Native to Lebanon and the Middle East, these evergreen conifers are huge trees up to 40 meters high. These cedars, also known as Lebanese cedars, are native to parts of southwestern Asia, Lebanon and Syria. 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. The name cedar is used to refer to several erect evergreen trees.
Cedar trees are native to two locations: the western Himalayan mountains and the lands bordering the Mediterranean sea. However, cedar trees have been exported around the world for ornamental purposes. Non-native cedars are often found in California and the American west coast.
Living on the Pacific coast of North America, these trees are popular ornamentals and lumber. These are tall trees with large trunks and massive irregular heads of scattered branches. The tree grows slowly and has drooping branches filled with dark green foliage. This tree is native to the eastern United States and grows from 65 to 130 feet in height.
The Heights of Cedar Trees in Mediterranean Climates
Native trees can grow to over 200 feet, although most cultivated trees remain 60 to 80 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide. Many cedar trees grow in Mediterranean climates, such as Cedrus deodara, which are resistant to USDA vegetation zones 7 to 9A.
Like other varieties of cedar, they need plenty of sunlight and grow very well in sandy, moist soil. Unlike Deodar cedar, this variety can grow well in partial sunlight, although the soil needs to be well-drained. It is able to withstand adverse growing conditions that many other tree species cannot tolerate. Majestic and very decorative, it grows very quickly and can live for an incredible number of years.
Also known as Pacific cedar, this is one of the most common types of cedar found in the Pacific Northwest. Cedar deodora or Himalayan cedar. It grows well, with long, horizontal, slightly drooping branches giving the impression of floating in the air. It has a clear shape, several tree trunks, and has clear horizontal layers in its structure.
Cedrus libani or Lebanese cedar – originally from Lebanon, as the name suggests, this is a very common variety. Cedrus atlantica or Atlas cedar. A native of North Africa, the Atlas cedar grows very quickly and is extremely ornamental due to its elegant and fine posture and, again, its blue-green needles. California frankincense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) is found in USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8, although it grows best in zones 6 and 7.
Cedars in the Himalayas and Europe
Cedar is native to the Himalayas and Mediterranean countries, but can be found in many temperate climates around the world. Cedar is native to the Himalayas and grows abundantly in the Mediterranean and many other temperate to temperate regions of the world.
Native to the western Himalayas and Mediterranean highlands, cedars are steeply shaped, reminiscent of one of their mountainous homelands. They are a great choice for anchoring a large rock garden or xeriscape area, and they make great windbreaks because they grow quickly and fill open spaces well. Cedars are large trees, so plant them in full sun at least ten feet apart.
Choose a sunny location carefully and do not plant trees less than 1.5 m 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 add elegance to any space that has room to grow.
Cedar, once properly laid down, is a tree with very little maintenance. Fireweed cedar only needs to be watered occasionally, as it can withstand a bit of drought.
While this conifer prefers acidic soils, cedars grow happily in any type of soil, whether limestone or acidic. Eastern red cedar tolerates clay, sand, compacted soil, and urban gas pollution well.
On Hardiness Zones
Eastern red cedar is one of the most adaptable cedars growing in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 9. Eastern red cedar is actually a type of juniper tree native to the East Coast of North America. Cedar is an evergreen tree (that is, with year-round leaves) with a characteristic spicy aroma. Cedar (Cedrus), also called “true” cedar, is a genus of conifers and trees in the plant family Pinaceae.
Deodar cedars are large, fast-growing evergreen conifers with a distinct conical shape. This growth characteristic makes this cedar a very decorative and attractive tree. Growing in the evergreen forests of the Himalayas, the deodar cedar tree can reach a height of 48 m. Under certain growing conditions, eastern red cedar will never grow taller than a small, bushy evergreen tree.
Western red cedar is a long-lived slow growing tree that can reach a height of 200 feet by 20 feet wide. Western red cedar, found in abundance in the northwestern parts of the United States and Canada, is perhaps best called cypress. Northern white cedar, often referred to as Arbor Vitae, which translates to “Tree of Life”, is available in abundance in southeastern Canada and the northern and northeastern United States. Northern white cedar can be recognized by the thin, creamy sapwood that covers the light brown interior of the wood.
Variants of the Cedar Species
Like many other cedar species, northern white cedar can withstand all types of pest infestation. Cedar wood is highly valued for its resistance to weathering, insects and rot. Cedars, with their soft wood, are easy to trim and lend themselves well to pruning.
Cedar trees have very typical “scaly” leaves that can grow on flattened toppings or around a branch. Their gorgeous blue-green leaves grow about an inch or two and look like needles. They need well-draining soil and usually grow in areas with good rainfall.
There are only four types of cedar, but from these four more than 100 varieties have been bred, developed for landscaping the landscape. Many other conifers known as “cedars” resemble true cedars in that they are evergreen and have fragrant wood, often dyed red or red, which in many cases is resistant to rot and repels insects. This can be confusing at first, but unlike palms and cycads, there are a limited number of species in both categories of “cedars” so it won’t take long to sort out the differences.
Luckily, you can forget about all of that for now, because we’ll be focusing on what we should call the REAL cedars, which is cedars from the genus Cedrus, which is a member of the Pinaceae family, the pine family.
You can identify oriental red cedars with bright green needle-like immature pointed leaves that become scaly as the tree matures. Both western red cedars and eastern white cedars are cold hardy trees that adapt to a variety of growing conditions. The Himalayan Gold Cascade Cedar starts out spreading widely, but will become more conical with age (see photo linked above).
The deep yellow color is reminiscent of Aurea, a large, fast growing variety of Himalayan cedar. As an ornamental tree, the Cypriot cedar has branches that grow horizontally, forming a flat crown typical of Mediterranean landscapes. Another distinguishing feature of real cedars is their large barrel-shaped cones that grow directly on the branches rather than drooping.