I found this Himalayan Cedar tree (Cedrus deodara) this morning in the "El Retiro" park of Madrid, Spain. The Retiro park is similar to the "Central Park" of New York City and is a paradise for arbourist and tree lovers. The Spanish name "Retiro" means retreat, so named because it is where many of Madrid´s local residents go to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This morning was no exception, the park was full of people doing all sorts of activities as well as just relaxing.
The Himalayan Cedar is one of the true cedars and is a close relative to the Cedar of Lebanon and the Atlas Cedar. It can be distinguished from these other two by the length of its leaves (up to 2 inches long) and by the number of leaves on reach "rosette" (12-15).
Another distinguishing feature of the Himalayan Cedar is that the new branches tend to hang down in a sort of "weeping tree" manner. In the images below you can see the new leaves that are growing at the center of each rosette.
This particular cedar is quite big, with the trunk measuring about 3-4 feet in diameter at the base. I estimate the hight at about 100 feet. In the top image above you can see the distinct shape of these cedars.
The image below is not too clear but does show the bark pattern of this tree species.The cones of this tree are very similar to those of the Cedar of Lebanon
The image below is of another tree I found in the Retiro park that was even taller than the one above.
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ReplyDeleteHey I think I have deodoaras in my yard, if I send a Photo could you id them? They have been pruned.
can we grow these in southern wisconsin?
ReplyDeleteCedrus deodoras grow in zones 6-9. From what I can tell the south-east corner of Wisconsin is zone 5b which would be just outside the temp range that this tree species needs. Altitude may be an issue as well.
ReplyDeleteI have 38 Himalayan cedars, "Shalimar"variety ,in north central Massachusetts, 33 miles from Boston. They are about 6-10 feet tall and doing well after about 8 years.We are zone 5b.( "Kashmir" type, all died(10)). They are in a fairly protected southern facing area, very pretty.Altitude here about 700 ft.Deer hate them.
ReplyDeleteI have always considered my self somewhat of a tree-hugger and when recently (Late Aug 2011) hurricane Irene visited us here on the outer-banks of North Carolina we heard of this 20 ft tall Deodara Cedar tree that had been felled by the winds and flooding. Drove through the high water to Virginia Beach to find the tree partially uprooted but the tap root was in tact. We rescued the tree and it looked very sad so we named it 'Charlie Brown' like the Christmas Tree in the Charlie Brown comic. Charlie has been in the ground in front of our house now for a week and seems to be enjoying his new home. We are very thankful to add him to our family. Now the mission it to keep him alive through the rest of the summer, fall and winter to see what happens next spring.
ReplyDeletethat is a huge Deodar Cedar, make you wonder just how old it is!
ReplyDeleteI planted a couple of these last year in my yard, they are doing great.
Deodar Cedar