Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara
Very common in older Port Moody, Coquitlam and Burnaby neighbourhoods, where they were planted as specimen trees in mid-century subdivisions. Many are now fifty to seventy years old and have simply outgrown the front yards they were put in, which is why they turn up so often as removal and risk-assessment calls rather than planting advice.
Identification
20-25m (65-80ft) typical in Lower Mainland yards, occasionally taller
Commonly 60-120cm diameter on mature specimens, grey-brown bark fissured into scaly plates
True needles, 2.5-5cm, stiff and sharp-tipped, blue-green to grey-green, in dense rosettes of 20-30 on short spur shoots
Barrel-shaped, 7-13cm, sitting upright on the branch and disintegrating scale by scale on the tree rather than falling whole
Key Identifying Features
- Drooping, nodding leader at the top - the single most reliable field mark
- Pendulous branch tips give the whole tree a sweeping, graceful outline
- Needles, not scale-like foliage - this is not a relative of Western Red Cedar despite the name
- Atlas Cedar is very similar but holds a stiff, erect leader
- Cedar of Lebanon goes flat-topped with age; Deodar keeps a pyramidal crown
Identification Photos
Click any photo to enlarge. Photos help with identification but may vary by age, season, and location.
Tree Care
Watering
Drought-tolerant once established, but wants sharp drainage. Sitting in wet winter clay is what kills them here, not summer heat.
Pruning
Deadwood and clearance pruning only. Never top one, and never cut back into bare wood - Cedrus does not resprout from old wood, so the hole is permanent. Leave the drooping leader alone; it is the tree's natural form, not damage.
Best time: Late winter to early spring while dormant. Note the Mar 1 - Aug 31 nesting survey window.
Common Issues
- Root rot (Phytophthora, Armillaria) in poorly drained or over-irrigated soil
- Deodar weevil, which attacks the leader and upper branches of stressed trees
- Cedar bark beetles moving into drought-stressed or construction-damaged trees
- Tip blight and needle cast, usually cosmetic
- Snow and ice load breaking the long lateral limbs
Maintenance Notes
Low. Given room and drainage they largely look after themselves - the problems in this area come from siting, not neglect.
Root System
Wide-spreading lateral roots with sinkers, shallower and more plate-like in compacted urban soil
Routinely well past the drip line, often one and a half to three times the canopy radius
Potential Concerns
- Lifting patios, pool decks and driveway slabs on tight lots
- Very sensitive to grade changes and trenching - decline often shows up years after the damage
- Roots concentrate toward irrigated lawn and away from dry compacted ground, which can leave anchorage lopsided
- Cutting major roots on one side to pour a slab is a common precursor to windthrow
Hazard Assessment
Common Failure Modes
- Long lateral limbs snapping under wet snow or ice load
- Codominant leaders with included bark splitting out
- Windthrow where roots were severed for construction or saturated ground removes anchorage
- Leader dieback following deodar weevil attack
Warning Signs to Watch For
- Thinning crown or an unusual flush of brown needles out of season
- Resin bleeding down the trunk or from branch unions
- Mushrooms or conks at the base or on surface roots
- Soil heaving or cracking on one side of the trunk
- Visible cracks or included bark where two leaders meet
Removal Considerations
Key Considerations
- Long, heavy lateral limbs spreading well beyond the trunk, often over roofs, driveways and pools
- Dense, heavy wood - limb weights are consistently underestimated
- Whorled branching and pendulous tips make rigging awkward; there is little clean stem to work from
- Frequently planted too close to the house in mid-century lots, leaving no drop zone
- Lower branches often sweep to the ground, so there is significant brush volume before any wood comes down
- Crane access is often the difference between a one-day and a three-day job
Permit Notes
Port Moody Bylaw 2026 No. 3531 requires a permit to remove any tree 30cm DBH or larger on any lot, and mature Deodar Cedars are almost always well past that. Deodar is not on the protected native species list, but that list only lowers the threshold to 10cm - it does not create an exemption for non-natives. Expect $75 permit fee plus a $370 per-tree deposit, replacement planting under Bylaw section 13, and no fee (but still a permit and an arborist/TRAQ report) if the tree is genuinely hazardous or dead.
Need Help With This Tree?
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