That looks more like a Juniper seedling to me.

Those are cedars (juniperous virginiana probably) not pines. I yank lots of them each season.

agree with J . viginiana ...... they are a bird sown nightmare in my garden ...

they are cute little blue things.. until they turn into ugly trees in the future ...

they are nearly within the definition of invasive in some areas ... lining miles and miles of roadside in my MI ...

and yet they are native.. and the basis of the cedar post and woodchip industry down south.. aka cedar chips ... if i am not mistaken ....

ken

look around for something like this:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=juniperous+virginiana&t=ffcm&ia=images&iax=images

Before you decide whether to nurture this cute itty bitty little tree, I would try very hard to see what a fully grown one looks like.
In my experience most of these evergreens are attractive additions to a garden...when they’re small. But 10 or 20 years down the line, they are massive and kind of oppressive as they obliterate all the sight lines, and cast heavy shade everywhere.
Lovely in the forest. In my gardens, not so much.

And eastern red cedar is not friendly with other plants...just so you know.

Lots of redcedar haters on this forum...

We have them here, but they don't seem to be the problem that they are in other parts of the country. Too many other trees seem to out compete them.

You see them along the railroad track right of way and a few wooded areas but never seem to be a problem of taking over cow pastures like they do in some parts.

I never seem to find small seedlings like you pictured anywhere either.

True...a lot of haters.

It is a great native pioneer species that is also fairly shade intolerant and completely fire intolerant so in a 'normal' or 'natural' ecological situation, it doesn't linger long before yielding to other species, regardless of the site (xeric or mesic).

As for the allelopathic (chemical growth inhibitors) effect...the literature I'm reading indicates that there isn't one. The reduced biomass and biodiversity in stands of Eastern Red Cedar is a result of competition for resources (moisture, light, nutrients, etc.).

Thanks to anthropogenic fire suppression and lack of any effort to replicate fire processes through other means, Eastern Red Cedar is doing quite well in its pioneer species niche.

Yes, I suppose we must blame our species lack of fire tolerance for the proliferation.

lol awesome, I love how some of these can just take a turn, now I feel threatened by this little thing, I am going to keep it anyways, once it wants to take over my small lot I will find someone to gifted to that has some acreage :)

Virginia Master Gardener here. I tend to shy away from the manicured look in favor of a more natural and diverse looking landscape. Back in Virginia, I nurtured these kinds of seedlings for 40 years. The vast majority have been eastern red cedar. If you know what they grow up to be, then by all means nurture them and transplant them to a suitable location, which would be full sun, well drained, and lots of room to spread. I nurtured one in a pot for a few seasons, then transplanted it to it's final location where it still stands today (20 feet or so tall) and is part of a diverse visual screen for my corner property in Virginia. Did the same with a few others that I donated to the local community pool for a visual screen. Again, they still stand, and have filled out nicely. I've done the same with American Holly volunteers. Incidentally, hollies are incredibly resilient, and transplant and prune very well. Holly berries are very attractive, and are a great food source for many bird species. I recently moved to Colorado, and have started "saving" cedar and pine seedlings in a similar way. Besides being fun, it's a very economical way to fill in your landscape.

Look up: Cedar Apple Rust & Cedar Hawthorn Rust. Then decide which you prefer. In some areas of the country there are no Hawthorns anymore because of the destruction from these cedars. And yet they are natives. Without normal fire cycles, there is no longer a control mechanism keeping them in check. And they can have destructive effects on apple orchards many miles away.

You are quite right. Thanks for pointing that out. One has to consider their local conditions. Back in suburban Virginia the rust diseases are an issue, but it was also incredibly humid, which is a factor in the development of the disease. Here in the arid conditions of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, my existing cedars show no symptoms. My two Hawthorns are very healthy and happy, so I'm sticking to my approach for now. If I ever notice the issue, the cedars go, and the Hawthorns get treated with a fungicide.