Cedar and redwood have been the default wood choices for raised garden beds for decades, and for good reason — both species produce heartwood with natural rot resistance that lasts years in ground contact without chemical treatment. But the cedar you buy today is not the cedar your grandfather built with, and the redwood situation is even more complicated. Species quality, availability, pricing, and sustainability have all shifted dramatically, and a comparison written ten years ago is dangerously out of date.
This guide breaks down the current reality of cedar vs redwood for garden beds — what you actually get when you buy each species today, what it costs, where you can find it, and whether the premium price of either species is justified when alternatives exist. If you are exploring all wood options beyond these two species, our comprehensive wood selection guide covers every viable species including white oak, black locust, and Douglas fir.
Understanding Heartwood vs Sapwood
Before comparing species, you need to understand the distinction that matters more than species name: heartwood versus sapwood. Every tree has both. Heartwood is the dense, dark interior wood that the tree has packed with extractive compounds — tannins, oils, phenols, and other chemicals that resist fungal decay and insect damage. Sapwood is the lighter-colored outer wood that was actively transporting water and nutrients when the tree was alive. It contains no protective extractives and rots almost as quickly as untreated pine.
When people say cedar resists rot, they mean cedar heartwood resists rot. Cedar sapwood rots in two to four years in ground contact. The same applies to redwood — redwood heartwood is legendary for durability, but redwood sapwood is essentially disposable. The problem is that modern lumber increasingly contains a higher ratio of sapwood to heartwood because trees are harvested younger and smaller than they were in previous generations.
When selecting lumber for raised beds, look for boards that are predominantly heartwood — darker in color with minimal light-colored sapwood at the edges. A board that is half sapwood will have half the lifespan regardless of species. This matters more than whether you choose cedar or redwood.
Old-Growth vs New-Growth: The Quality Gap
Old-growth cedar and redwood — harvested from trees that grew for centuries in dense forests — produced lumber with tight growth rings, high heartwood ratio, and exceptional density. A piece of old-growth western red cedar might have 30 or more growth rings per inch. The heartwood was saturated with thujaplicins, the naturally occurring fungicides that give cedar its legendary rot resistance. Old-growth redwood was similarly dense, with high concentrations of tannins and phenolic compounds that made it practically impervious to decay.
The old-growth forests are largely gone. What you buy at the lumber yard today is second-growth or third-growth timber — trees grown on managed timberland, harvested at 30 to 60 years old instead of 200 to 500 years old. These younger trees produce lumber with wider growth rings, lower density, less heartwood proportionally, and lower concentrations of the extractive compounds that provide rot resistance. Second-growth western red cedar typically has 4 to 10 growth rings per inch — a fraction of old-growth density.
The practical implication is significant. Old-growth cedar in ground contact lasted 20 to 30 years. Second-growth cedar in the same application lasts 8 to 15 years. The species name is the same, but the performance is not. Marketing materials that cite cedar lifespan figures from old-growth tests are misleading when applied to the lumber you actually buy today. Redwood shows an even more dramatic quality gap between old-growth and new-growth, as we will discuss below.
Western Red Cedar: The Current Standard
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is the most commonly available rot-resistant softwood in North America. It grows throughout the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and parts of the northern Rockies. The heartwood contains thujaplicins — a group of tropolone compounds that are toxic to the fungi responsible for wood decay. These compounds also give cedar its distinctive aromatic scent.
Modern second-growth western red cedar performs well for raised bed applications despite the quality gap from old-growth. You can reasonably expect 10 to 15 years from a cedar raised bed built with heartwood boards in direct ground contact, assuming no barrier between soil and wood. Cedar is also lightweight — roughly 23 pounds per cubic foot when dry — making it easy to handle during construction. It machines cleanly, holds fasteners adequately, and resists warping better than most softwoods.
The main drawback of cedar for garden beds is that it is soft. Western red cedar is one of the softest commercial softwoods, with a Janka hardness of only 350 lbf. It dents easily, and in a garden setting where beds get bumped with wheelbarrows, stepped on by dogs, and pushed against by soil pressure, the softness means visible wear accumulates faster than with harder species. This is cosmetic rather than structural, but it matters to gardeners who want their beds to look clean for years.
Redwood: Premium Reputation, Complicated Reality
Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) heartwood has the highest natural durability rating among commercially available North American softwoods. The heartwood contains tannins, phenolic compounds, and water-extractable substances that provide exceptional resistance to fungal decay and insect attack. In independent testing, redwood heartwood consistently outperforms cedar, Douglas fir, and most other softwoods in ground-contact durability trials.
