Growing Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar

Size and Appearance

‘Sander’s Blue’ Himalayan Cedar is an upright conifer evergreen, with a tall central trunk and radiating branches. The side branches are dense along the trunk, and grow out almost horizontal, with weeping tips, creating a wonderful and graceful look. It grow rapidly, adding 12 inches or more each year, so that within 10 years it will be 12 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. It will continue to grow, of course, and could reach 50 feet in height with a spread of 30 feet, in time. Young trees have a neat pyramidal form, becoming more open with age. Mature trees often develop a rounded, flat top, with several major branches. The bark is very dark gray-brown to near-black. The stems are clothed in clusters of needles, and these are between 1 and 2 inches long, and more or less circular. New growth is an amazing bright powder-blue, changing gradually into a rich, silvery steel-blue for the rest of the year. The silvery look is remarkable and incredibly beautiful. Older trees can develop attractive cones, which stand upright on the branches and are about 4 inches tall. It is almost like they put on their own Holiday decorations.

Using Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar in Your Garden

This tree is a wonderful specimen to plant on a lawn, or grow in a row for screening. Consider the mature size when choosing a location, and don’t plant beneath overhead wires. Plant 12 to 15 feet away from buildings, walls, fences and property boundaries. It is attractive planted alone, and also in groups of three, spacing plants about 10 feet apart. For screening, space plants 6 feet apart. Grow it in the angle between two walls, or in a corner of your yard. It can also be grown for some years in a large tub or box, as a specimen on a terrace.

Hardiness

Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar is one of the most cold-resistant varieties of cedar, and it grows well even in zone 6. It could even survive in warmer parts of zone 5, with shelter. It also grows in all warmer zones of course, but may not do so well in areas with very humid summers.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar in full sun for good growth and foliage color. It grows well in any well-drained soil, of all types, from sand to clay, and acid to alkaline. It will grow in urban gardens too, and is generally undemanding. Established plants are very drought resistant, and enjoy hot, exposed places. Water young plants deeply from time to time during dry summer conditions. It has moderate resistance to salt, so it can be planted in coastal areas, but not right on the beach.

Maintenance and Pruning

Pests and diseases are rare, and usually this plant grows well with little attention. Don’t trim or use shears, which will destroy the weeping form, but you can remove any over-crowded branches, and keep an eye on the growing point, which should be only one stem – cut the more outside one in half if you see two developing.

History and Origin of Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar

The Himalayan Cedar, Cedrus deodara, grows in Afghanistan and through northern India and into Tibet. It is the eastern equivalent to the famous Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus libani, which is of course mentioned in the Bible. These are the ‘true’ cedars, and very different from the green ‘cedar’ often grown for hedges and specimens in colder zones. The variety called Sanders Blue began as a seedling selected for its intense blue coloring at the Iseli Nursery in Boring, Oregon. We don’t know exactly when, but it must have been after 1975, because that is when Jean Iseli left his career as a designer of missile guidance systems to open a conifer nursery in the Willamette Valley with his brother. It remains today America’s most famous conifer nursery.

Buying Sanders Blue Himalayan Cedar at the Tree Center

We have sourced some beautiful specimens of Sanders BlueHimalayan Cedar, and we would love to share them with you. This gorgeous tree must be seen to be believed, so order now and it will be on it’s way. Stand back and watch it grow, soon becoming the pride of your garden, but order now – good things don’t stick around for long.

The Tenzan Japanese Cedar is a very rare miniature plant, which grows into a dense, tightly branched ball of branches and foliage, slightly wider than it is tall. It grows slowly, adding about ½ an inch of new growth a year. In ten years’ time it will be about 6 inches tall and 8 inches across, a glowing green gem of a plant that is absolutely adorable. The foliage is dense and compact, with short, prickly needles packed along the tiny stems. The color is dark green, with lighter leaves in spring creating a subtle transition.

Growing Tenzan Japanese Cedar Trees

This is not a plant to put out in the rough and tumble of an ordinary garden, but one to grow in a sheltered pocket of a rock garden, in a planter or trough dedicated to tiny shrubs and plants, in a special container to be admired, or perhaps grown in a dish along side bonsai plants for an Asian garden. A wonderful way to grow special plants like this is to create a window box or planter box for a collection of plants like this one. It could, for example, share the space with the Chirimen Hinoki Cypress, another jewel-like miniature form of a different Japanese tree. In a larger planter you could use the best of our slower-growing evergreens – browse our collections – and with some stones and gravel you have an enchanted miniature garden.

