Cedrus deodara and new planting of Cedrus libanii

The front lawn now boasts three young plants of Cedrus libanii. Those that know the Garden will remember the magnificent, mature that took centre stage in this lawn with its horizontal, table top appearance.

Overnight storms on 27 February 2001 contributed to its loss. During previous decades it had been rod and cable braced to provide a cohesive integrity to the branch structure. Having cleared the site and excavated the root we left the area to settle.

The past week has seen replanting of wild source material. Seed collected as part of the Turkey Darwin Initiative in Central Anatolia has now grown into vigorous seedlings. The seed was collected from trees growing amongst other conifers, Abies, Juniperus, and Cedrus on steep rocky limestone slopes c.1428m

The original tree was c.175 years old (from a ring count) making it one of the early plantings when the Garden relocated to this, the Inverleith site, from Leith Walk in 1820-23.

Planting of these three specimens is planting for future generations. A plant of C. deodara grown from seed collected in 1985 from Himachal Pradesh, India and planted on Logans border is now a tree with stature. That is 23 years from seedling through sapling to prominent plant. Every action has a consequence though; in this instance with the additional planting mowing the front lawns with precision stripes will be a little difficult.