Well, it grows at altitude in the Himalayas...I absolutely adore deodars...even more than c.libani (we grow all the cedars very well indeed in my hometown).

how about a link ...

i trust the boys out there...

but zone alone might not be the defining variables.. micro climate rules.. imo ...

its not minimum winter temps that kill or heavily damage in my MI ... its winter winds.. mid winter thaws... and the soil going in and out of being frozen solid that kills things.. long before temp alone does ...

z5 MI.. is not the same as Z5 colorado... [its the elevation].. as z5 maine.. as z5 missouri ...

again.. predicted winter low temp IS NOT ABSOLUTELY DEFINITIVE... there are too many other variables..

when it all boils down with zone pushing.. you just have to roll the dice and TRY ... so what if you lose a few bucks.. thats what gambling is all about...

ken

How far from the lake are you? I don't know Cleveland as well as Erie. In Erie, once you come over the last rise, and head down towards the lake, you enter a weird microclimate. I used to have a brochure saying Presque Isle was zone 7, and was the northernmost habitat of some plants not otherwise known to grow north of the Jersey shore.

Right now I am about a mile from a much narrower body of water, the Hudson River, and know there are differences between here, and five miles further from it.

I’m about 45 mins away

I dont think it would be hardy for Ohio. Just curious why you only are interested in growing things that need a warmer climate? Maybe consider moving to Florida? Dave's Garden has nobody growing it that far north.

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/525

I’m not talking about the regular deodar cedar, I know that’s not hardy, eisregen is a cultivar collected from high altitudes in Pakistan, and I’ve seen someone on a discussion say theirs has seen -15F with zero frost damage

Another thing is, the reason I look at things typically for warmer climates is because I’m bored of what I see everywhere here, I want to be in my backyard and see something new it’s always just Scot’s pine, Norway spruces, and tons of Russian sage. I just want something original and different in my yard

I wasn’t trying to sound rude in these posts but, we don’t have many native conifers in my region, we only have 6. Pinus strobus, juniperus virginiana, thuja occidentalis, Larix laricina, Tsuga canadensis, and taxus canadensis

" I just want something original and different in my yard "

Then learn about the thousands of different plants that ARE hardy in zone 6. You haven't yet touched the surface!!

I have been, and I don’t only like warm weather regions in terms of designs, I love boreal and alpine looking gardens, cottage gardens too, I just thought this cultivar would be a nice hardy addition to a yard

I mentioned Torreya taxifolia was doable. I just gave 25 Torreya seed cones to a friend who runs an arboretum. I don't have any more Torreya seeds. I went through a zone bending phase, where I wanted to grow California fucshia, jasmine and pineleaf Penstemon, and then I realized I couldn't. I had a friend in Tenessee who wanted to grow plants that required a Florida or Chilean climate, and seriously he had so long of a greenhouse for overwintering tender plants that it could be seen from space on google earth. He was growing Araucaria angustifolia in Tenessee, but it looked really shabby, being not happy in that climate. My friend with the fan palm that has to be covered in winter, is able to pull it off, but I would never go through that much effort just to grow something in my climate. Now that Ive come to realize how many thousands of plants will grow in my climate, I no longer am interested in growing plants that are hardy to zone 7 or warmer. A lot of genera have species in both the north and south, so I will go with a northern species, and enjoy many of the attributes the southern species have.

Araucaria augustifolia is native to the mountains of South America and is hardy to zone 7, it is no surprise that it survived a Tennessee winter

So you are too far from the lake to get much benefit from it :-)

Take a look at Fargesia species (hardy clumping bamboo). It's about a unusual as I get, but others can come up with more suggestions.

" Araucaria augustifolia is native to the mountains of South America and is hardy to zone 7, it is no surprise that it survived a Tennessee winter "

I think that you will find many sources that indicate it is not reliably cold hardy below zone 9. And it is not just the winter cold that will limit the ability to grow marginally hardy plants successfully. Summer heat and humidity, annual rainfall, topography and insulating snow cover also play a significant role, If these do not match reasonably closely to the conditions in the plant's native range, all bets are off. Tennessee does not come anywhere close to the climate of the mountains of Argentina or Brazil, forget winter cold.

