Cedar

Cedar: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Tree of 20–40 m; conical when young, later with a broad crown of about 15 m and heavy, fairly horizontal branches in tiers.

Needles

1.5–3.5 cm (deodar up to 5 cm), stiff and sharp; in tufts on short shoots, single on young shoots. Evergreen.

Bark

Dark grey, smooth at first, later cracked into small plates.

Cones

Barrel-shaped and upright, 5–10 cm; they break up on the tree.

Three species

Atlas cedar: branch tips angled upwards. Deodar: drooping leader and the longest needles. Cedar of Lebanon: broad, flat tiers.

Difference from European larch

Larch has soft needles that fall in autumn and much smaller cones.

Pruning: August–September

Identify by feature: Prickly needles · Needles in bundles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• European larch Larix decidua: soft needles that fall in autumn and much smaller cones. Difference from European larch

Why grow it?

• A majestic specimen tree, green or blue-grey all year round.
• Tolerates drought and almost any free-draining soil, including chalk.
• A cedar looks best unpruned: little work.
• A tree for generations: cedars can live for hundreds of years.

Cedar: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it becomes thin and lopsided.
• Any free-draining soil, including chalky soil; it tolerates drought but not waterlogging.
• An open spot with space all round: the low, spreading branches are the finest part of the tree.
• Allow for 20–40 m in height and a crown of about 15 m: only for a park or a very large garden, well away from the house.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

30 m tall, 15 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Silver birch: White trunks and light foliage next to the dark or blue-grey cedar.
• Persian ironwood: A smaller park tree with fiery autumn colour, lovely in the background.
• English lavender: For the sunny, dry edge outside the crown.
• Crocus: Flowers in spring in the grass at the edge of the crown.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Cedar: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in April or in September–October, when the ground is neither frozen nor parched.
2. Choose a young pot-grown tree: a cedar dislikes having its roots disturbed.
3. Tease out the roots if they circle the pot, and plant at the same depth as before.
4. Put a stake on the windward side and remove it after 2–3 years.
5. Water after planting and during dry spells in the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first two years; after that it copes well with dry summers.

Feeding

Not needed.

Lower branches

Leave them right down to the ground: that is the beauty of a free-standing cedar.

Snow

Shake wet snow off the broad, flat branches of young trees.

Tip: No room for a mature cedar? Choose a weeping form such as the Atlas cedar ‘Glauca Pendula’, which you can train along an arch or a wall.

Cedar: when to prune it?

Pruning months: August–September.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. Any formative pruning in late summer.

How:

• A cedar looks best unpruned.
• Shortening side branches to just beyond the trunk spoils the tree for good: if a branch has to go, saw it off completely, back to the trunk.
• If a young tree has two leaders, remove one in late summer.

Caution: Don’t prune into bare wood: a cedar won’t sprout from there.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Gather seeds from a cone that is breaking up on the tree and sow them in a pot in spring. Seedlings of a blue Atlas cedar are not all blue.

Grafting

Blue and weeping forms, such as ‘Glauca’ and ‘Glauca Pendula’, are grafted; that is a job for the nursery.

Cedar: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy in Belgium and the Netherlands; young deodars may suffer some needle damage in severe winters.
• Wet snow can break the flat branches: shake young trees.

Diseases and pests

• Snow damage: Broken branches after heavy, wet snow. Saw the break off cleanly at the trunk or at a healthy side branch.
• Aphids: Sticky honeydew and black sooty mould under the tree, sometimes with needle drop in spring. The tree usually recovers on its own.
• Honey fungus: Honey-coloured toadstools at the base and dying branches: root rot. Have an arborist check the tree’s stability.
• Waterlogged soil: Yellow needles and poor growth in soil that stays wet for long periods. Choose a free-draining site.

Through the year

• January: Shake wet snow off the branches; remove broken branches.
• April: Plant pot-grown trees.
• June: Water young trees in dry spells.
• July: Water young trees during prolonged drought.
• August: Any formative pruning; remove dead branches.
• September: Formative pruning still possible; the male cones shed pollen.
• October: Plant pot-grown trees.

What can you use it for?

Wood

Fragrant, durable wood; in ancient times cedar of Lebanon was the timber for temples and ships.

Garden and landscape

Stately specimen tree for parks; needs plenty of space.

Did you know?

• In parks you often see the blue-grey Atlas cedar (‘Glauca’) and the deodar with its gracefully drooping tips.
• Cedars flower in autumn: that is when the male cones release clouds of yellow pollen.
• The cedar of Lebanon appears on the Lebanese flag; in ancient times it was the timber for temples and ships.
• The cedar of Lebanon is Lebanon’s national emblem and appears in the middle of its flag.
• The Himalayan cedar is called Cedrus deodara, from the Sanskrit devadāru: ‘timber of the gods’.