# Cedar clearing in Denton, TX

> Cedar clearing in Denton, TX: eastern redcedar cut below the lowest green limb or mulched to grade, from fence rows to closed stands, with tree rules and cost.

URL: https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/cedar-clearing/

Eastern redcedar removed from pastures, fence rows and woods, cut below the lowest green limb so it cannot come back, then mulched or hauled.

[Post Oak Land Clearing Denton](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/) offers and manages cedar clearing across Denton and the west and north of Denton County, with the work done by licensed and insured contractors. The cedar here is eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana, the tree that lines fence rows, fills old pastures and closes the edges of oak woods. It is easier to kill than most brush, because a cedar cut low enough cannot come back. It is harder to keep away, because birds keep planting new ones. A good cedar job deals with both halves.

## What happens on the first visit

The first visit maps the cedar: how big the trees are, how close together they stand and what is growing under them. Scattered cedar in a pasture, a cedar row along a fence and a closed stand where no grass grows underneath are three different jobs with different machines and different prices.

The walk also flags what stays, whether that is a big shade cedar by the house, the oaks the cedar is crowding, which turns the job into [selective clearing](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/selective-clearing/), or a fence buried in a cedar row. It looks for wire grown into trunks, rock, wet ground and slopes, and it settles whether city tree rules apply, because inside Denton a cedar of a certain size can be a protected tree. You leave with a method, a finish level and a list of any permits or exemptions to file.

## Cut below the lowest green limb

Eastern redcedar does not resprout from its stump or roots. It grows only from living green foliage, so a cedar cut below its lowest green limb dies. That one fact sets the standard for every cedar job: the cut goes low enough that no green branch is left on the stump.

A stump cut a foot high with a green limb still on it keeps growing as a bush, and the job has to be done again. A [forestry mulching](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/forestry-mulching/) head handles this by grinding each tree down to grade, and saw crews cut flush at the ground. This is different from mesquite and honey locust, which carry buds on the root crown below ground and come back as a cluster of stems when they are only topped. On mixed ground, the cedar part of the job stays done while the resprouters need follow-up.

New cedar arrives from seed. Birds eat the blue, berry-like cones and drop the seed where they perch, which is why cedar follows fence lines and lone trees across a pasture. Seedlings a mower can reach are easy to keep down; the trouble starts when a few years pass without mowing and the seedlings grow past what a shredder can take. A shredding pass every year or two in open pasture, covered on [brush hogging](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/brush-hogging/), keeps that from happening.

Texas articles on cedar often describe Ashe juniper, the Hill Country “mountain cedar.” The Denton County cedar is the eastern species, so methods and expectations are written for it here. Homeowners report hearing that cedars should come out because they use too much water; the decision on this page rests on things that can be checked on the ground, such as lost grazing, blocked fences, crowded oaks and access.

## Density changes the job

Cedar wood is soft and grinds easily, but density sets the price. A closed stand carries far more wood per acre than scattered trees, so a mulcher moves slower, and the chips pile deeper. A pasture with a cedar every 30 feet and a cedar break where branches touch are different jobs even at the same acreage.

Scattered cedar in pasture is the light end: each tree is mulched or cut in a few minutes, and the grass between them is already there to take back the ground. Cedar rows along fences sit in the middle, slowed by the wire. Wherever a trunk has grown around the fence, the mulcher stops short and a saw finishes it, because a drum full of wire is a broken drum. [Fence line clearing](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/fence-line-clearing/) covers that work in detail. Closed stands are the heavy end. Under them the ground is often bare needle litter, so once the cedar is gone there is no grass waiting, and the mulch layer is what holds the clay until seed and rain bring cover back. Trunks past what a skid-steer mulching head handles comfortably are felled and cut into pieces first.

## Cedar inside Denton city limits

Inside Denton city limits, cedar can be a protected tree. On land the city’s tree rules cover, a healthy cedar 6 to 18 inches in diameter counts as a quality tree and one over 18 inches as a heritage tree, measured 4.5 feet above the ground. Mesquite and honey locust are on the unprotected list; redcedar is not.

