CEDAR in the HILL COUNTRY! Why so much cedar in the Texas Hill Country?

Check out this helpful video for find out more about Cedar in the Texas Hill Country. Why are there so many out there? Is it native? What's it good for? I cover these and several other misunderstood topics about this controversial tree.

Resources:
Biology and Ecology of Ashe juniper (Smeins and Fuhlendorf)

The Ashe Juniper

Ashe Juniper (Juniperus Ashei: Cupressaceae) Canopy and Litter Effects on Understory Vegetation in a Juniper-Oak Savanna

An Old-Growth Definition for Western Juniper Woodlands: Texas Ashe Juniper Dominated or Codominated Communities

Seasonal Water Usage by Juniperus Ashei: Assessment With Stable Isotopes of Hydrogen and Oxygen

Effects of Brush Management on Water Budget and Water Quantity, Honey Creek State Natural Area

Hydrologic Impacts of Mechanical Shearing of Ashe Juniper in Coryell County, TX

Slow recolonization of burned oak–juniper woodlands by Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei): Ten years of succession after crown fire

Effect of removal of Juniperus ashei on evapotranspiration and runoff in the Seco Creek Watershed

Chavez-Ramirez, F. 1992. The role of birds and mammals in the dispersal ecology of Ashe juniper on the Edwards Plateau, Texas. M.S. Thesis, Dep. Wildl. Fish. Sci., Texas A&M Univ, College Station, TX.
For more information about your land, check out www.LandAssociation.Org

[franciscodanconia]

My parents bought a 250 acre retirement ranch outside Kerville back in the early 90s. First thing they did was have all the junipers hand cleared everywhere except the creek areas. The property has a spring fed creek. A year or so after clearing the spring heads were flowing probably 300-400% more than when they bought the land. And their water well is only about 20 ft deep.

My mom, and amateur botanist and gardener the. Went back and replanted a lot of native trees and grasses like the bluestems and switchgrass. 30 years on the property looks a lot different from the surrounding ranches. It’s super easy to pick out on Google maps because it’s the only one without the thick green juniper cover.

[thGenNativeTexan]

One of the best, to the point discussion on cedar. My family has been in the Hill Country since the 1840's, and everything you described was right on point, from the early days of grass ranges, to farming and ranching and the explosion of cedars.

[elizabethmcgreevy]

Yes, "cedars" were described by settlers as covering many hillsides (assuming you're talking about Mountain Cedars, not Eastern Red Cedars. They also almost completely the entire length of the Balscones Escarpment along with oaks and other native trees. So no, they did not just occur inside canyons. I have found plenty of limestone junipers growing in the open that are at least 250 years old. If fires happened every 3-5 years, they could not have established. The historical vegetation was described as being more of a patchy mosaic of forests, woodlands, thickets, and open grassy prairies due to the broken terrain and numerous natural fire breaks (according to Dr. Fred Smeins TAMU). There is zero evidence that fires were ever that frequent across the eastern Edwards Plateau where limestone junipers were always more abundant (except for when Comanches were battling the Lipan). Further west, around the San Saba headwaters and across the western Edwards Plateau, fires could have travelled more unbroken. Still the main reason why there was more tall, dense grass back then was the numerous herds of migratory megafauna. The grasses and soils were robust enough to keep woody plants at bnay without frequent fires. Instead, the fires would have been periodic, maybe every 20-30 years..

[mcclaynjazmyn]

I was in the kerville hill country about 20 yrs ago, I found the perfect cedar branch for my walking stick, it's sure strong, love the color under the bark, it's my favorite walking staff !

[michaelogden]

Interesting! I'm a native Texan with a ranch about 40 miles west of Waco. There are cedars everywhere bit I never thought much about why they are so prolific. Good stuff! Thanks!

[deborahsherer]

In the last 35 years I’ve watched the cedar grow from San Antonio to Stephenville.

[markrouse]

I used to own a house that had a really large juniper tree on the side of the house. It was the neighbors tree and that lousy thing caused foundation problems for both houses. The tree would suck up every bit of moisture within a 30 foot radius of the trunk. Foundation repair work guarantee said that is was not valid if a Juniper is allowed to grow nearby.

