Habitat

• native to Atlas Mountains of northwestern Africa
• zone 6, protected parts of 5

Habit and Form

• evergreen needle conifer
• medium-sized tree, 40' to 60' tall
• in optimum conditions can reach up to 100' tall and 40' wide
• pyramidal when young, flat-topped and spreading when mature
• has stiff, horizontal main branching; branching somewhat sparse, especially when young
• very interesting and picturesque habit as a mature tree

Summer Foliage

• needles 0.5" to 1" long, slightly curved
• color varies from green to silvery-blue
• needles arranged spirally on long shoots and in rosettes on short spur growth
• new shoots are downy

Autumn Foliage

• evergreen

Flowers

• monoecious male and female cones on same tree
• male cones 2" to 3" long, numerous and primarily on lower part of the tree
• male flowers shed pollen in fall
• female flowers are upright and purplish
• female flowers mostly in the upper parts of a plant

Fruit

• cones borne upright along branches
• 3" long, rather fat, barrel-shaped
• cones take two-years to mature

Bark

• gray and smooth for 20 - 30 years
• eventually developing a plate-like pattern

Culture

• prefers moist, deep soils, but tolerant of dry, sandy soils
• full sun is best
• tolerant of pollution, urban conditions
• difficult to transplant; best as container grown
• needs protection from sweeping winds
• will get considerable needle burn and injury during cold winters and when sited poorly in windy locations. Severely winterburned trees generally recover well if established

Landscape Use

• specimen
• lawn tree
• for urban parks

Liabilities

• lack of dependable cold hardiness in colder parts of zone 5 and colder
• somewhat rare and expensive to buy
• difficult to transplant
• needs adequate space for proper development

ID Features

• unique branching habit and form
• spirally-arranged or rosetted needles on spurs
• persistent barrel-like cones held upright in upper part of tree

Propagation

• by seed
• cultivars are grafted

Cultivars/Varieties

Collectively, the cultivars of this species are probably grown more commonly than the straight species.

'Glauca' - Known as the Blue Atlas Cedar. Most commonly used and more available than the species. Has blue-green needle color. Perhaps more accurately a variety (similar to the Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens var. glauca)). Seedlings grown from blue-needled plants will exhibit a range of needle colors from blue to green.

'Argentea' - A selection with very silvery-blue needle color, almost appearing white.

'Aurea' and 'Aurea Robusta' - Forms with yellowish needles, rarely available and supposedly not strong landscape plants.

'Glauca Pendula' - A weeping form with bluish needles. Must be pruned and staked when young to develop a good form and habit. Cascading branches. Typically to 15' tall, but individual specimens are unique. Very popular and used frequently in modern landscapes, but can appear awkward if employed improperly.

'Fastigiata' - An upright form with blue-green needles. 'Glauca Fastigiata' is a narrow, columnar selection with gray-blue needles and a mature of width of only 10'.