That surprises people clearing a cedar thicket on raw land inside the city, because the trees they think of as brush count toward tree preservation, removal permits and mitigation. The permit is currently $425, and mitigation runs $200 per caliper inch where trees are not preserved or replaced. Lots with an existing single-family home are exempt, and so are agricultural operations, though the city still asks for an exemption submittal on eTRAKiT, and the clearing and grading permit’s agricultural exemption covers crop soil work, not tree removal. Cedar under 6 inches falls below the protected classes, but the code ties tree removal permits to trees 3 inches and up, so small cedar on regulated land still belongs in the permit conversation. The [Denton tree removal permit guide](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/denton-tree-removal-permit/) has the filing steps; in the ETJ and the smaller towns, tree rules are confirmed per address.

## What happens to the cedar

Most cedar is mulched in place. Hauling is for yards and small areas where chips can’t stay, and burning is limited by law. Inside Denton city limits there is no open burning. Outside them, Denton County sits in the Dallas-Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area, so a land-clearing burn is allowed only when no practical alternative exists and only on a county burn day; [burning brush in Denton](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/burning-brush-in-denton/) covers the steps.

Hauled cedar goes to the City of Denton Landfill at $30 a ton for a Denton customer with pieces 12 feet or shorter, $35 for longer pieces and $40 for non-Denton customers. Straight trunks can be kept as firewood or posts. Selling cedar does not pay for a clearing job as a rule, and the [cedar guide](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/clearing-cedar-on-your-land/) covers what to do with the wood and the ground afterward.

## Cedar on farm and ranch land

On agricultural land, cedar clearing is brush management, and that has two consequences. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service offers EQIP cost-share for brush management on qualifying farm and ranch land with a resource concern. Applications are taken year-round, with a fall ranking date each year, and clearing for a homesite does not qualify. And clearing to improve a pasture keeps the land in agricultural use, while clearing it for a house can change its use and trigger the three-year rollback tax under Texas Tax Code 23.55. The [ag exemption guide](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/ag-exemption-and-land-clearing/) explains the line.

## What cedar clearing costs

No separate published price exists for cedar alone; it prices with land clearing by density. Typical North Texas ranges run $1,500 to $3,500 an acre for light growth such as scattered cedar, $2,500 to $4,500 for moderate growth with trees up to about 8 inches, and $3,500 to $6,500 or more for dense cedar and larger trees. Forestry mulching of light to moderate growth typically runs $1,400 to $3,500 an acre.

What moves a cedar price is the trunk size and how close the trees stand, how deep the mulch can stay, wire and fences in the cedar rows, rock, slope, wet clay, hauling if chips can’t stay, and permits inside Denton. The [land clearing cost calculator](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/tools/land-clearing-cost-calculator/) gives a range for your acreage, and the [cost per acre guide](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/land-clearing-cost-per-acre/) explains the drivers. Where the cedar is part of a wider pasture recovery with mesquite and brush, [pasture clearing](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/pasture-clearing/) is the page that covers the whole job.

## What's included

- A walk to map cedar size and density, keepers, fences buried in cedar rows and the ground underneath
- A check of whether city tree rules or an exemption apply before any cedar is cut
- Cedar cut or mulched below its lowest green limb so the stump cannot regrow
- Larger cedar felled and cut into lengths, then mulched, hauled or stacked as firewood or posts
- Hand cutting where cedar has grown through fence wire
- Mulch spread thin and even, with heavy mats from dense stands broken up
- Seedling cedar noted for follow-up mowing while it is still small

