A native of the Atlas Mountains that run from Southwestern Morocco to eastern Tunisia, the Atlas cedar grows to a height of 40 to 60 feet. It has bluish-green to evergreen ¾ to 1-inch needles and has pyramid-like foliage spreading around 30 to 40 feet. With a distinctive smell, the Atlas cedar is light and has a straight, fine grain. To flourish, it needs full sunlight or fractional cover. When cultivated deeply in soil, it withstands aridity, high temperature and wind. Common blights to its optimal development are borers, root rot, the sapsucker woodpecker and weevil beetles.
This slow-growing Cyprus cedar is now at peril because its area of origin -- the mountains of Cyprus -- have been losing forest due to urban development. Reaching over 40 feet, the Cyprus cedar has extremely thin, bluish-green to evergreen needles. It propagates in full sun. Its oil and resin are effective against moths and its smooth grain is valued for building.
Native to the Himalayas, the deodar cedar has fine-textured, rot-immune hardy wood used in temple construction in India and Pakistan. The base grows to a wide pyramid, and it reaches full heights of 70 to 250 feet. Its resin and oil have valuable Ayurvedic properties. Its 1.5 to 2-inch needles are the longest among cedars. It grows well in dry and fertile soil but also shows resilience in alkaline and infertile soil.
Valued for its durable red wood, the wide-branched cedar of Lebanon grows in the Mediterranean mountains of Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey. It reaches heights of 40 to 50 feet with a trunk growing around 8.2 feet in diameter. Its needles are long with a bright or dark blue-green to green color. It cannot withstand moisture, thrives in full sun and is propagated in dry, fertile soil.