I guess I will chime in because no one seems to want to.

It is good to grow in Zone 5. One of the more hardy cultivars of Cedrus libani.

I have been growing mine on the north east corner of the house for 5 years now. It has been exposed many time to the brutal NE winds we get in the Winter time. It is planted to close to the house ,but I like the effect it give with the rest of the plantings. I plan to relocate it this Fall.

Since yours is a B&B conifer with chopped off roots make sure to watch your watering and mulch to prevent moisture loss. Remove burlap, twine, and basket if there. Crown conifer 2 inches above ground.

I have enclosed 2 photos because of the exceptional steel blue color this one has.

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Dave

I posted this photo because of the exceptional blue color it has.

Dave, good information for the guy but your tree (under previous discrepancy among you and others here), is either Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula' (I think???) or Cedrus libani 'Glauca Pendula'. Not a 'Stenocoma' in either case.

and... Cedrus libani var. stenocoma - is correct. Actually, my newest book lists it as: Cedrus libani subsp. stenocoma (M.P. Frankis 2001) among others: (O. Schwarz) P.H. Davis, & Hohe Libanon-Zeder.

Later,

Dax

It was never a pendula cultivar.

I had this discussion with Resin and according to him the correct name was Cedrus libani var. 'Stenocoma.'

I have the other two; Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula' and Cedrus libani 'Pendula.' They are entirely different in growth habit then the var. 'Stenocoma.'

As confusing as thing are in the nursery field anything goes and I am at the point where I just shake my head. I'll bet there is 5-6 different cultivar names for this conifer. Just pick and choose and any one of them is correct.

Dax thanks for you input I know you mean well and your comments are well taken.

Will the real 'Stenocoma' please stand up.

Dave

Cedrus libani var. stenocoma is a botanical variety (NOT a cultivar), with a discrete distribution in southwest Turkey (type locality, Ãal Dað, c.2000m, near Fethiye, 36°52'N 29°07'E.

Here's the real thing, on the slopes of Ak Dað, near Gömbe, southwest Turkey, c.1800-2000m altitude, 36°29'N 29°34'E. The glaucous blue foliage was characteristic of all the ones I saw (whether Dave's tree is one or not I'd not like to say without a genetic test, though!).

Resin

Here is a link that might be useful: More pics

Seems that gardenweb's fonts don't show Turkish properly . . . that should be Ãal Dag and Ak Dag respectively, with a thingy over the g (and not ð).

One reason for the confussion is that Stenacoma can be either a seed grown tree or grafted like a cultivar. David

And of course, with seed from trees in cultivation, there is nothing to stop it being hybrids with other cedars. Best to go to Turkey and collect your own seed!

Resin

Lovely discussion, but a bit off topic. I'm getting the sucker into the ground today, so any advice is rather moot at this point. It'll just have to deal with some winter winds. I'll post pics in this thread as soon as I can.

As to the true ID of my C.libani var. stenocoma, I guess I'll just have to trust Iseli Nursery. I'll post pics later this week once it's in the ground and you all can tell me if mine matches the textbook description!

On a related issue . . . I recently planted a B&B 10 foot tall dawn redwood. I was unable to remove the bottom half of the metal basket because the root mass was so thick; the tree had spent a year or two living in ground at the nursery. Will this harm the tree down the road or will it rust away and be of no concern?

Thanks all, and I'll get pics up soon.

It takes oxygen to rust away any metal. Since your basket is buried it is void of the key ingredient to decompose it.

If I were you I would dig that redwood back up and go after that basket and correct the root defects at the same time.

If this is not to your liking I would return the redwood and get a refund. That would be my first choice.

Large conifer and tree specimens that are potted always have serious root problems. When buying large potted conifers have the nursery remove it from the pot and see what you are getting. If they won't, don't buy it. Most of the time they are up potted to a larger container with wire basket and burlap intact. Again if this is the case don't buy it.

Roots entwined in metal basket = trouble. Just take my word for it.

Dave

Dave,

Metal underground does indeed rust. I am constantly digging up old machine parts on the property that have completely rusted through - the property used to be a farm. If there were no oxygen in the soil, plants would barely survive; plant roots require oxygen.

