Cedar vs Red Cedar: Which One Is Actually a True Cedar?

Red cedar is not a true cedar. True cedars are Cedrus trees from the Mediterranean and Himalayas, but the “red cedar” sold in North America is either western red cedar (Thuja plicata, 350 Janka) or eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana, 900 Janka). Pick the wrong one and a fence, closet liner, or siding job will underperform. This guide covers the botany, a side-by-side spec table, rot resistance, and which to buy.

Are Cedar and Red Cedar Actually Different Trees?

Yes, and the difference goes further than color. “Cedar” alone usually means one of three unrelated things: a true cedar from the genus Cedrus, one of the two red cedars, or one of several other cypress-family woods that borrowed the name. The common name tells you the smell, not the species.

Both red cedars belong to the cypress family (Cupressaceae), which is why neither counts as a true cedar. True cedars sit in the pine family. Western red cedar comes from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada, while eastern red cedar is a juniper native to eastern North America. If you already know you want red cedar and are choosing between the two species, our eastern vs western red cedar guide goes deeper on that one choice. For the juniper connection, see cedar vs juniper.

Cedar vs Red Cedar: Side-by-Side Specs

The numbers below come from the Wood Database entries for each species. Density is at 12 percent moisture content, and volumetric shrinkage is the total change from green to oven-dry, which is a good proxy for how much a board moves with humidity.

Property	True cedar (Cedrus)	Western red cedar	Eastern red cedar
Botanical family	Pine family (Pinaceae)	Cypress family (Cupressaceae)	Cypress family, a juniper (Cupressaceae)
Where it grows	Mediterranean, western Himalayas	Pacific Northwest, US and Canada	Eastern North America
Janka hardness	Not a standard US lumber species	350 lbf	900 lbf
Weight (12% MC)	Not standard	23 lb per cu ft	33 lb per cu ft
Heartwood color	Varies by species	Pink to reddish brown, darker streaks	Purple-red, pale sapwood streaks
Volumetric shrinkage	Not standard	6.8%	7.8%
Typical product	Ornamental tree, rarely milled here	Siding, decking, fence boards, shingles	Closet liner, chests, fence posts

Eastern red cedar is about 2.6 times harder than western red cedar (900 vs 350 lbf) and roughly 43 percent heavier (33 vs 23 lb per cubic foot). Source: Western red cedar and eastern red cedar entries, The Wood Database.

That hardness gap changes how each board behaves in the shop. Western red cedar dents and scratches easily, so a dropped clamp leaves a mark, and it can sand unevenly because the earlywood and latewood differ in density. Eastern red cedar resists denting far better, but it is nearly always knotty, and it reportedly carries enough silica to dull cutters faster than you would expect from a softwood.

What Is a True Cedar (Cedrus)?

A true cedar is a tree of the genus Cedrus, a small group that includes Atlas, deodar, Lebanon, and Cyprus cedar. They grow in the mountains of the Mediterranean and western Himalayas, carry their needles in tufts, and produce barrel-shaped cones that stand upright on the branch. You are far more likely to meet one as a landscape tree than as lumber, and you will almost never see it at a US lumberyard.

That matters for one practical reason: when a product page says “Lebanon cedar” or “Atlas cedar oil,” it refers to a genuine Cedrus, and the scent and wood are not the same as what comes off a red cedar closet plank. The cedar vs pine comparison covers how the cedar-scented woods stack up against ordinary pine.

Western Red Cedar: The Light, Stable Outdoor Cedar

Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is a very large Pacific Northwest tree with pinkish-brown heartwood and pale yellow-white sapwood. At 23 lb per cubic foot it is one of the lightest commercial softwoods, so a 6 ft fence picket is easy to carry and hang. Its decay resistance is rated durable to very durable, which is why it dominates siding, shingles, decking, and fence boards.

Two shop details separate people who have worked it from people who have only read about it. First, its acidic extractives corrode ordinary steel, so use stainless steel or hot-dip galvanized fasteners; plain zinc-plated screws leave black streaks around every head. Second, the dust is a real health issue, covered in the safety section below. For cost expectations, see what cedar wood costs per board foot.

Eastern Red Cedar: The Hard, Aromatic Juniper

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is the aromatic cedar of closet planks, chests, and hope chests. It is a juniper, so the foliage looks like a shrub-sized evergreen with scale-like leaves rather than a stately timber tree. Heartwood is purple-red, and pale yellow sapwood shows up as streaks and stripes throughout the board, which is the fastest visual way to spot it.

Its strong scent is the reason it is used for moth-resistant storage, though the effect on clothes moths is modest and fades as the surface oils dry out. If you want a closet lined, the steps are in our guide to cedar lining a closet, and a light sanding brings the scent back.

