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Cedrus atlantica f. 'GLAUCA PENDULA' weeping blue Atlas cedar
Cedrus
The genus of cedars belongs among those trees that people remember longer than the names of kings or cities that have long since vanished from maps. Today it includes only a few species native to the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and western Asia, even though fossil finds of pollen and wood show that cedars were once far more widespread and that their history reaches deep into the Tertiary period. The very name of the genus, derived from the Greek kedros and the Latin cedrus, evokes fragrant, resinous wood that for millennia symbolized durability, power, and sacredness. Cedars appear in biblical texts, ancient myths, and the architecture of early civilizations, where their timber was used to build temples, ships, and palaces. When you walk beneath mature specimens or watch their dignified, sometimes breathtaking silhouettes rising against the sky, it is easy to understand why they inspire both respect and affectionate reverence. The majesty of cedars is not ostentatious but calm, bringing a sense of slowing down and a particular serenity, because you realize that these trees remember not decades, but centuries.
The Atlas cedar originates in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, in places where mountain slopes bake in the summer sun and can be surprisingly cold and inhospitable in winter. It grows high above sea level (1300-2600 m) on rocky soils, in open forests where light reaches the ground and the air is dry and clear. This very combination of sun, wind, and poor soil shaped the character of the Atlas cedar—its resilience and its ability to thrive where other trees hesitate. Botanically, the species was defined and described by the French botanist Élie‑Abel Carrière (1818–1896), one of the foremost conifer specialists of the nineteenth century, who devoted himself both to their scientific taxonomy and to practical cultivation. Carrière distinguished the Atlas cedar from the already known Lebanon cedar based on populations from the Moroccan and Algerian parts of the Atlas and named it after its natural range. Early professional descriptions already pointed out differences in crown structure, finer branching, and often distinctly colored needles. These traits, together with good adaptability outside its native habitat, led to the rapid spread of the Atlas cedar in European parks and gardens in the second half of the nineteenth century, where it was perceived not as a botanical curiosity but as a naturally convincing conifer, readily understood by the eye and experience of gardeners of the time. It reached North America only at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, already as an established conifer with a confirmed reputation.
Glauca Pendula represents a truly distinctive form of the Atlas cedar, offering an almost aristocratic character. This cultivar was discovered and selected in France around 1873, in the horticultural setting of Châtenay‑les‑Sceaux near Paris, then a centre of botanical experimentation and aesthetic ambition. The selection is attributed to the nurseryman Paillet, who noticed an individual with an exceptionally pendulous habit and striking silvery‑blue needles. The name Glauca Pendula was officially published in 1875, and since then this cedar has become a symbol of the French fondness for unusual, strongly sculptural woody plants.
Put simply, Glauca Pendula is a weeping, evergreen conifer with blue needles. In truth, however, this cedar is anything but simple or ordinary. It is highly individual, and no two specimens are alike in form. Trees are usually grafted at varying heights, from which long, cascading branches develop slowly over time, drooping lower with age and gradually broadening the silhouette. This growth habit allows the tree to be shaped by pruning, best carried out in spring, while the main shoot can be trained upward to alter its overall form. Without training, the tree remains at the height of the graft, typically around 2-3 m, while the crown gradually spreads to 3–5 m over many decades.
In the landscape, Glauca Pendula is a tree that creates atmosphere. Its cascading form appears especially striking near ponds or other water features, even though it does not require water to thrive – the effect is purely visual, a harmony between the calm surface of water and the flowing lines of its branches. This principle is also used in Japanese‑inspired gardens, for example alongside dry-stone streams and in balanced compositions with rocks, gravel, and characteristic design elements. It works equally well in modern gardens as a contrasting specimen near a terrace or set within an open lawn, where its sculptural silhouette can fully stand out. The silvery‑blue needles respond beautifully to light, accentuating the garden’s structure in winter and bringing a cool, refreshing tone among the deep greens of surrounding trees in summer. It is most effective where it is not crowded by competing features but given the space to become an elegant focal point.
The Atlas cedar is a tree that largely looks after itself, provided it is given the right site. It thrives best in full sun, where the crown can mature evenly and the needles retain their characteristic colour. It prefers well‑drained, rather dry soils that are relatively low in nutrients, while heavy or persistently waterlogged soils are poorly tolerated. Once established, it is also highly resistant to prolonged drought and generally requires no supplemental watering. In practice, blue‑coloured forms of the Atlas cedar often cope with severe winters slightly better than green types, thanks to the thicker waxy layer on their needles. This does not represent a higher absolute frost hardiness, but rather a better tolerance of extended cold spells and sudden winter temperature fluctuations. From our own experience, Glauca Pendula has withstood short‑term drops to around −27 °C without damage; other growers report temperatures as low as −29 °C, always for brief periods and only in well‑established trees with fully matured wood.
Last update 15-01-2009; 18-01-2026
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