## Three ways to clear cedar: mulch in place, cut and haul, or push and pile

*Three ways to clear cedar: mulch in place, cut and haul, or push and pile*

| Option | Mulch in place | Cut, stack and haul | Push and pile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| How it works | A mulching head grinds each cedar to the ground | Saws fell the trees; limbs and trunks are loaded out | A dozer or loader pushes cedar over, roots and all, into piles |
| Stumps | Ground at or near grade; cedar won't resprout | Cut flush; cedar won't resprout | Pulled out with the root ball |
| Debris | Chips spread on site | Hauled to the landfill or kept as firewood and posts | Piles to burn where allowed, grind or haul |
| Soil | Covered and undisturbed | Undisturbed, bare under dense stands | Torn up; dirt in the piles |
| Inside Denton city limits | Works; no burning needed | Works; landfill per-ton fees | Piles can't be burned in the city |
| Fits | Pastures, woods, slopes, most acreage | Small areas, yards, where chips can't stay | Large rural tracts headed for grading |

## Related resources

- [How do you get rid of cedar trees on your property?](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/clearing-cedar-on-your-land/): Why a low cut ends a cedar for good, which method fits which size of tree, what to do with the wood, and how to keep new seedlings from taking back the ground.
- [Does clearing land affect an ag exemption in Denton County?](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/ag-exemption-and-land-clearing/): What the so-called ag exemption is, which kinds of clearing fit inside it, when a change of use triggers rollback tax, and where wildlife management use fits.
- [Can you get a burn permit for brush in Denton?](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/burning-brush-in-denton/): Where burning land-clearing brush is allowed around Denton, who you call on the morning of a burn, what can never go on the pile, and what to do when burning is off the table.
- [How do you keep brush from growing back after clearing?](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/keeping-brush-from-growing-back/): Brush comes back from roots and from seed. Which species do which, what to do in the first year after clearing, and what to plant after forestry mulching.
- [How much does land clearing cost per acre in Denton?](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/guide/land-clearing-cost-per-acre/): Typical per-acre ranges, the public figures inside a Denton price, and why the same acre can cost twice as much on a different lot.

## How a clearing job runs

### Call or send the form

Acreage, address, what's growing and what you want the ground for.

### Walk the property

Trees to keep are marked, ground and access checked, permits listed.

### Clear

Mulched, cut or grubbed by the method agreed, working around what stays.

### Finish

Debris mulched or hauled, bare ground covered or silt-fenced.

## Cedar clearing questions

### Why doesn't a cedar stump sprout back the way mesquite does?

Eastern redcedar keeps no dormant buds on its stump or roots that can start a new shoot. It only grows from living green foliage. Cut below the lowest green limb, the stump dies. Mesquite and honey locust carry buds on the root crown underground, so cutting them above it produces a ring of new stems.

### Are cedar trees protected in Denton?

On land Denton's tree rules cover, such as undeveloped land and development sites, a healthy cedar 6 to 18 inches in diameter counts as a quality tree and one over 18 inches as a heritage tree. Unlike mesquite and honey locust, redcedar is not on the city's unprotected list. Lots with an existing house and agricultural operations are exempt.

### Will someone cut my cedar for fence posts for free?

Sometimes, but do not count on it. Post cutting takes straight, sound stems of the right size, and most fence-row and pasture cedar is short, limby or crooked. A post cutter also takes only the usable stems and leaves the tops and brush, so the cleanup still has to be done and paid for.

### Is a thick layer of cedar mulch bad for the pasture?

Spread at a normal depth, mulched cedar is wood and breaks down like other wood chips. The problem with a dense stand is volume: a closed cedar thicket can leave a mat thick enough to shade out grass for a season or two. Spreading it thinner and seeding the bare ground speeds the pasture's return.

### Who cuts the cedar on a job managed by Post Oak Land Clearing Denton?

The cutting and mulching are done by licensed and insured contractors. Post Oak Land Clearing Denton offers and manages the job, from the walk and the permit check to scheduling and the finish.

## Related services

### [Forestry mulching](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/forestry-mulching/)

Brush, cedar and small trees ground in place into a mulch layer, with stumps left at grade and roots holding the soil.

### [Pasture clearing](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/pasture-clearing/)

Cedar, mesquite, honey locust and other woody brush taken out of grazing land by species, with shade trees and fence lines kept.

### [Fence line clearing](https://postoaklandclearingdenton.com/fence-line-clearing/)

Brush, trees and old wire cleared from a fence row or a new fence route, to the surveyed line and ready for the fence builder.