This can be confusing at first, but unlike palms and cycads, the number of species in both “cedar” categories is limited, so it won’t take long to sort out the differences. For example, yellow cedar belongs to the cypress or cypress family, as the botanical name suggests.
Cedar trees can grow up to 200 feet in height when left undisturbed in their native regions. However, transplanted trees are more likely to reach heights of 120 feet in the wild. Cedar trees grown for ornamental purposes normally peak at about 80 feet. Maximum cedar height varies by species.
Cedar is native to the Himalayas and Mediterranean countries, but can be found in many parts of the world with mild climates. Native to the Himalayas, cedar grows in abundance in the Mediterranean and many other parts of the world with mild or temperate climates. Cedar trees are evergreen, with leaves that grow throughout the year, and their distinctive quality lies in the strong, intense aroma of the leaves.
These are the only true cedars, but many other trees are commonly referred to as cedars, such as Atlantic white cedar, northern white cedar, eastern red cedar, and western red cedar. Native to the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean highlands, cedars have a steep shape reminiscent of one of their mountain homes. They are a great choice for anchoring large rock gardens or xeriscape areas, and they make great windbreaks because they grow quickly and fill open spaces well.
Best Practices for Planting Cedar Trees
Cedars are large trees, so plant them in full sun, at least ten feet apart. If you want your cedars to act as windbreaks, keep them five feet apart. Since these trees grow best on large areas, if you are planting Atlas cedar, make sure there is plenty of space in the area.
Cedar trees are easy to grow and will add elegance to any space that has room for them to grow. Cedars, with their soft wood, are easy to trim and lend themselves well to pruning. Cedars look good as single specimens, planted in groups for privacy or in containers.
In addition to looking great, real cedars have blue-green needles and grow in clusters of lignified branches. They also have large buds that look like barrels and grow on branches. The tree grows slowly, with dark green leaves on its drooping branches.
This tree is native to the eastern United States and grows between 65 and 130 feet tall. In some special cases it is known to grow to 100 meters or more. It is a tall evergreen tree with needle-like leaves arranged in open spirals on long stems.
Metrics Pertaining to Cedar Tree Growth
This narrow columnar tree grows to just 15 x 2 wide, making it a great choice for vertical elements in mixed borders, foreground trees in small gardens, or hedges. It has a clear shape, several tree trunks, and has clear horizontal layers in its structure. It can be maintained as a 1.8-2.4 m (6-7 ft) high hedge or planted as a taller hedge.
It is able to withstand adverse growing conditions that many other tree species cannot. It thrives in scorching summer heat (similar to conditions in its homeland) and tolerates temperatures as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit in winter.
While it tolerates almost any growing condition except full shade, it does best in deep, moist, well-drained alluvial soils with a pH of 4.7 to 7.8 and in full sun to partial shade. Unlike Deodar cedar, this variety can grow well in partial sun, although the soil needs to be well-drained.
Common Characteristics of Cedar Trees
Although this variety has good resistance to the causative agent of apple cedar rust, it is best not to plant it near apple trees. As mentioned earlier, it is an alternative host for cedar apple rust, a fungal disease that causes severe damage to leaves and fruit spots on apple trees.
Another problem with oriental red cedar is its role as an alternative host for cedar-apple rust, a Gymnosporangium pathogen that is detrimental to pome fruits such as apple, pear and quince. The blue fruits on the female trees are eaten by a wide variety of wild animals, including the songbird Cedar waxwing, named after the tree.
Very old specimens are capable of reaching 80 feet or more in height and 30 feet or more in width. Mature trees have a height of 12 to 15 meters and a diameter of 30 to 60 centimeters.
Native to the Pacific coast of North America, these trees are popular ornamentals and lumber. They are distinguished by a flat top and spectacularly spreading branches growing horizontally. Deodar cedars are large, fast-growing evergreen conifers with a distinctly conical shape.
Identifying Cedar Tree Variants
You can identify the Eastern Red Cedar with its bright green needle-like immature pointed leaves that become scaly as the tree matures. Both western red cedar and eastern white cypress are hardy trees that can adapt to a variety of growing conditions. Under certain growing conditions, eastern red cedar will never grow taller than a small, bushy evergreen tree. However, under ideal conditions, this false cedar can grow to a height of 20 m.
Like many other species of cedar, Boswellia cedar has a base of 15 feet and can reach 75 feet in height. Another distinguishing feature of true cedars is their large barrel-shaped cones that grow directly on the branches rather than hanging down. As an ornamental tree, Cyprus cedar branches grow horizontally to form the flat canopy typical of a Mediterranean landscape. Cedar is an evergreen tree (meaning it has leaves all year round) with a distinctive spicy aroma.
Growing in the evergreen forests of the Himalayas, deodar cedar trees can reach 48 m in height. Because some cedars can grow up to 60 feet and 35 feet wide, they may not be the best choice if you have a small yard. Luckily, we can find cedars for our gardens that won’t get that big or can be easily pruned to keep them at the right scale for other plantings. There are only four types of cedar, but from these four, more than 100 varieties have been developed for landscape gardening.
Key Features of Cedar Trees
An added bonus is that cedar has decorative pollen cones and very large oily seed cones. Lebanese cedars are one of the most iconic types of true cedars because their branches grow horizontally. Native to Lebanon and the Middle East, these evergreen conifers are huge trees that can reach 40 meters in height.
This is another conifer that grows well in large areas 40 to 60 feet high. Their gorgeous blue-green leaves grow about an inch or two and look like needles.
Like other varieties of cedar, they need full sun and grow well in sandy, moist soil. They grow well in full sun, but tend to look more open and wilted when grown in the shade. They require well-drained soil and usually grow in areas with ample rainfall.
Since we have provided a brief overview of the different types of these trees, we are confident that you will now be able to identify these trees by their type and structure.