[robcarpenter]

I grew up in northeast TX in a giant pine forest but went to school at UT and fell in love with the Hill Country and have always been fascinated by its history. You blew my mind when you said that it was once all rich grassland! Really interesting, thanks!

[brassteeth]

ive read about the grass in the days of the pioneers and often tried to imagine what it may have looked like.
Interesting info. Thanks for the insight.

[Jody-ktev]

Good video. We have 80 acres in Oklahoma that my grandfather bought in 1924. When he was alive, he would burn portions of it every summer. This would keep the tree growth down. Since he has been gone for over 50 years now, this portion is now full of trees, some being a relative to the central Texas Cedar. Your explanation makes very good sense.

[adolfovasquez]

Thank you for the explanation. I’ve often wondered whether cedars were native trees. Being from Houston and traveling to Edwards County three to four times a year, I appreciate your lesson in the landscape of this beautiful land.

[StaffReed]

Excellent! Comprehensive and accurate.

[atomicsmith]

HYDRO-AXE! That is the best way to clear cedar (and huisache). It is the most economical, but it also turns the cedar into a thin layer of mulch. That mulch protects thin soils and allows native grasses to grow through. I have some areas that the cedars had turned into exposed limestone shelf with cedar brush. After the hydro-axe it turned to grass after one season! If you spread seed beforehand, I think it would work even better.

[antoniohebert]

I grew up in Southeast Texas at the beginning of the Piney Woods. I went to college in Central Texas (Bell County) and never experienced such intense allergies and sinus infections due to the cedars. They’re pretty to look at, but my God, the pollen is terrible.

[industrialathlete]

For those that may not know, the growing point of grasses is below ground level.Hence, not killed by fire!

[potornotpot]

I grew up where Hackberry and the forks of the Nueces River start below the Edwards Plateau, on Dry Creek above Barksdale, below Rock Springs. There are a few old Cedars still standing but most were harvested around the west of Leakey and around Camp Wood during the 40's on. The cedars were used as blocks under frame houses as Cedar is not affected by termites. This was after the war when small frame houses were built. There was a railroad spur built to Camp Wood after WW2 to cut down the Cedar Forest on Hwy 55 and 337, and what I understand it was a very thick forest covering a lot of acres. Sadly the state paid people to harvest the cedar to make more room for Agriculture grass. There were mostly large Angora Goat ranches with cattle and a few sheep. When Gov. Brisco eradicated the Screw worm fly the ranching was better. 200 years ago there were small creeks everywhere on our property. Now you have dry arroyos where the creeks and springs ran. So sad to see the decline of the Hill Country due to the desert encroaching.

The last major drought killed some of the older Cedars still standing. On Dry Creek there are a few 300 to 500 year old Live Oak and Cedar trees. This area was a Native American camping area.

The Desert is slowly encroaching since I moved there in 1960. Huisache trees grew at Del Rio but not around the Nueces. Only Pecan, Cedar, Mesquite, Blue Oak, Spanish Oak and Live Oak. Now the Huisache are much more prevalent. The rivers and creeks are slowly drying up. There was always a spring and fall flood when the rivers and creeks would flood and clean out everything. Not anymore.

[shoutingatclouds]

The state highway department is always selling great wood chipers, buy them. Replace the cedar with silverleaf mountain mahoganies in Texas can grow up to 15 feet tall and are fire resistant.

[jklier]

Nice job! You nailed it. There were several studies going on at Freeman Ranch in San Marcos when I did my PhD fieldwork there. Exactly what I heard from those folks.

[arailway]

What an excellent overview of cedars.
The Native Americans and some of the early pioneers
actually burned up to twice per year.
They still do it in Mexico.
There is a bee that burrows into cedar limbs.
It takes a lot of chopping to find one.
I have seen references to grass that grew up to the saddle horn.
Nice work.

[leesweeten]

I work for a company that grinds so called cedar into Fiber that is has multiple uses. It is used in the oil field for lost circulation. It is used for bedding for Show Cattle and Race Horses. The oil is extracted and has many uses and the most recent use is that it has been approved by the FDA for use in livestock feeds for sheep goats and cattle