Cedrus Atlantica - Atlas Cedar

[mashby]

Hi all
I have just acquired a small'ish Cedrus Atlantica (I will post a photo a bit later), that has started to be trained as a bonsai.
I have seen very few images of this type of tree as bonsai (mainly on the Bonsai4me website), and even then the trees are Cedrus Atlantica "Glauca" - the Blue Atlas Cedar, but I cannot find any literature on how to care for this type of tree as bonsai.
Is anyone able to shed some light?
Kind regards
Michael

[craigw60]

What do you want to know Michael ?, I am supposed to be outside working but will try to help you later in the day
Craigw

[bodhidharma]

It can be treated the same as most Bonsai. It likes water and feeding every 2-3 weeks. Full sun helps to keep needle size down. It takes a very long time to set when wired and i have found that bruising the cambium lightly helps it to set quicker. repot it in early spring has been my experience but someone else might have different ideas. Thet do not like to much root disturbance and sulk for a while after it is done. here is one to look at while yours is growing on.

[MattA]

Hey Michael,

I have a Cedrus deodar I have been growing for a while now, it was very slow in a pot but once it went in the ground & got settled the growth & thickening have been amazing!

Ask as many questions as you want to know, I have been following Craigs advice regarding mine & from the results he certyainly knows what he is talking about. Bodhi's comments re the setting of branches is also spot on, they take ages & are quickest set by injuring.

Matt

[craigw60]

My cedars are both second generation trees they are around the 30 year mark at a guess and I still have to keep wire on them all the time. The main branches have set but the sub branches it seems will never set. Last weekend I worked on one pulling the needles from under the branches and removing the wires, which had been on for around 18 months, all the sub branches floated back up and now the whole tree need to be re done, one positive is that because they are slow growing trees you can leave the wire on for a long time but don't ever allow it to cut in or the branches will thicken terribly.
Craigw

[craigw60]

heres one of my trees

[Mojo Moyogi]

Craig, your Blue Cedar is looking lovely.

Mashby, I have found that Atlas Cedar likes free draining, moisture retentive soil. I use 25cm collanders as containers, loaded with a seived 50/50 mix of premium potting mix and Maidenwell Diatomite and water heavily during periods of active growth. Mist foliage on a regular basis. Feeding generally consists of a good layer of Dynamic Lifter and fortnightly applications of Charlie Carp or Powerfeed. Also, a yearly application of trace elements. In my environment, Atlas Cedar is relatively pest free, red spider mites can have an impact, generally they will attack Junipers first, so I get a warning before they mess with my Cedars. Occasionally, I will get a few Scale.

Young trees benefit from being grown in the ground for a few years to add trunk weight and build primary branches, even if the tree is being grown for shohin. Do not let branches become too heavy in comparison to the trunk. Container growing is best used for secondary and tertiary braching and development of a compact root pad.

Cheers,
Mojo

[bodhidharma]

Hello Craig, thanks for posting. In comparing our two trees they look different foliage wise and bark wise. Mine is around the 30 plus years also. Now i am starting to doubt its lineage. It was given to me by a lady who had grown it as a pot specimen about 10 years ago and she told me it was "Lebanon" but that i doubt. My experience of id'ing Cedars is limited and if you could id it for me and confirm its true self that would be great.

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Bodi, it could be Cedrus libani, can you post a close up of the foliage.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Grant Bowie]

It can be treated the same as most Bonsai. It likes water and feeding every 2-3 weeks. Full sun helps to keep needle size down. It takes a very long time to set when wired and i have found that bruising the cambium lightly helps it to set quicker. repot it in early spring has been my experience but someone else might have different ideas. Thet do not like to much root disturbance and sulk for a while after it is done. here is one to look at while yours is growing on.

I grew thousands of Cedrus atlanica from seed and they were mostly bluish but occasionally you would get a very green one. That could be what you have.

The real lebanon cedar is very dark green, needles are shorter and finer than Atlantica.

grant

[mashby]

Hi everyone
Thanks for your input.

I will read all your advice again, but in the meantime, I have posted several photos, taken yesterday (Friday 28 January 2011at 5.15pm when it was still around the 30 degree mark).

Bodhisharma, you mentioned full sunhelps keep the needle size down - is 38 degrees and over TOOO much full sun? I am preparing a Greenhouse at the moment for some of my bonsai to be put in during February (our hottest month) but we have had, and are forecast to continue to have, temps over 37 for a few weeks now and it will only get hotter during February. I will wait and see where the cyclone hits land early Sunday morning and what damage it does, if any, to my place before putting any shade cloth over the green-house framework. Can you believe a cyclone warning, damaging winds and rain and forecast 40 degrees!

Craig, thanks for you advice. I guess in answer to your initial reply "anything and everything to make sure I don't kill the tree and how best to train it into a nice (I'm aimly low to start with) specimen tree.

After seeing the photos, especially the closeups of the branches, any additional information or guidance will be very much appreciated.

I suppose one of the first things to do would be to address any "issues" with the tree as it currently is, and to then put it into the ground and let it grow out some. Do you agree?

Kind regards
Michael

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[bodhidharma]

Mashby, your tree needs A lot of t.l.c. Slip pot it up into a large container with a very good soil mix and give it some food. It could probably do with a short seasol bath after its repot. DO NOT disturb the roots when repotting just gently tease out the bottom. Until it is healthy keep it in dappled shade.

[mashby]

Thanks Bodhdharma. I didn't think it was looking too good or healthy.

[craigw60]

Hi Michael, cedars are cool climate trees I think your tree should be protected from the hottest sun permanently. It looks very hungry so a large feed of dynamic lifter and some liquid feeds would do it the world of good, I think you have a number of years growing ahead before you even think of styling it
Craigw