How Much Do Cedar Trees Cost? (2026 Nursery & Hedge Prices)
Cedar trees cost $10 to $200 at the nursery depending on size and species, but arborvitae sold as cedar costs far less than true cedar genera like Cedrus or Juniperus virginiana. Buy the wrong size for your budget and a hedge project can run thousands over estimate once professional planting is added. This guide covers real 2026 nursery and installed-hedge pricing by size and species, plus the naming mix-up that skews online price comparisons.
Quick Answer
Cedar trees run $10 to $30 for small potted saplings, $40 to $160 for nursery trees in the 3 to 7 foot range most people use for hedges, and $150 to $250+ for large specimen trees. Professionally planted as a hedge, expect $25 to $100 or more per linear foot. Arborvitae, often marketed as “cedar,” costs noticeably less than a true cedar of the same size.
What Determines the Cost of a Cedar Tree?
Three factors move the price more than anything else: how tall the tree already is when you buy it, which species you’re actually buying, and whether you’re paying retail, wholesale, or an installed price that includes labor.
Size and Age at Planting
A dormant seedling under a foot tall can cost as little as $1 to $3 when bought in bulk, while a nursery-grown specimen already 8 to 9 feet tall runs $150 to $250 or more. Height is the single biggest price driver because a bigger root ball means more years of growing, more soil, and a heavier tree to transport – not because the plant material itself is more expensive per inch.
Species: True Cedar vs. the Trees Sold as “Cedar”
Most trees sold as landscaping “cedar” in U.S. nurseries are actually arborvitae (Thuja) or Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) – neither is a true cedar of the genus Cedrus. Our guide to true cedar species breaks down which four species botanists actually classify as Cedrus. This matters for price: Eastern Red Cedar typically runs $45 to $120 for a 1 to 4 foot tree, while ornamental Deodar Cedar (a true Cedrus) in a 1-gallon pot runs $39 to $78 – often more per inch of height than the arborvitae sold next to it.
Wholesale vs. Retail vs. Installed
Buying direct from a wholesale grower can undercut a garden center by 30% to 50% if you’re buying a dozen or more trees for a hedge row, but most wholesale nurseries have minimum order quantities. A landscaper’s installed price bundles the tree, delivery, soil amendment, and planting labor into one per-tree figure, which is why an installed 6 to 7 foot cedar can cost $70 a tree when the same size tree bought bare at retail might run $50 to $60.
Cedar Tree Prices by Size (2026)
The table below combines current nursery retail pricing with professional installed pricing for the same size classes, since most homeowners comparison-shop between buying a tree themselves and hiring a landscaper to plant it.
| Size Class | Nursery / Retail Price | Professionally Installed |
|---|---|---|
| Bare-root seedling (under 1 ft) | $1 – $3 | Not typically installed by pros |
| Potted sapling (1 – 2 ft) | $10 – $30 | $50 – $100 (DIY-friendly size) |
| Small specimen (3 – 4 ft) | $40 – $100 | $43 – $70 per tree |
| Hedge-ready tree (5 – 7 ft) | $60 – $160 | $57 – $98 per tree |
| Large specimen (8 – 9 ft+) | $150 – $250+ | $160+ per tree |
Sources: current nursery retail listings for Eastern Red Cedar and Deodar Cedar, and 2026 installed-hedge pricing surveyed by HomeGuide (see source link below).
Best New Cedar Tree Starter Pick
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Espoma Bio-tone Starter Plus 4-3-3 Organic Starter Fertilizer – $24.27 Mixed into the backfill soil at planting time, this is the single line item that most protects a $50 to $250 tree purchase from the transplant shock covered in the additional-costs section below.
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Cost to Plant a Cedar Privacy Hedge (Per Linear Foot)
A professionally installed cedar hedge costs $25 to $100 or more per linear foot in 2026, according to HomeGuide’s hedge-cost survey. The spread is wide because it covers everything from a thin row of 3-foot arborvitae to a mature 8-foot true-privacy screen.
- 20-foot hedge: 8 to 15 trees, roughly $800 to $2,500 installed
- 50-foot hedge: 20 to 35 trees, roughly $2,000 to $5,500 installed
- Per-tree installed price by height: 4-5 ft at $43, 5-6 ft at $57, 6-7 ft at $70, 7-8 ft at $98, 8-9 ft at $160
For the species most commonly planted as a privacy screen, our best cedar for privacy hedge guide compares growth rate and mature width so you don’t overspend on trees that end up too wide for the property line.