Planting and Initial Care

Grow the Tenzan Japanese Cedar in full morning sun, with some shade in the hottest parts of the day, as the needles can scorch in very hot sun. It is not quite as hardy as other Japanese cedar varieties, and it is reliably hardy in zone 7, 8 and 9. In Zone 6 it would be a relatively easy matter, if it was in a trough or pot, to give some shelter on cold winter nights, so it can also be grown in that zone, with some care. It does best in moist, well-drained soil, and in pots and planters the soil should be a blend of one-half potting soil for acid-loving plants, and one-half garden soil, with some coarse river sand added. Water only when the top ½ inch of the soil is dry, but water thoroughly when you do. Some ½-strength liquid evergreen fertilizer can be used in spring and early summer. Pests and diseases should not be problems, and patience is the secret to growing this precious plant.

History and Origins of the Tenzan Japanese Cedar

It is always amazing how different a selected form of a plant can be from its wild beginnings. When we think that the Japanese Cedar (cryptomeria japonica), is a large forest tree with a straight, soaring trunk rising over 100 feet into the air, it is hard to see the connection between the tiny Kenzan Japanese Cedar, the smallest of all the special forms of this plant, and that huge tree – but connected they are. The Japanese Cedar grows in forests throughout Japan, and it is the National Tree of Japan. Its Japanese name is sugi. This sacred tree has aromatic wood, like American Cedar, and it is used in the construction of temples, and for trunks and other kinds of furniture. Special forms have been cultivated in Japan and China for centuries, and they have been making their way to the West since the 19th century.

Other forms have been found outside Japan, and the form known as ‘Tenzan’ was found in the mid-1970s at the Nelis Kools nursery in Duerne, The Netherlands. Sometimes conifers produce dense clusters of tiny branches on the stems of larger trees. These are called ‘witch’s brooms’, and it was one of these that became ‘Tenzan’. It was found growing as a dense cluster of tiny branches near the base of a young seedling tree. This smallest of all Japanese cedars is a true garden jewel, to be treasured and valued for its unique miniature form.

These slow-growing plants are difficult to propagate, because so little new growth is produced, so they are always rare and difficult to find for sale. We searched hard, and we now have a very limited stock of this plant. Its value is known to collectors and enthusiastic gardeners, and our plants will soon be gone. To have this treasure in your collection, order now.

The Columnar Blue Atlas Cedar is an upright evergreen tree, with one main vertical trunk. The main side branches rise upwards at about 60 degrees to the horizontal, while smaller branches are horizontal or slightly descending. The evergreen foliage is made up of short needles, which are a rich, smokey, silver-blue. The needles are a little less than one inch long, and they are clustered along the stems in groups of about 25 needles. New stems have needles evenly placed all along them, but as the branches mature needle clusters develop along the sides of the stems. In late summer and fall you will see cones developing, once your tree is older. These are like small pine cones, 2 to 3 inches long, but pointing upwards on the branches. The bark of this tree is very attractive, with a rugged look. It is deep gray-brown, and split into long fissures, giving older trees lots of character. Grow this tree as a specimen on a lawn, or as an accent plant in a bed of large shrubs and small trees. Plant a row along a driveway for a magnificent entrance. Plants in rows should be spaced 20 to 35 feet apart, to avoid them developing a hedge-like effect.

Once established, the Columnar Blue Atlas Cedar is fast-growing, adding 12 to 15 inches of new growth each year. Within 10 years your young tree will be a substantial specimen, reaching perhaps 15 feet tall, but being only 6 feet wide. Its growth will continue, so that in time it will be a noble specimen 40 feet or more in height, but just 25 feet wide. This compares to a normal Atlas Cedar, which would be 35 to 40 feet wide at that height. This critical difference makes this tree very superior as a specimen in an ordinary garden. When choosing a planting spot, be sure to allow for this final size. Don’t plant within 15 feet of buildings, property boundaries, or other potential obstructions, and don’t plant beneath overhead wires. A short trunk will develop at the base, and young trees can be pruned up for more clearance if necessary. You can expect this tree to live hundreds of years, so give it room.

The Columnar Blue Atlas Cedar is a tough and reliable tree, that thrives in warmer zones, from 6 to 9, and that thrives in hot climates, both dry or humid ones. Plant it in full sun, in deep, well-drained soils. Although it prefers slightly acidic soils, it is easy to grow and thrives in most situations, except for wet areas. Once established it is very drought resistant, and it normally has no pests or diseases. Pruning is not needed, but some selective pruning will keep the tree at its narrowest. To maintain the narrowest possible profile, maintain just one single central trunk for as long as possible. This can easily be done by reducing the height of one branch if you see two or more stems of equal height growing upwards at the top of the tree in a ‘double leader’. In addition, you can remove some side branches which are growing outwards too much, and this will also emphasize the narrow form of this tree.

