Japanese Red Cedar - tree - March 2018

This fine tree can be found in Pinces Gardens of St Thomas, Exeter, UK. Native to the central and southern islands of Japan where it is a major timber species. The species is adapted to a warm maritime climate and best growth in Britain is to be found in areas with more than 1200 mm annual rainfall. The need for warm growing conditions means that the best stands are to be found in Wales or south-western England where the species can be a very high volume producer. Best growth is on soils of poor to rich soil nutrient status and slightly dry to moist soil moisture. It is not suited to very poor or dry soils, to peats or to alkaline soils. This is a high quality timber species, although pruning is an important component of management regimes in Japan. A very shade tolerant species which is moderately resistant to exposure although the crowns can be liable to snow break. On good sites in Britain the tree will grow to over 30m tall. In Japan, where it is the national tree, it is re