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Blue China fir

Cunninghamia lanceolata (kun-ing-HAM-ee-a lan-see-oh-LAh-ta GLAW-ka)

Family: Cupressaceae Non-native Canopy (>40 ft)

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.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 52 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 1 - Canopy (>40 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Native alternatives Abies fraseri

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
6a, 6b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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
12-24 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 70 ft. 0 in. | Width: 30 ft. 0 in. - 38 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Pyramidal
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Prickly
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
1-2 inch long needles in a spiral pattern around the stem with blue-gray glaucous coating
Flower detail
No flowers
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Fruit detail
1-3 inch woody pine cones persist into spring
Bark color
Dark Gray; Light Gray
Bark detail
Bark becomes gray and fissured with age
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Green
Stem detail
Branches whorled, spreading, pendulous at the ends. First-year twigs are green in color.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Asia
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Spring; Winter
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn; Naturalized Area; Woodland
Landscape theme
Winter Garden
Design feature
Barrier; Hedge
Garden tags
#conifer #large tree #slow growing #evergreen tree #full sun tolerant #needled evergreen #blue green needles #landscape plant sleuths course #partial shade tolerant #hedge

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.