Tree · Pinaceae
Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara
Set in full sun on draining ground, this Himalayan cedar grows soft, sweeping branches of blue-green needles for decades.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 6–9
30–50 ft · 9.1–15.2 m
Overview
The deodar cedar carries soft needles that shade from blue-green to gray-green, each one ending in a fine sharp point and clustered into dense little tufts along the branches. Those branches arch outward and dip at their ends, and the whole crown gathers under a slender leading shoot that bends over at the very top, drawing the tree into a soft, weeping outline. It is a fast grower among the true cedars of the genus Cedrus, and with room it lifts to 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) tall while throwing its branches out nearly as far.
Up close the foliage feels feathery, the needle clusters thick enough to give the branches a plush, draped weight, yet every needle tapex is firm and sharp to the touch. The tree belongs in open ground rather than a pot, where full sun on freely draining soil packs the needles densely along each limb. Once its roots take hold, it stands through dry spells unbothered, its color holding steady.
Set as a single specimen or a run of screening trees, its silvered blue-green mass reads from a distance as one long sweep of drooping branches. Cultivars deepen that color or carry it into colder ground, but the one thing that breaks the picture is standing water at the roots, which the tree will not abide.
Care
The short version: full sun and free-draining soil keep the needles dense and well-colored. The young tree wants steady water, then stands on its own, needs room for its drooping branches to spread, and fails wherever the ground stays wet.
Light
Full sun packs the needles densely along the branches and draws the cleanest, fullest crown from a deodar cedar. It will grow in partial sun or light shade, but the needle clusters thin out and the branching opens into a looser, more see-through shape where the light runs short.
Water
Through the first year or two, while the pale roots reach out into the soil, the tree wants a deep soak every 7 to 14 days. After that the needles hold their color through genuine drought and the tree needs little extra, and the real danger flips to overwatering, which softens and rots the roots.
Soil
The tree takes root in soils from loose sand to heavy clay loam and holds a wide pH of 5.5 to 7.5. The one thing the roots will not bear is standing wet, since soil that stays soggy turns the firm white roots dark and mushy with rot.
Temperature
Across a wide swing of cold and heat, from about 0°F to 100°F (-18°C to 38°C), the foliage comes through intact. Hardy cultivars hold their needles deeper into cold, while a late frost can scorch and brown the soft, pale new growth that flushes in spring.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air keeps the needles in good condition, so there is no humidity figure to chase. Air moving freely through the branches counts for more, since still, damp pockets around the foliage are where tip blight first browns the needle tips.
Feeding
A light spring feeding of balanced slow-release tree fertilizer, once a season, keeps the new needles coming. An established tree in good color needs little or no feeding and draws what it needs straight from the soil.
Pruning
The tree holds its drooping shape with almost no cutting. In late winter, dead, damaged, or crossing branches come out, along with any growth browned by cold or tip blight, and the natural sweeping form of the limbs is otherwise left untouched.
Repotting
Grown in the open as a tree, it rarely sits in a container, and an established one resents having its roots disturbed. A young tree in a pot moves up only when the roots coil around the inside, the new needles stall, or water slides straight through the rootball without soaking in.
Size & spacing
360–600 in (914–1524 cm) tall
When to plant
The deodar cedar goes into the ground in the mild shoulders of the year. Spring or fall sets it out while the soil is loose and workable and the heat or hard cold has lifted, giving the pale new roots a full season to thread into the earth before the weather turns.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–9
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
A healthy deodar cedar shows little wrong with it, and most trouble traces to wet soil or a tree under stress. The first signs surface in the needles at the branch tips and across the drooping canopy. Read those changes early and the damage can usually be checked before a whole limb browns out or the tree is lost.
A thinning, wilting canopy on a tree in wet ground
When the canopy thins and droops over soggy ground, the cause is Phytophthora root and crown rot, working unseen below the soil line. Scrape into the earth near the base and the roots come up dark and mushy where they should be firm and white. There is no turning it back once the rot runs deep, so open up the drainage, ease off the water, and move the tree to ground that never holds wet.
