Can moutain trees species such as deodar cedar, spruce, giant sequoia etc grow in plain lands with mild winter and long summer (with above 100 F)

[Ali Raza]

Hello to everyone i am curoius ton know whether the trees which covers the mountain can be grown in the plain lands with mild winter and long summer with temp reaching 100 F. I have heard some of cedar species such as deodar cedar can tolerate heat. Will it grow in zone 9b ?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Maybe yes, maybe no. The answer is species specific. Heat alone is not the only issue. Humidity can be a factor. NA native junipers from high desert areas do poorly in low elevation high humidity areas. Tend to succumb to fungal and bacterial rots.

If nobody local has experience you will just have to experiment.

My guess is deodar, atlas & libani cedars will tolerate low elevation

 

[augustine]

I agree with Leo that the cedars may be OK but I think Zone 9B is too warm for spruce.

 

[Ali Raza]

Maybe yes, maybe no. The answer is species specific. Heat alone is not the only issue. Humidity can be a factor. NA native junipers from high desert areas do poorly in low elevation high humidity areas. Tend to succumb to fungal and bacterial rots.

If nobody local has experience you will just have to experiment.

My guess is deodar, atlas & libani cedars will tolerate low elevation

Thank you Leo. I once had deodar cedar and it kept growing for almost 1.5 years than finally dying due to negligence. I want to start growing them again. The only problem is that i had to purchase it from around 300 km away nursery in a region of cold mountain, as none of the nursery in my local area host these species.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The Netherlands is below sea level in some parts, and we have libani, atlantica and deodar cedars growing here, as well as metasequoia.

I have bristlecone, erythroxylum coca and other high altitude plants doing just fine as well. Well.. The bristlecones don't like the wet climate, but as far as I know altitude is not the issue for most plants.

 

[Cajunrider]

I have tried to grow giant sequoia for years in Louisiana zone 9a. It is a no go. I get them to thrive in carefully controlled pots only to see them regress and die when planted in the ground. The long period of high temperature bake their sensitive surface roots

 

[parhamr]

All of those species do pretty well around Portland, OR, which is 8a and 8b.

We reliably have lower humidity in the summers (than, say, the SE USA) and about 14 days of >= 90° F highs.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Another factor. Night temperatures. Mountain species evolved with sharp cooling off at night. A temperature drop of 30 degrees F or more is common at high elevation. In the lowlands, temps might fall only a few degrees. This can be trouble.

 

[Cajunrider]

Another factor. Night temperatures. Mountain species evolved with sharp cooling off at night. A temperature drop of 30 degrees F or more is common at high elevation. In the lowlands, temps might fall only a few degrees. This can be trouble.

Precisely. That's what does in my giant sequoias. They need to cool off and they can't so no matter how I coddle them, they die.

 

[Adair M]

And some trees like to “live in the clouds”. Red spruce, live on the tops of the mountains in the “Smokey Mountains” where they are often fogged in.

They will live in our lower elevations, IF we can protect them from direct sun in summer AND mist frequently.