Arborvitae vs. True Cedar: Why the Naming Mix-Up Changes the Price
Arborvitae is a common evergreen shrub genus (Thuja) that garden centers routinely label and sell as “cedar,” even though it isn’t botanically a cedar. Real cedars belong to the genus Cedrus – only four species worldwide are true cedars, and none of them are the trees most homeowners plant for a privacy hedge. Cooperative extension services confirm this distinction directly: the “cedar” in a garden center’s hedge section is almost always arborvitae or Eastern Red Cedar, not Cedrus.
Why it affects your budget: arborvitae varieties are generally the least expensive option in the “cedar” aisle, often $13 to $23 for a starter plant, while true Cedrus species like Deodar or Blue Atlas cedar are grown more slowly and priced closer to $40 to $80 even at a small size. If a listing seems unusually cheap for a “cedar” tree, it’s very likely arborvitae. See our Eastern Red Cedar vs. Western Red Cedar guide for how to tell the common look-alikes apart before you buy.
Additional Costs to Budget For
Delivery and handling. Trees over 5 to 6 feet are heavy and awkward to transport in a standard vehicle; most nurseries charge a flat delivery fee of $30 to $100 depending on distance and tree size, or roll it into the installed price.
Soil amendment and starter fertilizer. A starter fertilizer worked into the backfill soil (see the pick above) typically adds $10 to $15 per tree in material cost but meaningfully reduces the transplant shock that kills a noticeable share of newly planted evergreens in their first year.
First-year watering. A new cedar or arborvitae needs consistent watering while its root system establishes – our cedar hedge watering guide covers the once-a-week baseline most sources recommend, and skipping it is the single most common reason an otherwise healthy $60 tree dies within a year.
General planting labor (when not bundled into an installed hedge quote) runs roughly $50 to $100 for a sapling, $75 to $150 for a small tree, and $100 to $300 for a medium tree, based on 2026 tree-planting service averages.
Cedar Trees vs. Cedar Lumber: Which Are You Pricing?
If you landed here looking for cut cedar boards, fence pickets, or shingles rather than a living tree to plant, you want cedar wood pricing, which runs on a completely different structure – by the board foot or linear foot, not by tree height. Our cedar wood cost guide breaks down 2026 lumberyard pricing by dimension and grade, including real per-board pricing pulled from a current price list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do cedar trees cost?
Cedar trees cost $10 to $30 for small potted saplings, $40 to $160 for nursery-grown trees in the 3 to 7 foot range typically used for hedges, and $150 to $250 or more for large specimen trees over 8 feet. Professional planting adds roughly $43 to $160 per tree depending on size.
How much does it cost to plant a cedar hedge?
A professionally installed cedar hedge costs $25 to $100 or more per linear foot in 2026. A 20-foot hedge using 8 to 15 trees runs about $800 to $2,500 installed, while a 50-foot hedge with 20 to 35 trees runs $2,000 to $5,500.
Are cedar trees the same as arborvitae?
No. Arborvitae (Thuja) is commonly sold and marketed as “cedar,” but it isn’t a true cedar – true cedars belong to the genus Cedrus. Eastern Red Cedar, another popular hedge tree, is technically a juniper. Arborvitae is usually the cheaper option of the two in a garden center’s “cedar” section.
How much do cedar saplings cost?
Cedar saplings and small potted starts typically cost $10 to $30 each, with bare-root seedlings running as little as $1 to $3 apiece when bought in bulk for windbreaks or reforestation projects.
Is it cheaper to buy small cedar trees and let them grow?
Yes. A 1 to 2 foot potted cedar can cost $10 to $30 versus $150 to $250 or more for an 8 to 9 foot specimen of the same species – buying small saves 80% or more, but it takes several growing seasons to reach hedge height depending on species and climate.
Conclusion
Budget $10 to $30 per tree if you’re willing to wait for a sapling to fill in, or $150 to $250+ per tree for an instant 8-9 foot privacy screen – and check whether you’re actually pricing arborvitae before assuming you’re comparing true cedar species. For a full hedge, per-linear-foot installed pricing ($25 to $100+) is the number that matters most for budgeting a real project.
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