There were no root defects as far as I could tell. The burlap had long since degraded. It appeared that all the roots were growing straight out through the basket itself and none were coiling. The tree was not disguised when I bought it. I knew I was getting a B&B tree that had a wire cage around the root ball. I also knew that there would be considerable root growth outside of the cage/root ball because of the amount of time the tree had spent "living" in the nursery.

So long as there aren't any root problems, things should be ok, yes?

btw, yours does have an outstanding blue color. Mine only has a hint of it, perhaps halfway between yours and solid green. I'll get pics up in a bit.

The basket will severe the roots.

Dax

Hey treeguy no problem. It's your ball game. I was just trying to give you sound advice. You got to do what you want to do.

" So long as there aren't any root problems, things should be ok, yes?"

Sound thinking if you don't have any other issues, but you do.

If the root system is of poor quality, restricted, undersized, or damaged the chances of the plant surviving and growing is limited. Yours is restricted by the galvanized wire basket that will take years to go away because of low soil oxygen levels.
 Wire baskets last 30 plus years and may or may not cause root problems over time. I am betting that this basket left intact will eventually cause the tree problems. I have replaced two conifers that were planted, well taken care of, performed poorly, and died in 3-4 years When dug up guess what was there. Yep, a wire basket. They were cleverly concealed deep into the root ball and I missed them in planting. That was years ago. Wire baskets have their place in the nursery trade. The one place they should never be is in the ground.

Dave

That's a big tree bud I understand your minor dilema.

Find some way to get that cage off and re-plant that big honker of a tree.

It's new age advice in general to not leave anything on the rootball (infact many folks say to remove all media from any rootball, that is to say, that the media doesn't match your native soil.

I don't do that with potted conifers grown in containers, but I might heavily consider doing so to any ball and burlapped plant that was dug from alien soils unlike my own soil consistency.

Dave gave some real good advice about visiting nurseries as well. I forget to do that sometimes. Thanks for the advice champion.

See ya all,

Dax

My question is where did you guys purchase the Stenocomas? They seem to be very hard to find.

Iseli says one guy. (local nursery needs to order from them) -

Forestfarm online I would assume.

And seeds are readily available.

Check out the website for Stanley and Sons sometime. They have them for sale right now in one-gallons.

Dax

Hmmm Stanley and Sons seems to be a wholesaler and I can't seem to find their catalog. Although they would seem to have some neat stuff.

Email them for wholesale purchases. They ship 10 one-gallon plants per order.

I do not know the requirements to purchase from them, but I assume money talks. They also ship 4" pots, 2-5 gallon, and single shipments of trees 7-10 gallon can be ordered as well.

Dax

If you are not a nursery, you need to be a member of the Conifer society to purchase plants from Stanley. If you're not a CS member, you won't be able to purchase from Stanley.
Mike

One of the many benefits of being an ACS member :)

tj

Yup! I could hypothetically do my entire landscape of six acres on Stanley plants alone.

Dax

Yup! With those 4" pots & 1 gal. offerings you could also spend a life time watching them grow.

Great selection to choose from and a great guy to deal with. He will always personally answer your email questions concerning any conifer he sells. A lot of growers won't do this. I never buy from those people. Larry gets a lot of my business.

Dave

Yup old fellar!

The difference being 30 and 60 in this particular case -

Dax

It was quite the chore to get the bottom half of that basket out. That tree better be grateful . . . !
Dawn Redwood "post-operation" with my 5'9" father for scale:

As far as where to find/purchase a stenocoma of your own, I found mine at a local nursery that orders some of their trees/shrubs/etc. from Iseli Nursery (wholesaler).

Here's pics of the stenocoma cedar of lebanon. For scale, I'm 6' tall:

Thanks again all for the advice!

Excellent decision!

Nice Cedar.

Dax

Great! Lucky guy.

BTW; I didn't want to get in on the whole wire basket controversy, and I would have done just as you have with the removal of it, but I have read some very conclusive papers on their long-term effects. Essentially what has been shown to occur is that the roots eventually surround the wire (because it sure can last well over 25 years), and it just remains within the wood of the root, much like an old wire fence in a trunk with no negative side effects.

Let me know if anyone is interested in the papers.

Nate

Hi Nate,

I was extatic to find this guy at the local nursery. I've wanted a nice cedar of lebanon as a centerpiece tree for my front yard for a couple years but was always worried a freak winter would nix it. Now I don't have to worry so much!

I would love to read the papers you know of; if you could post a link to them, I'd appreciate it!

