Blue China fir Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca'
- Description
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China fir 'Glauca' is an evergreen tree cultivar in the Cupressaceae (cypress) family. This conifer grows fairly slow but can reach 30-70 feet tall and 30-40 feet wide with a pyramidal form. The needles have a powdery coating giving them a blue shade.
Blue China Fir can be used as a large background tree or specimen or pruned down to keep it a shrub shape for hedging. It prefers part shade but tolerates full sun. It also prefers some protection from hot summer or cold winter winds.
The wood is rot-resistant and has been used for coffins.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. If limbed up it tends to form suckers.
VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Cunninghamia
- Species:
- lanceolata
- Family:
- Cupressaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Asia
- Dimensions:
- Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 38 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Pyramidal
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Spring
- Winter
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- 1-3 inch woody pine cones persist into spring
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- No flowers
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Gray/Silver
- Leaf Feel:
- Prickly
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Whorled
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Linear
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- 1-2 inch long needles in a spiral pattern around the stem with blue-gray glaucous coating
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Gray
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Fissured
- Bark Description:
- Bark becomes gray and fissured with age
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Branches whorled, spreading, pendulous at the ends. First-year twigs are green in color.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Naturalized Area
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Barrier
- Hedge