But there is a significant catch. Nearly all commercial redwood lumber today comes from second-growth trees harvested at 40 to 80 years old from managed forests in coastal California and southern Oregon. This second-growth redwood has measurably lower extractive concentrations than old-growth timber. Studies by the Forest Products Laboratory have documented that new-growth redwood heartwood contains 30 to 50 percent less tannin than old-growth heartwood from the same stands. The rot resistance, while still good, is not what the species' reputation suggests.
Second-growth redwood in ground contact lasts approximately 10 to 20 years — still potentially better than second-growth cedar, but not the multi-decade performance that old-growth redwood delivered. The premium price you pay for the redwood name may not be justified by a proportional increase in actual durability, especially when compared to alternatives like white oak that outperform both species.
Price Per Board Foot
Lumber pricing fluctuates with market conditions, regional supply, and grade, but the relative positioning of cedar and redwood has been consistent for years. The following ranges reflect 2025-2026 retail pricing for S4S (surfaced four sides) heartwood boards in dimensions suitable for raised beds — typically 2x6, 2x8, or 2x12 in lengths of 8 feet or longer.
Western red cedar heartwood: $4 to $7 per board foot at retail lumber yards. Premium clear grades run $8 to $12 per board foot. Rough-sawn cedar from local sawmills — where available — runs $3 to $5 per board foot and is perfectly functional for garden beds.
Redwood heartwood: $8 to $14 per board foot at retail. Construction Heart grade — the most common for garden use — typically sits at $9 to $12 per board foot in California and the West Coast. On the East Coast, where redwood must be shipped across the country, prices jump to $12 to $18 per board foot and availability is limited to specialty lumber dealers.
To put this in practical terms: a 4x8-foot raised bed built from 2x12 boards requires approximately 42 board feet of lumber. At $5.50 per board foot for cedar, that is $231 in lumber. At $11 per board foot for redwood, that is $462. The redwood bed costs roughly double for a lifespan improvement that may be modest in second-growth lumber.
Regional Availability
Cedar is available nationwide. Every major lumber retailer stocks western red cedar in some form, and it is a standard offering at Home Depot, Lowe's, and independent lumber yards across the country. Quality varies — big box stores tend to carry lower grades with more sapwood — but you can find cedar heartwood with reasonable effort anywhere in the United States and Canada.
Redwood availability is geographically limited. If you live in California, Oregon, or Washington, redwood is readily available at lumber yards and home centers. Stock is good, grades are varied, and pricing is competitive. If you live east of the Rocky Mountains, redwood becomes a specialty item. Most East Coast lumber yards do not carry it in stock. You will need to special-order it, have it shipped, or find a specialty dealer — all of which add cost and lead time.
This geographic limitation is the single biggest practical factor in the cedar vs redwood decision for many gardeners. If you live in the eastern half of the country, redwood is not a realistic option for most garden projects. The shipping cost alone can add $2 to $4 per board foot, making an already expensive species prohibitive. Cedar, available locally, becomes the default by elimination.
Sustainability Considerations
Both species raise sustainability questions, though the details differ. Western red cedar is harvested primarily from managed forests in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest United States. FSC-certified cedar is available, though it commands a premium. The primary concern with cedar is the slow growth rate of old trees — replacement cycles for large-diameter cedar are measured in centuries, and the ecological functions of old-growth cedar stands cannot be replicated by managed plantations.
Redwood sustainability is more fraught. Coast redwood was decimated by logging in the 19th and 20th centuries — an estimated 95 percent of old-growth redwood has been cut. The remaining old-growth stands are protected in national and state parks. All commercial redwood today comes from second-growth forests managed under California's strict forestry regulations. The timber industry maintains that second-growth redwood harvesting is sustainable, and FSC-certified redwood is available from some suppliers.
However, choosing a species whose old-growth forests were nearly eliminated within living memory carries a ethical weight that sustainability certifications do not fully address. Some gardeners avoid redwood entirely on principle. Others accept FSC-certified second-growth as a reasonable compromise. The choice is personal, but it is worth making consciously rather than defaulting to whatever the lumber yard stocks.
Practical Alternatives Worth Considering
The cedar vs redwood debate often overlooks species that outperform both. White oak heartwood has a Janka hardness of 1,360 lbf (nearly four times cedar) and natural rot resistance that exceeds both cedar and second-growth redwood. It lasts 15 to 25 years in ground contact and is available nationwide from hardwood dealers. The cost is $6 to $10 per board foot — more than cedar but less than redwood, with superior durability. Our white oak vs cedar comparison covers this option in detail.
