Alaska Cedar

Alaska cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis, Cupressaceae) is a slow-growing native conifer of coastal mountains from the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Klamath Mountains in California. It reaches 75 feet in cultivation and 130 to 200 feet in the wild, developing thin, smooth purplish bark when young that becomes flaky and gray with age. Flattened sprays of dark green or blue-green scale-leaves create a graceful, pendulous texture. Female cones take two years to mature.

Alaska cedar grows in part shade on wet-tolerant soils (pH 5.5 to 7.0), hardy in Zones 5a to 9b, with a minimum root depth of 24 inches. It has low drought tolerance and requires annual precipitation exceeding 150 centimeters. It is shade tolerant and long-lived with resprout ability. Documented diseases include Seiridium canker, Port Orford cedar root rot, leaf blight, and cedar flagging. Cultivars include 'Pendula' (weeping, 30 to 45 feet), 'Green Arrow' (narrow columnar), 'Aurea' (yellow foliage), 'Strict Weeping' (10 to 15 feet), and 'Glauca Pendula.'