Rot Resistance and Weathering: What Actually Differs

Both species have durable heartwood, and neither is rot-proof in the sapwood. Western red cedar heartwood is rated durable to very durable, and eastern red cedar heartwood is regarded as excellent against decay and insects. The Wood Database notes eastern red cedar is frequently used for fence posts in direct ground contact with no pretreatment, which gives it the stronger track record for buried posts. Above ground, western red cedar is the more common choice simply because it is wider, straighter, and more available. Our heartwood vs sapwood explainer shows how to tell which part of a board you are holding.

Left unfinished outside, both woods fade to a silver gray within a year or two. If you want to keep the warm color, plan on a UV-blocking finish and recoating; the how to prevent cedar from turning gray guide covers the options.

Which One Should You Buy? Match the Cedar to the Project

Project	Pick	Why
Siding, shingles, deck boards	Western red cedar	Light, straight, stable, sold in long clear lengths
Fence pickets and rails	Western red cedar	Easy to handle; see our best cedar for fence picks
Buried or ground-contact fence posts	Eastern red cedar	Heartwood has a strong record untreated in soil
Closet liner, drawer liner, chests	Eastern red cedar	Dense, strongly aromatic, and traditionally used for storage
Outdoor furniture	Western red cedar	Lighter to move, and it takes finishes well; see cedar for outdoor furniture
Guitar soundboards, boxes, crates	Western red cedar	Clear quartersawn stock is a standard tonewood and box wood

Other Woods Sold as Cedar

Lumber labels are loose. Several woods with “cedar” in the name are neither of the two above, and mixing them up is the most common buying mistake. Here is how the usual suspects compare.

Wood	Botanical group	Janka	Note
Alaskan yellow cedar	Cupressus nootkatensis	580 lbf	Pale yellow, harder than western red cedar, per The Wood Database
Northern white cedar	Thuja occidentalis	320 lbf	Soft, mild scent; see red cedar vs white cedar
Incense cedar	Calocedrus decurrens	470 lbf	Spicy scent, the classic pencil wood
Spanish cedar	Cedrela odorata	600 lbf	Mahogany family, not a conifer; used for cigar boxes
Australian red cedar	Toona ciliata	Hardwood	Also a mahogany relative; see Australian red cedar

Working With Red Cedar: Dust, Fasteners, and Finish

• Wear a respirator when cutting or sanding western red cedar. The wood contains plicatic acid, which has been linked to occupational asthma with prolonged dust exposure. Use dust collection and an N95 or better mask.
• Choose stainless or hot-dip galvanized fasteners. Ordinary steel corrodes in contact with cedar extractives and stains the wood black around the head.
• Pre-drill near board ends. Western red cedar is soft and splits easily at the ends, especially with thick screws.
• Expect knots in eastern red cedar. Cut around them for closet liners; leave them in for rustic chests.
• Sand eastern red cedar with fresh paper. Its reported silica content dulls blades and abrasives sooner than most softwoods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is red cedar the same as cedar?

No. True cedars are Cedrus trees from the Mediterranean and the Himalayas. Red cedar in North America means either western red cedar (Thuja plicata) or eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and neither is a true cedar. All three share a name because their wood smells alike, but they differ in weight, hardness, and best use.

Is red cedar a hardwood or a softwood?

Red cedar is a softwood, because both species are cone-bearing conifers. Hardness is a separate matter: western red cedar rates only 350 lbf on the Janka scale, while eastern red cedar rates 900 lbf, harder than yellow poplar at about 540 lbf even though it is still botanically a softwood.

Is eastern or western red cedar better for outdoor use?

Western red cedar is the usual choice for siding, decking, fence boards, and shingles because it is light, straight, and stable. Eastern red cedar heartwood is denser and has a strong record in untreated fence posts, but it is knotty and sold in shorter, smaller pieces, so it is rarer in big-box lumber aisles.

What is the difference between red cedar and yellow cedar?

Alaskan yellow cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis) has pale yellow heartwood, a Janka hardness of 580 lbf, and a scent some people compare to raw potatoes. Red cedar is pink to reddish brown. Yellow cedar is harder than western red cedar and holds paint well, but it is sold in more limited supply.

Why is red cedar called cedar if it is not a true cedar?

Early settlers named North American trees after the fragrant cedars they already knew from the Old World, and the scent and reddish wood were close enough for the name to stick. Botanists later placed both red cedars in the cypress family, but the common name stayed in the lumber trade.

Conclusion

Cedar and red cedar are different woods that share a name. Choose western red cedar for anything outdoors and above ground, choose eastern red cedar for closets, chests, and posts in soil, and treat “true cedar” as a tree rather than a lumber category. When a label just says “cedar,” check the species name before you buy. For a wider look at how woods are classified, start with our types of wood guide.