Blue Atlas Shrugged

I’ve got a new favorite blue conifer, in a climate where most blue conifers fear to tread. Cedrus atlantica ‘Horstmann’ is a 1970’s selection from Germany’s Horstmann’s Nursery, that forms a very compact specimen. Our seven year old plant has reached 7′ tall x 5′ wide, without any type of opressive control. Typical blue Atlas Ceder, which hails from North Africa’s Atlas Mountains, has a much more open and faster growth habit, reaching 100′ at maturity. At only 1′ of growth per year, Cedrus ‘Horstmann’ should reach 20′ tall in two decades.