Cedar

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The Cedar Family

While many people extol the virtues of Larch, with its vivid spring colours and rapid development, this very rapid growth, unless vigorously controlled, can result in a tree that loses its refinement quite quickly. The Cedrus family, and especially Cedrus Libani, still has the vivid spring colour, but set against the darker foliage from the previous year. The growth pattern is similar to Larch, but slower and more controllable. Cedar does not however have the flaky bark of an old Larch, being smooth by nature.

Cedars withstand bonsai treatments quite well. Their natural environment of high mountains in the Middle and Far East has forced them to evolve to cope with fairly dry conditions, and can be treated in a similar way to Pines - a little on the dry side and in full sun. The root system is similar to a pine, but a little more tolerant of pruning. Some people find that they drop the majority of their needles when drastically repotted, though they often grow a new set.

Three types of Cedar are readily available in the UK. :-

a) Cedrus Atlantica - from the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, often grown in its blue form. It has good tight foliage, but is usually grafted on to C.Deodara rootstock.

b) Cedrus Deodara - from the Himalayas. Has a comparatively long and loose foliage which looks good on a large specimen, but is difficult to utilise on a small plant.

c) Cedrus Libani - from the mountains of the Lebanon. The foliage of the species is good and tight, responding well to needle reduction, but that of the dwarf forms (Cedrus Libani Nana and Cedrus Libani Brevifolia - the Cypress Cedar) is even better. Although the species is available on its own roots, the dwarf forms are usually grafted on to C. Deodara.


	A good feeding and watering regime in the right soil can induce Cedars to back bud on to old wood, but this cannot be relied upon, so good initial selection of material is important. Many plants are being imported in large numbers from Tuscany and have good lower branches and bud growing from the bottom of the trunk. The one drawback of these plants is that they are grown in the ground in Italy in a very fine clay and when lifted, any spaces around the rootball are filled with with peat. This is not a problem when they are planted out fairly quickly into open ground, but if grown in pots, it is virtually impossible to get the watering correct. The only solution to this problem with any plants from this source is to bare-root and repot them as soon as they are purchased - whatever time of year that may be!