UT Gardens' Plant of the Month for
January 2008:

'Feelin Blue' Diodar Cedar

Submitted by Dr. Sue Hamilton

Evergreen trees and shrubs make great landscape plants, and winter is when they can be particularly colorful and showy. One of my favorite selections is ‘Feelin Blue’ Deodar Cedar. This particular selection will fit into any landscape because of its prostrate and compact growth habit.

Feelin Blue grows to just 2 feet tall and 6 feet wide, but this dwarf cedar’s steel-blue foliage is bright and eye-catching. Its soft, fine texture and weeping habit looks particularly attractive when situated next to a large rock or boulder onto which its soft branches can drape. Because of its compact form, use it more in the foreground of your landscape.

Because it can spread up to 6 feet wide, I recommend using just one plant as a focal specimen in the landscape. Complimentary plants that can be striking next to its foliage are soft-pink flowering annuals, burgundy shrubs like lorepetulum or barberry and yellow-gold plants such as barberry, spirea, yew, or cryptomeria.

Feelin Blue is an easy and care-free shrub in the landscape. It performs best in full-sun to partial-shade and prefers a moist but well-drained soil. Feelin Blue is drought tolerant. Pruning and fertilization are not required, but you may fertilize in the spring if you want to encourage vigorous growth.

Dr. Sue Hamilton, a noted gardening expert, is an associate professor on the faculty of the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences. She also directs the UT Gardens, a project of the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station. The original gardens are located in Knoxville on Neyland Drive. Additional gardens are located in Jackson on Airways Blvd. Admission is free, and the Gardens are open to the public seven days a week during daylight hours.

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Contact:

Patricia C. McDaniels, (865) 974-7141