Western Red Cedar

Thuja plicata

tree

Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is the giant, aromatic conifer of the Pacific Northwest rainforest, towering 50 to 70 ft or far more in the wild, with a buttressed base, fibrous reddish bark, and flat sprays of lacy, scale-like evergreen foliage. Sacred and central to the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest coast - the "tree of life" used for canoes, longhouses, baskets, and clothing - it is grown today as a fast, dense, fragrant evergreen for screens and specimens, and its foliage is the harvested part. A sensible caution: the foliage contains thujone and is not taken internally during pregnancy. It wants cool, moist conditions and resents heat and drought.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Salal — A native Northwest evergreen shrub that thrives in the cedar's moist, shaded understory
• Fern — A natural rainforest companion for the cool, damp, shady ground beneath
• Wintergreen — An acid-soil evergreen groundcover suited to the conditions under the canopy

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Bagworms →

  Larvae in spindle-shaped silk bags chew the foliage; pick off the bags by hand in winter and spring

• Arborvitae leafminer →

  Mines brown the tips; prune out and destroy affected foliage

• Root rot →

  Avoid soggy, poorly drained soil; provide moisture but with drainage

🌾 Harvest & storage

Snip small sprays of the flat, scale-like foliage as needed year-round; it is aromatic and was traditionally used in steams and washes. Harvest lightly from any branch so the tree stays full. As a clear caution, the foliage contains thujone and is used externally or aromatically and is not taken internally, and it is specifically avoided internally during pregnancy. The fibrous inner bark and wood were the great traditional craft materials, harvested from fallen or felled trees.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Western red cedar is not a food or internal-tea plant - the foliage contains thujone and is used only externally or aromatically, and is avoided internally in pregnancy. Its true value is as the "tree of life" of the Northwest coast: the wood and fibrous bark were the materials for canoes, houses, baskets, and clothing, and the tree makes a fast, fragrant, handsome evergreen screen.