The Columnar Blue Atlas Cedar is a special form of the Atlas Cedar, Cedrus atlantica, one of the three species of ‘true’ cedars, it is very similar, to the famous Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus libani. It grows wild in vast forests in the Atlas Mountains, which stretch through Morocco and into Algeria. Trees there can be well over 100 feet tall, and similar large specimens are seen in gardens from the 19th century. The needle color of wild trees is variable, and those with stronger blue coloring are called the Glauca Group. There have been multiple collections and introductions of trees with good blue coloring, from both natural forests and among nursery seedlings.

The form called ‘Glauca Fastigiata’ probably descended through seedlings from the original fastigiate Atlas cedar, which was found in France around 1890. Seedlings from that tree would have been variable, and those with the bluest needles, but still with an erect habit, became the Columnar Blue Atlas Cedar. It could also be a fastigiate selection from among seedlings of blue forms – we simply don’t know exactly where it came from. We do know that our trees are grown from grafted stem pieces from the best trees available, and they are not variable seedlings. This tree is immensely desirable as a major garden specimen, and the demand is always high. Order now – they will all be gone very soon.

Growing Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar Trees

The Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar is a specimen tree that has been trained to form a continuous ‘S’ shaped stem, bending back and forth as it goes up the stake. From the undulating trunk, with its smooth gray bark, long pendulous branches fall, covered in dense clusters of silver-blue needles. This evergreen foliage is beautiful all year round, from spring when the new stems are brilliant silver blue, to the deeper silver gray-blue it takes in summer and all through the winter months. It can be a free-standing specimen in a lawn or garden bed, or planted to grow up a sunny wall, a fence or trellis panels. Whatever way you choose to grow it, this fabulous plant will have everyone talking, and you will have something truly unique in your garden – without needing special skills or lots of work. 

Appearance

The Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar is fast growing, adding 12 to 24 inches of new growth to its main stems every year. You will soon have a large, mature specimen on display. Give it plenty of room when planting, as it is not a dwarf conifer, but ultimately a large plant. It will grow to about 15 feet tall in 10 years, if you have the height to support it, and 8 feet or more wide, depending on how you grow it. The evergreen foliage is silver-blue colored, and it grows as dense clusters, with about 25 one-inch needles in each cluster. These cover the older stems. New stems have needles all along them, with the clusters developing in the next and subsequent years, as the stems mature and thicken. Young bark is smooth, slightly glossy, and gray. Older bark becomes browner, splitting into long fissures, and looking rugged and handsome. Older trees may produce cones in late summer and into the fall. These look like small pinecones, 2 to 3 inches long, blue when young, turning light brown, and adding an attractive decorative element to the tree.

Planting

How the Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar develops in your garden depends on you. It will come ready-trained and attached to a sturdy stake. The main trunk has already been turned back and forth on that stake to give the serpentine effect. If you want to grow this tree as a free-standing specimen, we suggest replacing the stake with a tall steel rod, driven well into the ground. The rod needs to be strong and rigid, and it can be as tall as you want. When planting, transfer the stem to the new stake, using loose ties to allow for the expansion of the trunk. Continue to train the flexible top stem up the stake, folding it back and forth as it grows. Simply allow the other stems to cascade down as a curtain of blue. Alternatively, plant the tree at the base of a sunny wall, or against a tall fence or trellis. Attach the stem to supports driven into the wall or tie it to the trellis as it grows. On a flat surface like this, you can let your imagination take over, and spread it out in all directions if you wish, or you can keep the central serpentine stem that has already been made. Multiple serpentine stems can cover a large surface – have fun and create your own unique living sculpture.

Initial Care

The Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar is easy to grow. Plant it in full sun, in zones 6, 7 and 8. It grows in most soils, doing best on deep, well-drained and slightly acidic soils. Once established it is very drought resistant, and it can be used for xeric landscaping, as well as tolerating the heat and humidity of hot summers. It has no significant pests or diseases. Once the stem has thickened this tree is self-supporting, but if grown in the open we recommend keeping it attached to a sturdy stake, to protect from breakage in strong winds and during snow falls.

History and Origins of Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar Trees

Many evergreen trees are commonly called ‘cedar’, but the true cedars are a small group, and one of them, the Atlas cedar, Cedrus atlantica, grows naturally high in the Atlas Mountains, a range that begins in Morocco and stretches all the way into Algeria. It is a close relative of the famous Cedar of Lebanon. Wild trees grow in large forests, and they can be over 100 feet tall, with a central trunk and broad spreading branches. Tree like that are sometimes seen in the gardens of older homes. Seedlings have variable needle coloring, and some are rich silver blue, rather than the green-blue of wild trees. These plants are called the Glauca Group, or blue Atlas cedar, Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’.