Fix:
- Improve drainage or relocate to a well-drained site
- Reduce irrigation
- Remove severely affected trees
Flagging branches, weeping resin, and bare cases hanging in the limbs
Branches that flag and weep beads of sticky resin from small wounds mark the deodar weevil, a bark beetle boring into the wood, with bagworms and borers adding their own damage. Look along the bark for small holes and powdery sawdust, and along the limbs for the spindle-shaped bags that hang where bagworms feed. Most of this falls on trees already dried out by drought, so steady water, a layer of mulch, and cutting out and burning the infested wood are the surest answer.
Fix:
- Keep trees vigorous with proper watering and mulch
- Remove and destroy infested branches and bagworm bags
- Consult local extension for targeted insect management
Browning branch tips and dying-back twigs
Browning that creeps in from the very ends of the branches usually means tip blight, the work of the Sphaeropsis or Diplodia fungus that takes hold after wet weather. Split a dead twig and it may show dark fungal cankers in the wood, though a late frost can brown the same tender new growth and fool the eye. Cut the affected tips well below the dead wood, disinfect the pruners between cuts, and keep water off the needles.
Fix:
- Prune out and dispose of affected tips well below the dead tissue
- Disinfect tools between cuts
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering
Toxicity
The deodar cedar is safe to plant around a household. Nothing in its needles or wood poisons pets, livestock, or people, and it does not appear on the ASPCA poison lists. The single thing to mind is the sharp-pointed needles, each tipped with a fine prickle that can catch small hands working close to a young tree.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Nothing in the needles or wood of a deodar cedar poisons a cat. A cat that gnaws a branch may bring up a little plant matter, but that is the sharp needle tips at work rather than any toxin.
Dogs None
No toxic compound runs through the wood or foliage, so a dog can nose and brush along the tree without harm. Chewing a fallen twig does nothing, though a mouthful of stiff needles may draw a little drool.
Horses Safe
A horse grazing beside a deodar cedar faces no threat from it. The tree holds no poison in needle, cone, or wood, so it sits fine around paddocks and pasture edges.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits run no risk from this tree. The needles carry no toxin, and a curious nibble at them does no harm.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can stand on the same ground as a deodar cedar safely. Nothing in the tree troubles the stomach or the nerves.
Birds Safe
Birds nest and perch deep in the dense, needled branches without any risk. The tree is non-toxic, and its cones and cover make a welcome corner of the garden for them.
People Safe
For people the deodar cedar carries nothing poisonous. The needles end in fine sharp points, so the only real caution is handling young plants with care.
No special handling needed; needles are sharp-pointed so handle young plants with care.
Varieties
Beyond the wild species, a few named selections stand apart for their needle color, their branching, or their tolerance of harder cold. These are the forms most often found at a nursery.
Karl Fuchs
Among the most cold-hardy selections, holding to zone 6, with steely blue-green needles strung along graceful, drooping branches.
Shalimar
Raised from seed of the Shalimar Gardens, this form carries blue-green needles and takes cold better than the ordinary species.
Kashmir
Hardier than the species to around zone 6, it stands among the best true cedars for southern gardens.
Pendula
A weeping form whose branches spill in long, strong cascades toward the ground for a soft, draped shape.
Aurea
A golden form that opens bright yellow new needles in spring before they deepen toward green with age.
How to propagate
A deodar cedar comes either from seed or from the grafting route nurseries use for the showier forms. Each path suits a different goal, and one calls for far more patience and skill than the other.
SeedModerate
Fall to spring after cold stratification · Several years
From seed the species sprouts readily once it has had a spell of cold stratification, set anytime from fall to spring. A tree of any real size takes several years to build, and the seedlings vary in form and needle color, so no two come up quite alike.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter · 1 to 2 years
The named cultivars, the weeping and golden forms among them, are grafted in late winter, since seed will not carry their needle color and habit true. The work is demanding and the graft takes 1 to 2 years to knit, which is why grafted plants cost more at the nursery.
Myths
Every tree called a cedar is a true cedar like the deodar.
Only the members of the genus Cedrus, the deodar among them, are true cedars. A great many North American trees borrow the name, eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) among them, yet they belong to entirely different genera and are not cedars at all.