Calocedrus decurrens
Incense-cedar
Mature Size, Growth, Longevity
Average mature size of 30-50' and 8-10' wide in landscape settings, can get to 125-150' tall in the wild. Stiff or narrowly columnar in youth, very regular in outline, with an oval-oblong head in old age.
Native Range
U.S. Native — Western United States from Oregon to Nevada and lower California. Introduced 1853.
Flower and Fruit Details
Flowers are monoecious, male cones small, oblong and yellow with 12-16 decussate stamens, shedding pollen in mid-winter, female cones small and yellowish-green. Fruits in tapered, flatened cones, 0.75-1" long, 0.25-0.33" wide at base, yellowish-brown to reddish-brown when ripe in early autumn, remaining until spring, seeds are 0.33" long, awl-shaped, with a large wing on one side, a small one on the other.
Leaf and Bark Features
Evergreen: Leaves in 4s, closely pressed, equal in size, dark green; glandular, emitting an aromatic odor when crushed. Shiny dark green on both surfaces, borne in vertical sprays; holds color well in winter months, pungently fragrant in warm weather. Bark on young stems can be thin, smooth, and grayish-green or scaly and tinged with red. On old trunks-thick (3-8"), bark is yellowish-brown to cinnamon-red, fibrous, deeply and irregularly furrowed.
Culture and Care
Prefers moist, well-drained, fertile soil in full sun or light shade. Shows good adaptability to different soil types, tolerates poor soils. May be somewhat difficult to transplant, but quite drought and heat tolerant once established. Zones 5-8. Susceptible to a heart rot caused by Polyporus amarus; other conspicuous, brooming Gymnosporangium rust and a leafy mistletoe; Incensecedar scale.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts
Tolerant of heat and drought. Not tolerant of smoggy or wind-swept conditions.
Suggested Uses
Use in large areas and formal plantings.