Evening star., 1951-01-28
Lebanon Cedurs
Can Be Grown
In District Area
By Henry Mitchell

Because the cedar of Lebanon
and its close relatives are not
hardy in the cold regions of Amer
lea, they have been somewhat
ignored in the warmer parts.
Books on ornamental trees, pub
lished in New England, and aimed
at New England gardeners. do not
recommend the cedar but there is
no reason for not having cedars
in the District and some fine
cedars grow here-abundant proof
of its adaptability for District
gardens.
This is q good time Of year, by
the way. to place orders for the
cedar. Plants can be set out to-
ward the end Of March here. Like
any tree, the cedar responds to
liberal treatment in planting. A
very large hole, deep and filled
with good soil (no manure, no
chemical fertilizers, but good leaf
mould and good drainage) should
be prepared as far in advance as
possible. If only limited funds
are available to buy a tree, spend
most of it on the ground prepa-
ration. 1t Is better to get small
tree (Which is of course cheaper)
and put it in a carefully dug place
than to get a big tree and put 1t
in any which way.
Anybody having seeds of the
cedar should plant them in March,
preferably in a cold frame. Seed
ling trees never do well coddled
from cold, but a frame is useful
for keeping cats, dogs and chill
dren off the young plants. One
can hardly be too solicitous Of
a young tree in the matter Of
watering during the first two
summers, particularly in this
climate.
Some District Specimens.
In Lafayette Park is a fine
Himalayan cedar, and in the
Bishops garden of the Washing
ton Cathedral grow two handsome
Lebanon cedars. Southwest of
Capitol, near the Botanic Garden,
there are some Lebanon cedars
also, as well as in private gardens
in the city.
The oldest trees surviving on
the mountains of Lebanon are
estimated (based on counts of
annular rings) to be $500
years old.
Nobody should be surprized If
a cedar in a small garden
promptly dwarfs the house and
cuts off all light and air. The
cedar is big tree and should
not be considered unless a piece
of land so feet square can be
given it. For a country house or
a fairly large garden no confer
can approach it in magniflcence.
The Lebanon cedar was intro
duced first in Europe. Through
out England gardens boast splen-
did specimens, some of them
planted in the 17th century. The
Duke of Richmond had 1000
cedars planted at Goodwood in
1761 and those surviving are the
handsomest group in England.
The cedar of Lebanon in the
Jardin des Plantes dates from
1885. In 1735 an American. John
Bartram of Philadelphia, heard
from a famous English gardener
in a letter that gave instructions
for planting seeds of the cedar.
Whether Bartrams seeds grew,
nobody knows. There is no evil
dence that the cedar grew in
America at that date.
1t is supposed that at one time
the cedar grew from the Atlantic
Ocean we'll into Central Asia.
Four cedars are found now, in
North Africa, in Lebanon, in
Cyprus, and in the Himalayas.
Though graced with specific
names (atlantica, libani, brevifolia
and deodara. respectively they
are quite similar, and are pre-
sumably only environmental forms
of one stock.
Bear Cones at 40.
All are available except the one
from Cyprus. The Himalayan
sort is the favorite of Southern
gardeners, or is at least most
often planted. 1t has branches
that droop at the ends a little
more than the Lebanon sort. All
cedarS are long time proposition.
They bear cones at about 40 years
of age, and may be trifle gawky
until then.
Readers of the Old Testament
will recall that Solomon built the
framework of his temple of cedar.
In ancient times no wood was in
greater demand. 1t has great
strength. Moreover, it is fragrant.
Many another genus of trees with
fragrant wood often is called by
the name of cedar. Native Vir-
ginia juniper or red cedar" is a
case in point. Likewise the arbor-
vitaes indulge themselves in the
name of white cedar" and the
libocedruses 60 under the name of
incense cedar"
A curious thing is the variation
of timber grown on different soils
and in different climates. The
cedar. so sought after for its tim
ber in the Holy Land. produces
almost worthless lumber in Eng
land.
Fortunately. gardeners are not
much concerned with the timber
aspects of trees in their gardens.
The cedar is beautiful even when
it's lumber is worthless.