BLUE CHINA FIR

BLUE CHINA FIR

Cunninghamia lanceolata ‘Glauca’

COLLECTION

Pinetum Extension

FAMILY

Cupressaceae

PLANT TYPE

Evergreen

ZONE

7-9

CULTURE

Best grown in moist, acidic, well-drained soils in part shade. Tolerates full sun, but soils should not be allowed to dry out.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS

Cunninghamia lanceolata ‘Glauca’ is an attractive blue form and reportedly has better winter hardiness (to –10 F) than the green species. New foliage is bright blue maturing to blue-green.

PROBLEMS

The species is not reliably winter-hardy to zone 7. If planted in zone 7 it should be sited in a southern exposure protected from winter winds.

GARDEN USES

Best used as a single specimen or as a large accent in a garden.

HISTORY

This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

DWARF SLENDER HINOKI FALSECYPRESS

Chamaecyparis obtusa

COLLECTION

Pinetum Extension

FAMILY

Cupressaceae

PLANT TYPE

Shrub/Tree, Evergreen

ZONE

5-8

CULTURE

Grows best in full sun to part shade in moist well-drained soils.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS

It is a slow-growing tree which grows to 50 to 75 feet tall with a trunk up to 3 feet in diameter. The bark is dark red-brown that sheds in long narrow strips. The leaves are scale-like, 1/2 inch long, blunt-tipped (obtuse), green above, and green below with a white stomatal band at the base of each scale-leaf. Cones are 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide. The varying foliage and unique textures make this an excellent accent in the garden.

PROBLEMS

Chlorosis will occur in high pH soils.

GARDEN USES

Best used as a single specimen, hedge, mixed border, or screen.

HISTORY

More than 200 cultivars have been selected, varying in size from trees as large as the wild species, down to very slow-growing dwarf plants under 30 cm high.

GOLDEN HIMALAYAN CEDAR

Cedrus deodara 'Aurea'

COLLECTION

Pinetum Extension

FAMILY

Pinaceae

PLANT TYPE

Conifer, Evergreen

ZONE

7-9

CULTURE

Grows best in full sun and is adaptable to all types of soils from standing water to well-draining sandy soils.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS

A bold pyramidal evergreen with striking, horizontal, graceful, arching branches. New growth is creamy yellow that turns to golden yellow. The species can reach 131 to 164 feet tall. ‘Aurea’ is a slow, moderate growth reaching 25 to 35 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

PROBLEMS

Giant conifer aphids are known to attack the Deodar cedar as well as weevils, scales, borers, and bagworms.

GARDEN USES

Best used as a single specimen or as a large accent in a garden, privacy screen, or windbreak.

HISTORY

A species of cedar native to the western Himalayas in eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and India.

Among Hindus, as the etymology of deodar suggests, it is worshiped as a divine tree. Deva, the first half of the Sanskrit term, means divine, deity, or deus. Dāru, the second part, is cognate with (related to) the words durum, druid, tree, and true.

Forests full of Deodar or Devadāru trees were the favorite living place of ancient Indian sages and their families who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva.