Northern White Cedar ‘Tree of Life’.
When I first came here, magnificent fragrant bell-shaped eastern white cedars lined the serpentine banks of my brook. Fortunately, all the older ones are still thriving. I am not sure when I first noticed that although all these cedars were healthy and full of cones, I rarely saw a seedling. Occasionally a sapling would fall over and root itself, only to be eaten by deer. Eventually, I became deeply concerned because I loved these trees and suspected that deer must be devouring the seedlings. Research supported my observations.
I started combing uninhabited lowlands where cedars were growing and dug up a few that were huddling next to stone walls in wet places. I created a ‘cedar garden,’ tucking seedlings into the earth around my brook in places I knew they would thrive, and they did! But not without my help. Every fall, I continue to cover these slow-growing trees with chicken wire for the winter, a tedious, but worthwhile chore. I have one ‘plot’ stretching across a streambank that sprouts new seedlings almost every year from a towering mother/father tree that leans over the brook. I placed a long chicken wire fence that runs along the rushing stream to protect new seedlings and young trees. This year I counted about thirty new teeny twigs and 6-12-inch saplings, all growing very close to one another.
The conditions for growth are excellent in this spot, so close to oxygenated running water. I won’t live long enough to see the trees mature into adulthood, but I feel like I have somehow made a difference, even if it’s just for a little while. Thuga occidentalis belongs to the cypress family and is not a true cedar, but it is closely related to the western red cedar (Thuga plicata) that is under threat from wildfires, strip logging, and drought. Did you know that Native eastern cedars can reach an age of 900-1500 years under ideal growing conditions? (Trees that mature quickly have a much shorter life span).
Seedlings and young trees benefit from morning or late afternoon sun. Later, they need more light, but even in the summer shy away from too much sun. Often, cedars are shaded out by other faster-growing trees like balsam or white pines, which have a maximum life span of about 200 years. Research indicates that we lose almost all eastern white cedar saplings by the time they are 12-13 years old (up to 99 percent). The primary difference between the Native Eastern and Western varieties is that the latter are much larger in girth and general height. Northern white cedar does not have an extensive range. It begins in the southern part of eastern Canada and in the US, stretches over a relatively small area of the northeast. To my mind, this is an excellent reason to protect the species.
Cedar-dominated forests develop where the groundwater contains relatively high concentrations of oxygen and essential nutrients. These conditions result in finely decomposed organic matter and a high pH. Lateral movement of oxygen and nutrient-laden water in the soil may be why cedar swamps, or fens, typically occur as bands in wetlands and along lakes and streams. Chemistry and water flow are critical factors that affect cedar survival and growth. Interestingly, eastern white cedar is called the Tree of Life by the indigenous Ojibwe while western red cedar bears the same title as the Haida. The Ojibwe call the tree Nookomis Giizhik (Grandmother Cedar) It is one of the four plants of the Ojibwe medicine wheel, the one associated with the north. The Wabanaki also named the cedar the ‘Tree of Life,’ as did many other Indigenous peoples of this country – too many to name. The tree itself (either white or red) remains sacred, a relative who gifts the people with materials to make rope, clothing, baskets canoes, poles, fences, totem poles, etc. Cedars also contain medicinal properties that have been used for millennia. Burning dry cedar twigs will purify the air in your house, a practice I engage in every winter, after drying a few lacy fronds.
Today, we still use white cedar to build fence posts, etc. because of its durability and natural resistance to insect damage and decay. Northern White Cedars have scale-like leaves arranged in tight rows along the twig, forming a delicate flat spray. The leaves overlap and hide the twig surface, and they have a spicy fragrance when crushed. Male and female flowers are tiny, cone-like bodies that are borne on separate twigs or branchlets of the same tree. Buds form in the fall and bloom in the spring. Once pollinated, tiny clusters of cones appear. The cones are egg-shaped, turning brown by the following autumn when each releases winged seeds. Amazingly, the cones can form in very young trees, as early as six years, with excellent seed production occurring around seventy-five years.
Typically, cedar is found growing in association with other lowland conifer and hardwood tree species. Tamarack, balsam fir, white and black spruce, and hemlock are common evergreen companions. Hardwoods like maple, black ash, birch, and pine are good examples of the latter. Maybe the most important reason to protect our cedars, if we value the rest of nature, is that these trees provide food, shelter, and habitat for an amazing array of our birds. Examples include robins, chickadees, goldfinches, warblers, jays, cedar waxwings, sparrows, kinglets, hermit thrushes, and winter wrens, to mention a few. Some research states that up to 25 percent of the diet of pine siskins is made up of cedar seeds, an intriguing fact for me given the pine siskins who visit here each winter in droves. Insectivores also feed on these trees. Over the years, I have found many different types of nests under my towering cedars. Because I am so attached to this species, I planted one just beyond the side door at the same time I created ‘my’ cedar garden. This year I lit my tree for the first time in early November to remind me that all life is sacred, and to light up the night.