As the 19th century was ending, a gardener at the Paillet Nursery, in Châtenay-sur-Seine, France, found a strange seedling among a batch of blue Atlas cedars. It didn’t grow upright, but instead it trailed across the ground. He showed it to Ludwig Beissner, the head of the Bonn Botanic Garden in Germany, and plants made from that original seedling were spread around the world. This is the weeping blue Atlas cedar, called ‘Glauca Pendula’, and it is from young plants of this variety our growers create the Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar. These creations take skill and time to create, but the hard part is over, and the fun is left for you. The demand is huge, and the supply very limited, so order now, and you can enjoy this wonderful plant in your own garden.

If you have a smaller garden and are looking for a very special, and very beautiful evergreen specimen tree like that, then the Golden Himalayan (Deodar) Cedar has to be a top choice. It achieves that grand look while still quite young, and although it will reach 12 or 15 feet tall within ten years, it will probably never exceed 25 or 30 feet in height, as its early rapid growth slows dramatically with age. This is the tree for lovers of classical beauty and grace, and of class rather than flash.

Growing Golden Deodar Cedar Trees

This tree is easy to grow, and it will become handsome and mature-looking at an early age. With every passing year its grandeur and spectacular appearance will increase. What makes it even more special is the wonderful foliage effects that happen through the year. In spring the new foliage is a glowing creamy yellow – full of boldness and promise – and this matures to a beautiful soft, light golden-green, much brighter than the often dark and somber colors of many large evergreen trees. Through fall and winter it will become darker, but it will still carry a hint of that lime glow, until the new growth of spring starts the cycle over again. Plant this tree on a lawn in an open place, where it can be seen in isolated glory, with other plants well behind or low in front, not crowding against it.

Appearance

The Golden Deodar Cedar is a tall conifer evergreen, with a strong, upright central trunk and almost horizontal side branches. Younger trees have a more dramatic weeping habit, which gradually changes into the mature horizontal form, with weeping branch tips. The branches develop into layers, like an irregular wedding cake perhaps, and the golden foliage glows against the dark, almost black bark, creating a picture of grace that is hard to find in any other tree. The needles are in clusters of about 30, studded along the stems after the first year of a shoots’ growth. These needles are between 1 and 1½ inches long. Older trees may produce fat, upright cones 3 or 4 inches tall. Young trees grow as much as 12 inches a year, so you can look forward to the rapid development of your tree.

Planting and Initial Care

Plant the Golden Deodar Cedar in a spot where it is in full sun all day long, all year round. In shade the foliage will be much greener, and the yellow effect will be reduced. This tree is easy to grow in most gardens, but it really thrives in climates with some rainfall all year round, and with moderate temperatures in summer and winter. It grows best in deep, well-drained soil, but this can be sand, loam or clay, and acid or alkaline. In fact, this tree is a good choice for alkaline soils, where it thrives. Young trees should be watered regularly to encourage a large, deep, root system, but once established they have good tolerance of normal summer drought conditions.

This is a tree that does not tolerate salt-spray, so sea-side planting is not recommended, and it does better outside the polluted air of big cities. It has no significant pests or diseases, and no special care is needed. As the tree grows, the upper branches tend to shade out the lower ones, so once you see weaker growth on low branches, it is time to remove them cleanly at the trunk, developing a taller trunk in time. Should you see two central trunks developing, choose the most upright and remove the other by cutting it back to a low bud. A single trunk is more attractive, and safer, as a double trunk can split.

History and Origins of the Golden Himalayan Cedar

The Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) grows in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet and Nepal, in mountainous regions thousands of feet above sea-level. Wild trees live for centuries and are commonly 150 feet tall. Ancient trees may be 250 feet in height. This species is closely related to the famous Cedar of Lebanon but is much more attractive that that tree when young. This is a great advantage in choosing it for your garden, because it will soon be a beautiful specimen.

The variety ‘Aurea’ which we call the Golden Deodar Cedar, was probably first discovered as a seedling, and we find it first mentioned around 1866. It has truly stood the test of time as a beautiful tree of outstanding qualities. Our trees are raised correctly, by attaching stem pieces to the roots of seedling cedars, to be sure you get exactly the golden form, and not a cheaper seedling plant. These beautiful trees are always in high demand, so order now. It’s a choice you won’t regret.