Blue Atlas Cedar in NE Ohio

15 years ago

I plan to plant one of these next week and would appreciate some advice on getting it through the first winter. I know these are "iffy" in this zone but I want to try. Here are the particulars:

About 20 miles south of Youngstown, OH.

Full sun.

5 gallon pot.

Probably from Oregon.

About 5' tall.

Planted on a slope.

Everything seems to grow well here.

Sometimes high winds in the winter.

Some wind protection due to being between two mobile homes.

Intend to water using Monty's Joy Juice 2-15-15.

Heavy layer of mulch but not touching the trunk.

My concern is the wind. The nursery man suggested loosely wrapping the entire tree in burlap for wind protection the first year. Your thoughts?

I appreciate any help you can give me as I really want this to grow.

Rolf

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Comments (5)

picea
15 years ago
If you want a true cedar the following are likely hardier;

cedrus deodara Karl Fuchs, which has a nice blue color, and Eisregen

Cedrus Libani Stenacoma. The selecetion Purdue Hardy has been in Central Indiana for over 20 years.

If you have already purchased the plant I would protect it from wind and sun and mulch heavy.

David
katskan41
15 years ago
Rolf,

I'm in southwest Michigan, south of Grand Rapids, and we have a Blue Atlas cedar. It's a zone 6-9 tree and we are in zone 5, so it's quite risky for us. We bought it two years ago at an end of season sale at a very low price.

Last year it was exposed to harsh winter winds. It looked great until about March, then the needles started to brown quite a bit. This spring we moved the tree to a very sheltered location, behind a windbreak of large white spruce trees. So far this year the cedar is doing very well, lots of new growth and even a few cones.

Bottom line is that we know we could lose the tree in a very long and bitter winter, so we protect it as much as possible from wind and mulch the roots heavily. You might get lucky and be able to grow the cedar provided you keep it sheltered from the srong winter winds. if you can't do that, then you might want to look for alternatives.

HTH,

Dave
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After undercutting all around, leave the shovel under the ball and slowly tip the tree towards you and the shovel. Have someone nearby with a hand shears in case you missed a root. If the ball is small enough for you to handle, you can carefully pull it out of the hole with one hand on the shovel and the other on the tree. If the ball is large or if you are worried that it may crumble, don't take any chances - pin the burlap on the ball BEFORE you go around with the undercutting. This way only the very bottom won't be burlaped. If you can't pull it out of the hole, just tip the tree to one side, fill some dirt in the hole on the other side, then tip the tree the other way and fill, repeating until the tree is at ground level.
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rolf_jacobs
Original Author
15 years ago
OK, you guys have me convinced. This sounds like way too much work for landscaping in a mobile home park and the tree goes back to the nursery today.

Rolf
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
it will die in a true z5 ... took mine 3 years....

if there is any chance you can achieve a z6 micro climate... you have a fighting chance.. until the one winter.. when your micro fails ....

and .... stuff brought in from OR in fall ... IMHO .... are really unaccustomed to what your winter will be ....

if you are intent .. on wasting money .. ship it into your zone 5 ... in april .... before it breaks bud .. talk with supplier .... and give it spring, summer and fall ... before a zone 5 winter ...

skip it.. lol

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
carp ...

you know.. conifers is the first place that i learned.. solely .. the latin names ....

and now i have problems because i dont know common names ...

i confused my death march Cupressus glabra 'Blue Ice' with your request for info on Cedrus libani [was atlantica] 'Glauca Pendula'

i got my twisty trunked glauca pendula .. late season.. super bargain from bigboxstore ....

first winter ... the 5 foot spiral tree died down to snow cover ... or about one foot .. thank god for snow that year... or it was a goner .... thereafter .... for 5 years.. it has survived ....

pure sand.. irrigation... in the winter.. in the shade of some arbs ... but full sun in summer ....

i now change SKIP IT.. to give it a try ... if it is cheap ... its really neat.. and worth a roll of the dice for 10 or 20 bucks .... try for local or northern grown stock ....

gee tree farm near Jackson MI ... or girards nursery near saybrook OH .... both do mail order ...

or OR in VERY EARLY SPRING ..... though you may need to protect it until z5 weather catches up to z8 OR ....

ken

Blue Atlas Cedar in NE Ohio

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picea

katskan41

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rolf_jacobs
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Blue Atlas Cedar in NE Ohio

Comments (5)

picea

katskan41

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rolf_jacobsOriginal Author

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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rolf_jacobs
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