Deodar Cedar

Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara, Pinaceae) is a fast-growing conifer native to the Himalayas of India and Pakistan. It typically reaches 40 to 70 feet in cultivation (up to 150 feet in native habitat) with gracefully pendulous, drooping branchlets that often touch the ground on lower branches. Fine-textured, dark green foliage creates an elegant silhouette. It is considered the most graceful of the true cedars.

Deodar cedar grows in part shade on adaptable, well-drained soils (pH 6.0 to 7.5) with low water needs and high drought tolerance, hardy in Zones 6a to 8b. It is the national tree of Pakistan. Documented diseases include Seiridium canker, Port Orford cedar root rot, leaf blight, cedar flagging, and needle blight. Cultivars are numerous, including 'Aurea' (golden, 10 to 25 feet), 'Feelin Blue' (1 foot dwarf), 'Gold Cascade,' 'Golden Horizon' (6 feet), 'Silver Mist' (4 feet), 'Albospica' (white-tipped, 10 feet), and 'Mylor' (2-foot dwarf shrub). Squirrels frequent the tree for cones, and birds and small mammals use it for nesting and cover.