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Incense Cedar
Calocedrus decurrens
  
40 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) 40 Nurseries Carry This Plant Calocedrus decurrens (California Incense-cedar; syn. Libocedrus decurrens Torr.) is a species of conifer native to western North America, with the bulk of the range in the United States, from central western Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, and also a short distance into northwest Mexico in northern Baja California. It grows at altitudes of 50-2900 meter. It is the most widely-known species in the genus, and is often simply called Incense-cedar without a regional qualifier. It is a large tree, typically reaching heights of 40-60 meter and a trunk diameter of up to 3 meter (maximum, 69 meter tall and 4.5 meter diameter), and with a broad conic crown of spreading branches. The bark is orange-brown weathering grayish, smooth at first, becoming fissured and exfoliating in long strips on the lower trunk on old trees. The foliage is produced in flattened sprays with scale-like leaves 2-15 millimeter long; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced, so forming apparent whorls of four; the facial pairs are flat, with the lateral pairs folded over their bases. The leaves are bright green on both sides of the shoots with only inconspicuous stomata. Easy to grow in the garden but requires plenty of room. If given deep, infrequent watering when young it will develop drought tolerance. To learn more, visit the Jepson Herbarium's YouTube channel and watch a short video about this species:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIA1tkuY0B0
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
12 - 196.9 ft tall
50 ft wide

Form
Form
Pyramidal

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Many insects and birds are attracted to Incense Cedar

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 6 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Callophrys gryneus Image
Olive Hairstreak Callophrys gryneusCallophrys gryneus
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Abagrotis mirabilis Image
Abagrotis mirabilisAbagrotis mirabilis
*
Eupithecia placidata Image
Eupithecia placidataEupithecia placidata
*
Orgyia pseudotsugata Image
Douglas Fir Tussock Moth Orgyia pseudotsugataOrgyia pseudotsugata
*
Digrammia burneyata Image
Digrammia burneyataDigrammia burneyata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low, Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 40

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -5 - -10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers deep woodland soil with high organic content. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.6

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Due to its adaptability to varying conditions and locations throughout the state, Incense Cedar has a great many companion plants.

Maintenance
Maintenance
Prune in winter when wood boring insects are less active.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 2 mos. stratification; No treatment may give good germination (USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2*, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Varied, tolerates a wide variety of rainfall levels, soil types over most of California

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 10.2" - 158.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 5.94", Coldest Month: 11.6" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 34.8" - 79.3", Humidity: 0.18" - 27.84", Elevation: 37" - 13935"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Librocedrus decurrens


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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