The cedrus libani is very cool - you concluded that the winter winds won't be a problem?

Your Dawn Redwood is drop dead gorgeous. I'm glad you bit the bullet and removed the basket. I planted two Dawn Redwoods this spring. Unfortunately, I planted them in an area where they are exposed to near constant hot winds out of the south in the summer. They are alive but they aren't happy. I'm looking forward to fall when the winds shift and they will have more protection.

Good luck with your Cedrus libani var. stenocoma. You are fortunate to have nurseries where you can get such wonderful trees. I guess I need to send my dues to the ACS if it will help me gain access to the famous Stanley.

Pam

Pam, your entire world will change. That basket, unless it had holes a foot apart, I'd never leave it on. That might be an overexaggeration but I can't see it having anything except negative impacts.

If the papers have an ISBN # or else, I'd like to read them.

Thanks Nate - Later,

Dax

Hi Pam,

I'm sorry to hear about your dawn redwoods. Perhaps they'll look better next year once they get a chance to dig their roots in.

I mentioned the winter winds shouldn't be as much of a problem because the stenocoma variety of cedar of lebanon is more cold hardy than the straight species. I'm still expecting some wind burn on the west/south side of my tree because it is planted in the middle of my front yard, nice and wide open. However, it should be able to handle it a little better due to the increased cold hardiness. Since they appear to be native to mountain slopes in Turkey, I'm assuming the species has evolved with relatively high wind exposure over its native range . . . ? Resin can fill us in on that one!

"Since they appear to be native to mountain slopes in Turkey, I'm assuming the species has evolved with relatively high wind exposure over its native range . . . ?"

Yep, they do often grow in exposed situations.

Resin

The check for ACS membership went out in today's mail. To anyone reading this thread, ACS membership is a steal - $30 for an individual (US and Canada), $40 International. (link below)

treeguy - I'm glad you found your Cedrus libani - there's nothing quite like hunting and finally striking gold. Sounds like he (she?) is well suited to the site and will give you great pleasure.

Dax, you say "your entire world will change." I hope so, but I admit to concerns that I may not be able to grow a diverse selection of conifers here on the Chesapeake. I thought most conifers prefer cool weather and seasonal changes. Except for an occasional hurricane or tropical storm, this area is very mild and temperate, and not subject to the extreme heat in places like Richmond and Atlanta or the extreme cold in places like upstate NY and Michigan.

So far, the main problem is near constant wind out of the south in the summer. For people, this is wonderful - it keeps us cool. For newly planted trees, 20-25 mph winds are not wonderful. I need to find ways to protect them until they settle in.

Any southern conifer fans lurking? Feel free to jump in, share your thoughts, experiences, success stories -- and why my concerns are unfounded! :-)

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: ACS Membership App.

Treeguy, that is a very nice Stenocoma. You will have to let us know how it does. I have two deodaras now so I will see what the winter will do to them...lol

livingfossil, As per the nursery's advice, I've given it an application of bone meal to help stimulate root growth. I've got a soaker type hose around the root zone and saturate the soil about every other day. Hopefully it will have as little transplant shock as possible. I'm interested to see how well it establishes itself being such a large specimen.

If anyone in WNY is interested, Northridge Nursery may still have one more left. Mine was one of two they had in stock.

How are these trees doing these days?

HI Hairmetal - my C. libani var. stenocoma initially did pretty well. It lost quite a few needles the first couple winters but recovered each spring and has lost almost none from winter damage since. The big upset was a huge buck rub that happened a couple years ago now. The buck rubbed the bark off roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the circumference of the trunk on the west side of the tree. I posted about it on the forum here (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/conif/msg0322300425743.html) with pics from this past March. Before the buck rub the tree was growing at a rate of 10 or more inches a year. Now I'm lucky if it grows 6 inches or more. I thought a long time about removing and replacing the tree but decided to let it keep trucking along. I have some cold hardy deodar cedar cultivars I planted this summer and a seedling C. libani to satisfy my love of cedars!

My dawn redwood has been doing great. With the exception of last summer, it established itself and never looked back. Last summer we had drought conditions here and the tree completely defoliated by August. It came back this spring OK with most of the smaller inner branches dead but has done well through the summer. It has grown anywhere from 1-3 feet per year since planting.

I will try to take and post pictures of the dawn redwood reasonably soon - life gets busy!