cedars are a good choice if the soil is near neutral, cedar grows, but poorly on acidic soil. Some pines love acidic soils, and do well during wet times, eg. Austrian Pine, and Norway spruce (this is our prefered planting). Also in my area cedar does not occur in the immediate area. Plantings of cedar are destroyed by our deer, unless protected. I've seen your posts on soaping the trees, I suspect that would help.