Tree 11

Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’

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Quick Facts

Species: Cedrus

Genus: atlantica ‘Glauca’

Common Names: Blue Atlas Cedar

Mature Size: 30-40 metres
Height: 16.8 metres
Width: 15 metres
Diameter at breast Height (DBH@1.4m): 116cm

Age of Tree: Maturing, believed to be planted in 1876

Place of Origin: North Africa, in Morocco Atlas Mountains 1,500-200m above sea level & Algeria

Plant Habit: Upright with ascending stems when young, becoming a broad spreading tree as it matures; often wider than it is high at maturity.

Growth Habit: Moderate throughout is lifespan.

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Story

Believed to have been planted by Sir Henry Parkes, who was a friend of the church minister at the time. Sir Henry Parkes is known as the ‘Father of Federation’ for his role in uniting Australia’s six colonies into a single nation in 1901. This particular tree is one of a line of trees on the north side of the Historic Uniting Church.

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Horticultural Information

Preferred Conditions: Soil Moisture Medium & well drained.

Soil Type: Wade range of soil types, though prefers acidic soil types.

Tolerances: Prone to Armillaria in particular in areas where drainage is poor.

Useful Life Expectancy (ULE): Medium, these trees are show typical growth rate for this type of tree in this confined position, with the compacted soil they are growing in.

Significance: These trees have a strong relationship with the church and the grounds that they are growing in. There was another tree of this species growing in the southeast corner of the property that failed some years ago.

Flowering Characteristics: Monecious, male cones erect 2-3cm long; female cones erect on stems 8cm long x 5cm wide, taking 2-3 years to mature.

Features: Its leaves are needles 1.5-2.5cm long are held on lengthening stalks or pegs as they age. There are various levels of ‘Blue colouration’ in varieties of this tree. The bark is smooth in young trees, developing into small plates and into a deeply fissured from with age.

Points of Interest: The branches of this tree are ascending in orientation; as the tree matures the orientation sees branches sweeping back towrds the ground; creating a domed tree, wider than it is tall.

Historical Interest: Often planted as a feature tree in parks or large estates in UK and even in Victorian gardens in this state.

Additional Notes

The wood of this tree is resistant to fungal decay. It has high concentrations of resin making it strongly rot resistant. Its timber is strong and straight grained, making it easy to works with and prized for its sweet perfume that is retains for the life of any object made of this timber.

Possums can be a serious pest for this type of tree, one it is stressed, they can cease to be able to defend against their voracious appetites. I have seen a number of this type of tree stressed; to appoint they enter a spiral of decline from which they cannot be revived. Isolation from the predation of possums the only recourse, in a wide spreading tree.

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