Running Cedar Plant

Native landscaping plants for shady groundcover

Running Cedar is a distinctive evergreen woodland plant that brings rich texture and year-round color to shaded spaces. If you are looking for native landscaping plants or dependable perennial landscaping plants for a woodland garden, this low-growing species offers a natural, established look. Its glossy, cedar-like foliage forms a dense mat across the forest floor and catches the light beautifully, even in dim settings. We grow this plant for gardeners who want something unusual, durable, and true to its native habitat.

Key Features

• ✓  Evergreen native groundcover with glossy, feathery foliage
• ✓  Well suited for woodland gardens and partially shaded landscapes
• ✓  Forms dense clonal colonies over time with a slow growth rate
• ✓  Provides habitat value for ground-nesting birds and small rodents
• ✓  Distinctive pale yellow strobili appear from summer into fall

Details

Landscape Uses and Maintenance

Running Cedar is a strong choice for shaded woodland edges, under tall trees, and naturalized garden spaces where a soft evergreen carpet is wanted. It can tolerate moist to dry soils, though it performs best in acidic ground and in sites with partial shade to heavy shade. This plant is slow to establish, so it is best suited for patient gardeners who want a long-term native groundcover rather than quick coverage.

One honest note: this species is notably difficult to propagate from transplant. Still, when given the right woodland conditions and time to settle in, it can form broad, sweeping clonal colonies that create a striking forest-floor effect.

Noteworthy Characteristics

This evergreen plant adds welcome green color during the dull winter months, which is one reason woodland gardeners value it so highly. The foliage has a glossy surface that glistens when light reaches it, and its cedar-like sprays give it a texture that stands apart from ordinary groundcovers. In colonies, the plants create a hypnotic, almost continuous mass that invites a closer look.

Historically, this plant has also been noted for medicinal use since ancient times. It has been used for urinary tract infections, to relieve skin ailments, and was even used historically to induce labor. We share this as part of the plant's background and heritage, not as medical advice.

For gardeners who want a truly distinctive native groundcover, Running Cedar is a rewarding choice. We grow it for customers who appreciate woodland beauty, year-round texture, and the value of plants backed by TN Nursery's decades of nursery experience.