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is the most rot-resistant North American hardwood, rated for 25+ years in ground contact by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. It is harder to source — you will need a local sawmill or specialty dealer — but in regions where it grows naturally (Appalachian states, Midwest, parts of the Northeast), it is often cheaper than cedar and dramatically more durable.
Douglas fir is the budget alternative. It costs $2 to $4 per board foot, is available everywhere, and lasts 5 to 10 years untreated in ground contact. It is not rot-resistant, but for a gardener who wants to spend $80 on lumber instead of $230 to $460 and is willing to rebuild in 7 years, it is a perfectly rational choice. Many market gardeners use Douglas fir exclusively because the cost-per-year of growing season is hard to beat.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Western Red Cedar | Redwood (Second-Growth) |
|---|---|---|
| Rot resistance (heartwood) | Good — 10 to 15 years | Very good — 10 to 20 years |
| Janka hardness | 350 lbf (very soft) | 420 lbf (soft) |
| Weight (dry, per cu ft) | 23 lbs | 28 lbs |
| Price per board foot (retail) | $4 – $7 | $8 – $14 |
| 4x8 bed lumber cost | $170 – $295 | $335 – $590 |
| Nationwide availability | Yes — all major retailers | No — West Coast primarily |
| FSC-certified options | Available, limited selection | Available from select suppliers |
| Heartwood color | Reddish-brown, weathers to gray | Deep reddish-brown, weathers to gray |
| Sapwood susceptibility | Rots in 2 – 4 years | Rots in 2 – 4 years |
| Old-growth quality available | Rarely, at extreme premium | No — protected |
| Workability | Easy — cuts, drills cleanly | Easy — similar to cedar |
| Insect resistance | Good — thujaplicins deter most | Good — tannins deter most |
The Verdict
For most gardeners, cedar is the practical choice. It is widely available, reasonably priced, and provides solid rot resistance for a decade or more. If you live on the West Coast and want the best softwood performance available, redwood heartwood edges ahead on durability — but verify that you are getting actual heartwood, not boards with heavy sapwood content, and be prepared to pay roughly double the cedar price.
If you are willing to work with hardwood, white oak and black locust both outperform cedar and redwood in durability, hardness, and longevity. They cost more in labor (harder to cut and drill) but less in total cost of ownership because they last so much longer. The best raised bed material is not always the one with the best marketing — it is the one that matches your budget, your local supply chain, and your expectations for how long you want the bed to last.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I mix cedar and redwood in the same raised bed?
Technically yes, but it is not recommended. The two species weather differently — cedar turns silver-gray while redwood takes on a darker gray with brown undertones. The visual mismatch becomes noticeable within a year. More importantly, the different densities and expansion rates can create uneven joints over time. Pick one species and use it consistently for the entire bed.
How can I tell if cedar lumber is heartwood or sapwood?
Heartwood is darker — reddish-brown to dark brown for western red cedar. Sapwood is pale yellow to cream colored. In a cross-section, heartwood is the inner portion and sapwood is the outer ring. At the lumber yard, flip boards and look at the end grain. A board that is 80 percent or more dark-colored heartwood will provide good rot resistance. Boards with wide bands of light sapwood along the edges should be avoided for ground-contact applications.
Is redwood safe for vegetable gardens?
Yes. Both cedar and redwood are completely food-safe. The natural extractives that provide rot resistance — thujaplicins in cedar, tannins in redwood — do not leach into soil in concentrations that affect plant growth or food safety. Neither species requires any chemical treatment for garden use. This is one of the primary reasons both species are recommended for edible gardens over pressure-treated lumber, which contains copper-based preservatives.
Should I seal or stain cedar or redwood raised beds?
For garden beds, no. Sealers and stains slow the natural weathering process but do not significantly extend the functional lifespan of the wood in ground contact. The rot that eventually destroys a raised bed starts from the inside — where soil holds moisture against the wood — not from the weathered exterior surface. A sealer on the outside does nothing to prevent this. Save the money you would spend on sealer and put it toward better lumber quality instead.
What grade of cedar should I buy for raised beds?
For raised beds, you do not need premium clear grades. Construction grade or #2 grade cedar with tight knots is structurally fine and costs 30 to 50 percent less than clear grades. Knots in cedar are sound and will not fall out the way pine knots do. Avoid boards with large loose knots, splits, or excessive wane (bark edge). Rough-sawn cedar from a local sawmill is an excellent option — it is cheaper than surfaced lumber and the rough texture looks natural in a garden setting.