Cedrus deodara

• BOTANICAL NAME: Cedrus deodara
• PRONUNCIATION: SEE-drus de-o-DAR-a
• COMMON NAME: Deodar Cedar
• FAMILY: Pinaceae
• NATIVITY: Himalayas, at high elevation.
• GROWTH HABIT: Pyramidal, with gracefully pendulous branch tips. Mature plants become flat-topped.
• SIZE: 50 - 70' in cultivation with the potential to reach 150'.
• HARDINESS: Zone 6 - 8, the least hardy of the true cedars.
• CULTURE: Sun, with well-drained, moderate soils. Tolerates heat well. Protect from winter winds, particularly in northern regions.
• LANDSCAPE USE: Large specimen tree with a magnificent, graceful habit.
• FOLIAGE: Alternate, arranged singly on long growth and spirally on short
  shoots (15-20 or 30 per whorl). Leaves needle-like 1 1/4 - 2" long with a bluish cast.
• BUDS: Small, oval, brown.
• BARK: Young shoots densely pubescent.
• FRUIT: Cone 3 - 4"long and 3" wide. Cones 1 or 2 on short shoots. Apex of cone is rounded.
• PROPAGATION: Seed, cultivars are grafted.
• PESTS: None serious.
• CULTIVARS:
  • `Aurea' - yellow foliage.
  • `Kashmir' - hardier, silvery foliage.
  • `Pendula' - pendulous, almost groundcover.
  • `Shalimar' - hardiest (?) form, silver foliage.