Well, if someone doesn't say it, Resin will, so I'll get it over with. Its deodara.

Although I haven't risked Cedrus yet, in my experience with other zone pushing it has been winter sun and cold that kills more than just the cold. If you can keep it out of the winter sun I'm sure it will help although 'Karl Fuchs' should handle zone 6. It's when you get a zone 5 winter than may spell trouble.

tj

Good one TJ ;-)

Cedrus deodara 'Karl Fuchs' is one of the selected cold-tolerant cultivars, so it has a good chance of being OK. Ultimately a large to very large tree, so give it plenty of space.

Resin

Someone reported just recently that at Gee's in central lower Michigan, the cold hardy cedars--'Karl Fuchs', 'Eisregan', and 'Polar Winter' showed no effects at all from the harsh winter this year. I say, "Wow!" but I have talked to Gee's about the hardiness of these cedars, and have no reason to doubt their veracity. From what I hear, you should not worry.

--Spruce

A friend of mine was at a collector's garden in Zanesville Ohio. Zanesville got down close to -20F this past winter and the collection has 3 Karl Fuchs. The are out of the wind but get some sun and I was told they had no burn this winter. I also planted a 6' BB in late summer at a neighbors that gets full winter sun and it also looks good.

David

Spruce,

It's 'Eisregen' instead of 'Eisregan'
It means "icerain"

Thank you. I read about the C. deodora at Gee's somewhere. It was my catalyst for the puchase of 'Karl Fuchs'. It's good to have confirmation from others, in case I misinterpreted the information, or my memory was faulty.
I'm very happy to hear my little cedar should be ok.
Are there any weeping forms of cedrus that would be hardy here? I have the space...

its should be ok in z5 ... but regardless what gee's says.. i am not buying one until i see it growing.. IN PERSON ... in multiple MI z5 gardens....

so.. it should be fine in z6 ...

it all depends on your micro climate ...

but also .. and this is most important.. IT DEPENDS ON HOW WELL YOU PLANT IT.. AND take care of it for the first 2 years ...

what a fully established plant can accomplish.. as compared to a recent transplant.. can be planets apart ...

IF IT WERE ME... i would burlap it for the first year or two .... just to maybe give it a z7 winter ... and protect it from winter wind and sun ...

if you have questions about proper planting.. proper aftercare.. or winter protection... please ask

ken

Just a little more on cedar tree hardiness. For many years I had been reluctant to plant any cedar trees, thinking they were not hardy. About 25 years ago I noticed a grove of cedar trees half dead just west of Middleburg, VA. I thought, "ah, winter kill." Well, I really did not have any hard evidence for what damaged those trees. I had seen some others damaged or dying also.

But now I am learning that some varieties are hardier than others, and some very hardy. When I talked to Gee's, I asked about the 'Kashmir' and the 'Shalamar' both of which are supposed to be significantly more hardy than most Deodars. I was told that although those are supposed to be hardy, they could not be grown at Gee's location. That makes sense to me--they are rated as Z6, OK for me in northwestern, VA. Now that tells me that the 'Polar Winter', 'Eisregen', and 'Karl Fuchs' must realy be "super hardy" for a Deodar to survive in central lower Michigan (away from the lakes). I would give them a try anywhere in Z5 and see what happens. OK, if they don't make it, you lose $25 or whatever. Gee's told me that the Karl Fuchs, in particular, was developed from a strain found in Afganistan.

Other evidence: I don't know what varieties of cedar we have growing here in Winchester, but there are 4 trees that I pass regularly in my comings and goings. This year we had an especially harsh winter in terms of very strong winds at times when we had very low temperatures--0 to 5 degrees f. (The northern part of the Shenandoah Valley is in late fall, winter, and spring, a virtual wind tunnel.) I see no winter burn or browning on any of these trees. At least two of them are in windy spots, and one is very large and tall--the top is above everything else and exposed to the harshest winds. No trace of any browning, etc. I admit I don't know what these trees are, specifically. At least one I am fairly sure is a Deodar, but one or two others may be regular Cedrus libani. When I get a chance, I will try to do some ID on these. But I have begun to completely re-think my old ideas about the hardiness, or lack thereof, of cedar trees.

--Spruce

the winter protection i mentioned has to do with the stresses of transplant.. more than zone appropriateness ...

if you have a treasure... then go the extra mile and add a little winter protection ... until it gets over the transplant stresses ...

ken

Thank you again, and wise advice to protect it for the first few winters regardless of zone/hardiness.
Ken and others, is there anything 'different' I should know in planting this tree than I would do in planting any other specimen? If so, I welcome the opportunity to learn. When I plant a tree, I generally try to choose conditions that I believe best suit the particular specimen. I dig the hole the same depth or a little shallower than the rootball. Backfill with my reasonably good native soil, add compost on top, and then soak in. I mulch over, taking care not to overdo or touch the trunk, using pine bark chips(I abhor shredded pallet mulch). I water whenever the tree needs it, and I do check daily and carefully.
I'm pretty successful, seldom lose anything, and don't want to start now, lol.
So, burlap, huh? Adds character, right?
I do well with asian maples and conifers in general. I also have a Davidia that has been in the ground here for over 5 years. Still kicking!

sounds like you are on track.. experience and all ...

i would skip the compost ... but if it has worked for you.. go for it ...

PROPER watering involves.. as you noted.. watering WHEN IT NEEDS IT.. rather than on a calender ... conifers tend to prefer to nearly dry in between waterings ... just like trees ...

reducing winter wind ... from the prevailing direction.. and winter sun.. from the south .. surely wouldnt hurt ...

i had a zone 4 winter in my z5 this year .... a little burlap sure would have helped some of my plants ....

ken

I dont think you will have a problem in zone 6 with any of the hardiest Cedrus deodara including Karl Fuchs but also Eisregen and Poral Winter. Cedrus libanii var. stenacoma should also be hardy. I can attest to all surviving without any damage at -15F/-26C. From what I've read and heard they are good down to -25F/-32C.

I'll post a picture tomorrow. Thank for all of your help and the information. The compost is a habit I guess, feed the worms and all.
No hardy weeping forms, huh. Well, glad there are some hardy cedars, just a bit greedy I guess.

Peoria, IL I am chiming rather late here to this forum but I planted a hardy cedar of lebanon last April in full sun. It went the summer growing some 20" which is overly astounding growth, far from typical. This was achieved with no fertilizer and sporadic watering during prolonged periods of no rain. The first week after we got down to +20F however in December all the new leaves started browning out. This is after me having treated the whole plant with antidesication products and really not even getting that cold. It had been more of typical zone 7 January in effect and only for 1 week.

By the end of December all the leaves were pretty much rusty brown. We got down to -9F for our worst winter temp in February and the plant survived as a 5 footer, however all of the leaves are a loss. I had small branch loss on the sides of the plant but the leader and vigorous branches were unaffected. I would only grow these plants in northern zones where they have some sun protection for thier establishment, especially when there is snow on the ground.

Ground snow is a reflection nightmare for these guys. I myself though am thinking of removing it as I fear to see what temps of -15F or worse can do to this sucker with years of my effort getting it there. It appears to be growing too quickly for me to have long term control with winter protection as well. Its an unfortunate problem for my northern situation. I don't want to be draging out a ladder 5 years from now to try and burlap an extra 8-10' of tree for winter. In zone 5a-5b I would consider all cedrus to be microclimate candidates not meant for every location.