Cedrus atlantica
Atlas cedar, silver cedar, blue cedar: native to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, this majestic conifer develops with age a tiered silhouette of broad horizontal layers, unique among the trees in our parks. A cedar planted today will live through several centuries—it is a tree one never plants entirely for oneself.
Characteristics:
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Bluish evergreen foliage: needles grouped in rosettes, with a highly distinctive silvery blue-green color.
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Majestic form: 30 to 40 meters at maturity, with slow, steady growth.
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Very hardy: it withstands temperatures down to -20 °C and adapts to temperate climates as well as dry summers.
Precautions:
- Anticipate its mature spread: this is not a tree for a small garden. Allow at least 10 meters of clearance, and keep it away from buildings and pipes. In a restricted space, consider training it as a bonsai.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun.
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Soil: deep, light, and above all well drained, even poor or stony. It tolerates alkaline soil and summer drought once established, but absolutely dislikes heavy, waterlogged soil. No fertilization is necessary.
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Method: the seeds require 4 to 6 weeks of cold stratification to break dormancy. Then sow them in a pot in a light, well-drained substrate, about 1 cm deep, in spring or autumn. Keep moist without excess: germination is slow and takes place over several weeks.
Planting advice:
- Transplant into the ground the following autumn, in full sun and well-drained soil. As conifers quickly develop a taproot, use deep pots.
- It is remarkably well suited to bonsai—see our guide creating a bonsai from a seed.
Care advice:
- Water regularly during the first two or three years; afterward, the tree becomes completely self-sufficient. No pruning is necessary.
Beneficial plant pairings:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its tiered branches and evergreen foliage provide shelter and food for many birds throughout the year, especially in winter.
- Its winged seeds feed squirrels and crossbills.
- It is a key species for reforesting dry slopes, where it provides long-term soil stabilization.
Uses:
- An iconic ornamental tree for parks and large gardens, planted as a solitary specimen. Its fragrant, rot-resistant wood, renowned for its resistance to insects, is prized in joinery.
Symbolism:
A sacred tree in many traditions, the cedar evokes wisdom, stability, and spirituality. It appears on the flag of Lebanon and was used to build temples in antiquity.
Harvesting your own seeds:
The cedar’s upright cones disintegrate on the tree when mature, releasing their scales and winged seeds. Harvest a whole cone before it breaks apart and let it dry in a warm place. See storing your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
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