medium-, or high-flammability rows. FireApproved accounts for all source rows under its strict taxonomy and lineage rules; source scope does not establish local suitability at a particular North Carolina site.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
- OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01
  Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.
Firewise Landscaping (Travis County) · Official scoped edition
- Travis County, Austin area (TX footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2024-01-16
  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension publishes this page through its Travis County horticulture program. FireApproved publishes 56 exact owners and retains the source's zone and warning conditions. This is county/Austin regional context, not a second statewide Texas table or site clearance.
Save Your Home from Wildfire (ForFS 17-01) · Official scoped edition
- KY; partial normalized coverage · 2017-01-01
  University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension and the Kentucky Division of Forestry publish this small-woodland guidance for Kentuckians. FireApproved exposes its 13 exact species or genus owners while retaining the prose-example grain. It is not a scored or comprehensive state table.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) · Official scoped edition
- VA; partial normalized coverage · 2009-04-15
  Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AL, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV.
Native range: Current cited native range in AL, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV.
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness: Documented minimum 2b; no upper limit is documented.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

39

exact source areas

Current introduced

0

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

39 native source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alabama (AL)
Arkansas (AR)
Colorado (CO)
Connecticut (CT)
District of Columbia (DC)
Delaware (DE)
Florida (FL)
Georgia (GA)
Iowa (IA)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Kansas (KS)
Kentucky (KY)
Louisiana (LA)
Massachusetts (MA)
Maryland (MD)
Maine (ME)
Michigan (MI)
Minnesota (MN)
Missouri (MO)
Mississippi (MS)
North Carolina (NC)
North Dakota (ND)
Nebraska (NE)
New Hampshire (NH)
New Jersey (NJ)
New York (NY)
Ohio (OH)
Oklahoma (OK)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode I. (RI)
South Carolina (SC)
South Dakota (SD)
Tennessee (TN)
Texas (TX)
Virginia (VA)
Vermont (VT)
Wisconsin (WI)
West Virginia (WV)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record juniperus-virginiana · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 4 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Juniperus virginiana · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.
USDA PLANTS Database — Plant Characteristics · record JUVI · PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23 · as of 2026-08-26

Minimum 2b · no upper limit documented · half zone precision · derived containing band

Exact source measurement: -43°F; mapped only to its containing half-zone.

Source taxon: Juniperus virginiana · source identifier match.

Source location: PlantCharacteristics record 15261, Temperature, Minimum (°F).

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 3 — 10–30 ft from the structure; thin vegetation, remove debris, and minimize plant massing [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping: keep 30 ft from the home (Zone 3) [OSU B921 source-category siting] (with its avoid rating)
Save Your Home from Wildfire: should not be planted near the home [uk-forfs-home] (with its avoid rating)
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: juniperus-virginiana [nc-toolbox-flammability-facet] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping: Trees; High Flammability Plants to Consider Avoiding for all Zones [Travis County Firewise page sections] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes: Fire-prone plants to avoid within 30 feet of the house [Alabama Forestry Commission booklet section] (with its avoid rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (9)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“NOT Firewise (4)”

Showy blue fruit-pioneer plant-shelter for birds. Large fruit covering seeds is a source of flavoring for gin.
Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596) — NC State University / NC Cooperative Extension + USFWS (Bardon, Van Druten) · 2005 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree

“High flammability rating”
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) — Ohio State University Extension (Sydnor, Steward, Kloss / Ohio DNR Division of Forestry) · 2006 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“VH (evergreen trees); VH (evergreen shrubs)”

Alternate host for rust diseases; tolerates urban conditions; pH adaptive.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) — Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Tech (Appleton, Frenzel, Hillegass, Lyons, Steward — Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force) · 2009 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“H flammability”

Alternate host for cedar apple rust disease. Tolerates urban conditions. Difficult to transplant.
Fire-Resistant Landscaping in North Carolina (AG-874) — NC State Extension (Kays, Fawcett, Query, Thompson-Welch, Bardon) · 2025 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree resolves to Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596)

“high flammability”

Corroboration (4 rows from 4 sources)

Save Your Home from Wildfire (ForFS 17-01) — University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension / Kentucky Division of Forestry · 2017 · original source Corroboration Compilation

“can be highly flammable”

The factsheet names “eastern red cedar”; this row is reconciled to the exact GBIF species identity.
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — plant profiles and flammability ratings — NC State Extension (plants.ces.ncsu.edu) · live facet capture accessed 2026-08-23 · original source Corroboration Expert-curated lineage: nc-tree resolves to Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (E05-44596)

“high flammability” · original source

NC Toolbox facet capture lists "Juniperus virginiana" under the high flammability tag.
Firewise Landscaping (Travis County) — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Travis County · page modified 2024-01-16 · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: unknown

“High Flammability Plants to Consider Avoiding for all Zones”

Listed as Eastern Red Cedar — Juniperus virginiana; Eastern red cedar — Juniperus virginiana. The page says Zone 1 entries should be restricted to zones 2 or 3; all-zone entries are highly flammable due to volatile oils or growth habit.
Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes — Alabama Forestry Commission · 2002 archived booklet · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: firewise-national

“Fire-prone plants to avoid within 30 feet of the house: Eastern Redcedar — Juniperus virginiana”

The booklet explicitly places this row among fire-prone plants to avoid within 30 feet of the house.

Listed without a rating (12)

Corroboration (12 rows from 1 source)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

12 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- Primary study Weir2014: Weir, J. R., & Scasta, J. D. (2014). Ignition and fire behaviour of Juniperus virginiana in response to live fuel moisture and fire temperature in the southern Great Plains. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 23, 839-844.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device burning bench; site Weir2014-1; sampling april.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 109.79”
      
      FLAMITS record 13738.
    - “time to flaming (s): 74.91”
      
      FLAMITS record 13739.
    - “time to flaming (s): 60.78”
      
      FLAMITS record 13740.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.
    - “flame height (cm): 6.34”
      
      FLAMITS record 13741.
    - “flame height (cm): 12.81”
      
      FLAMITS record 13742.
    - “flame height (cm): 15.98”
      
      FLAMITS record 13743.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement.
    - “frequency of sustained flaming (%): 21.47”
      
      FLAMITS record 13744.
    - “frequency of sustained flaming (%): 53.97”
      
      FLAMITS record 13745.
    - “frequency of sustained flaming (%): 66.56”
      
      FLAMITS record 13746.
  - Shared measurement context: Consumability measurement.
    - “burnt biomass (%): 47.65”
      
      FLAMITS record 13747.
    - “burnt biomass (%): 72.83”
      
      FLAMITS record 13748.
    - “burnt biomass (%): 82.32”
      
      FLAMITS record 13749.

Fire-resistant trees instead

Lombardy poplar
Populus nigra 'Italica'

boxelder
Acer negundo

honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos

smooth sumac
Rhus glabra

green ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica

American elm
Ulmus americana

Fire-resistant trees listed above

Guides that discuss this plant

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/juniperus-virginiana/. Last verified 2026-08-23.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Native and introduced range evidence

39

0

0

Plant hardiness evidence

Where its sources say to plant it

The evidence

Avoids (9)

Related plants

Fire-resistant trees instead

Guides that discuss this plant