Altadena Christmas Tree Lane Summer Maintenance

CTLA volunteers gathered early Saturday morning to complete their annual summer ‘Lane Maintenance’.

By Jerry Friedman

The giant Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) trees that line Santa Rosa in Altadena continue to do well, as they have for decade upon decade. Many of them are well over 100 feet tall, and growing up against a 3-4’ deep hand-laid stone ditch makes it tough on the trees. There is a very limited growing space for many of the trees. If that gets over grown with weeds and small bush it tends to hold water and pests – which are bad for the base of most trees, including the cedar trees the Christmas Tree Lane Association (CTLA) cares for.

The name deodar evolved from the word devadāru, which is a Sanskrit word that translates to “timber of the gods.” This tree is sacred in Hinduism.

This same type of tree is the national tree of Pakistan. This specie is one of the ‘true cedars’, like the cedar of Lebanon, and is considered a native of the Himalayas where it has been known to get over 250’ tall. It tends to do best at altitudes’ over 5000’.

Obviously, they also do pretty well in Altadena, as they have been there for over 100 years! CTLA replaces trees that have been lost to our very strong winds. Trees have also been lost due to rotting at the base and this important annual maintenance helps ensure the trees and the roots remain as healthy as possible.