Cedrus Deodara

Plant of the month: December

Cedrus Deodara

Cedrus deodara a member of the Pinaceae and can be found by the fountain.

This tree and its relatives form majestic, specimen trees in the landscape; they are long lived and come from the Western Himalayas.

This evergreen conifer has large needle-like leaves arranged spirally on young shoots, and in whorls on short spur-like side – shoots.  Female cones containing the seeds ripen slowly over two years, and then break up whilst still on the tree releasing the seeds.

They are fully hardy and will grow on any soil, even chalk as long as they are in sun and the soil is not too wet.  They can reach 130ft in height. C. deodara tends to have limbs that droop slightly, it eventually will form a broad crowned tree, but it needs plenty of room to reach its full potential.

The two trees growing by the Fountain have grown from seeds given to the Gardens in the 1840’s by James Watt the younger.  He was resident at Aston Hall at and was the son of James Watt the engineer who developed steam power that drove the industrial revolution.