Worth knowing:
The evergreen Lebanon Cedar was already considered the queen of trees – and probably even of all plants – by the ancient Phoenicians, who used the durable and odourant cedar wood for shipbuilding. Sadly, it also was in those times, when the ruthless exploitation started that left in the mountain forest areas of today’s Lebanon only a few really old samples of the Lebanon Cedar. The attractive park tree grows slowly to a final height of 10 to 20 meters. Even as a young plant, it is rather decorative, frost-hardy and develops over the years its unique growth form. Initially the Lebanon Cedar grows cylindrical, and with age it builds out an attractive irregular, umbrella-shaped silhouette. For the country of Lebanon it is as important as it is even displayed in the coat of arms.
Natural Location:
The Lebanon Cedar has its natural habitat of course in Lebanon, but also in many parts of Anatolia, Cyprus and even Algeria. Nowadays, reforestations of 300 km² annual take place in Turkey.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should place the seeds for about 48 hours in a bowl with lukewarm water for priming. After that, plant the seeds about 1 cm deep into moist potting compost or sandy earth, and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature around 20° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. It will take at least four and up to twelve weeks until germination.
Place:
The Lebanon Cedar prefers a warm and full sunny place.
Care:
From May until September you should water the plant every two to three days. During the rest of the year, a constantly slightly moist earth would be sufficient. It is advisable to give fluid fertilizer for conifers during the growth period from May until September.
During the winter:
The tree can be kept in a bright spot with a temperature of 5° to 10° Celsius. Keep the earth only slightly moist during winter.
Picture credits:
- © © Drew Avery - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Todd G. Brown - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
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