Cedar

[Alan]

I have a lot of cedar that looks like it's dead but when I peel away the bark it looks like it is still alive ( still sappy ) . Are these trees dead or are they still marketable ?

[Forester Frank]

Do you have a couple of digital photos of the trees? The bark? The sap?

[Ron Wenrich]

If it looks like its dead, its probably dead.  Cedar retains its needles all year long.  Larch is the only pine that looses needles in the fall.

If the wood is still "sappy", it will be OK for lumber.  I have sawn yellow cedar that has been cut for over a year, and the lumber was OK.

What type of cedar is it, and why did it die?  Eastern red cedar will be good for many years after being cut.  The white sap wood will rot, but the red heart is worth much more.  Sapwood is considered a defect.

[Ron Scott]

Where is cedar located and what is stand density and tree size? Is this a new condition showing up in a few trees at a time or all at once?