I had one growing on my land intown Austin on clay and it did well. Out where I am now it is all Mountain Ashe Juniper. I like the mountain ashe Juniper out here on the limestone hill country soil that I have. Look to the soil that you have. Both are good. People like to hate the Mountain ashe but out here it is a good tree and does well in our limestone caliche soils. The Eastern Red Cedar might like a more Black plains based soil. It all matters where you are on the Williamson/Travis County line. I love the silver shredding bark once they get some age on them. There are some interesting Intergrades between the 2 as you drive in west austin. East of Austin it is all Eastern Red cedar.

Eastern red cedar grows in a conical shape. The various cultivars can range in size, but the species tree can be 40'-50' tall. It is a fast growing juniper.

The Ashe juniper starts out conical, but become globular as it ages. An old specimen will have a very thick trunk that branches low. It can still reach 35'-40' tall. It is a medium fast grower.

Below is a comparison of the shapes of two wild trees at a medium size. Ashe juniper grows in drier climates than the eastern juniper, but can be dense where it receives more rain.

One can trim the lower branches off and train it to grow with a trunk. It will make its canopy higher. I have seen plenty red cedars with a trunk and a broader canopy..

Thank you both for the information. Our property has multiple Ashe Juniper in shrub and tree form as well as Texas Live Oaks. I was not sure about the Eastern Red Cedar in terms of maintenance. I have looked for a lot of area native trees, but also want those that can survive pretty much on their own once established. I was impressed to see how well many of the Eastern Red Cedars fared during snowmageddon and I like the aesthetic difference/interest they add to the landscape.

Thank you for the article, wantonamara! I have also discovered that it has good deer resistance... relatively...