According to the university of Florida, araucaria augustifolia is hardy in zones 7-9

Do more research. There are plenty of reputable sites that state the cold hardiness as zones 9-11. It is not as cold hardy as Araucaria araucana and that has a very well defined range of suitability in the continental US! And it doesn't include Ohio or Tennessee :-))

Idk anymore, I just wanted something blue spruce like that does well here and is not a concolor fir

Mostly love Picea likiangensis and Picea meyeri

I have no firsthand experience with any of the true cedars, but skimming through some older threads (search for "cedrus eisregen houzz") it sounds like 'Eisregen' is one of the hardiest varieties, and should probably be OK on a protected site at the OP's location. One discussion from 15 years ago (Winter Hardy C libani & C deodara) had this comment from conifernut, who I believe was located outside Indianapolis:

"I have tried almost all cultivars of libani and deodara that are "alleged hardy". In our area with our heavy clay soils, and low temperatures that consistently reach ~-15 F (as low as -22 F since I've lived here), relative hardiness is libani 'Purdue Hardy' > libani ssp. stenocoma = deodara 'Eisregen' > deodara 'Karl Fuchs'. My favorite is "Eisregen"...due to the beautiful color and rapid growth (one of mine is ~ 35' now). In the worst winters (low temps with high winds), it will have some minor burning on the needles in the spring, but the new flush of powder blue quickly replacing that"

We rarely get below -5F and if we do, I would only think the cedar would get minor damage

Picea Meyeri is rated down to zone 3, so you shouldn't ever have to worry about that one in z6.

And Picea likiangensis is hardy to zone 4, I’ve really gotten into Asian species of spruces, since they’re new and exciting to me and should do quite well in my region

You can grow Cunninghamia lanceolata in Ohio.

Good lord, another week on gardenweb, another series of arguments about plant hardiness.

Some things never change.

Agree with Arbordave that the very hardiest cultivars of Deodar like 'Eisregen' should be ok for OP. Best to not plant outside until it has a bit of size, like a caliper over 3/4".

A. angustifolia, aka 'parana pine', is proving to be more like 8a, perhaps just barely into the mildest parts of 7b hardy, but really 8a for safe measure.

That being said, the one at the SFASU Arboretum in east Texas survived -4F in the recent Texas mega freeze. I have that direct from David Creech, the director, who I correspond with. However, that is NOT the same as it surviving that low in zones 7 or 6!. (the Arboretum is in zone 8) First of all that was a once every 20 years or less freeze for that area. The tree might not have survived it if those temps or temps anywhere near them occurred more frequently. Also, it warmed up very quickly after the freeze allowing the plant to start metabolizing again and recover from the injuries. The same would not be true further north.

Trust me many have been tried along the east coast. I myself sold some seedlings to some crazy New Yorkers who gardened in the Bronx. They died. They won't survive long term north of about Virginia Beach or environs, which is 8a. The ones at the NCSU arboretum were damaged in recent winters but survived. They are right on the 8a/7b border in my opinion.

It's kind of like how some Phoenix palms in El Paso survived 2F in the previous big Texas freeze in 2011. They would NEVER have survived that in overall colder climates whose recent record lows have been similar, like say, Raleigh, North Carolina. I happened to drive through El Paso a couple days after that freeze. Temps were already in the 60s and stayed that way for the rest of the winter, with dry, sunny conditions. The winter sun is very strong there because of the altitude and latitude. In a cooler, wetter place the damaged date palms would have rotted.

for clarification: " First of all that was a once every 20 years or less often freeze for that area"

Sometimes, with marginal plants, it's a big queston of microclimate placement. This is the third year for my Araucaria araucana in NJ, Zone 7a (now 7b). Mine is fine, there was another planted in the other end of town in a more sun/wind exposed area and it burned and died last winter..., which was relatively mild, mine had no issues. Maybe soil and drainage issues too, who knows. Don't know this species of Araucaria, only grown heterophylla and bidwilli (protected in garage), A. araucaria seems hardiest in my opinion.

Here's one I found that is unusual, pretty, and not too big, zones 4-8:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1875160592/sparkling-arrow-chamaecyparis?ref=cart

Not a true cedar

Did you ever find one of the hardy deodaras? They've been around for decades now but always seem hard to find, especially in larger sizes. Nurseries would rather just sell seedlings (probably) of plain old C. deodara. Not that you want to drive to Maryland but I spotted that Raemelton Farms has 'Karl Fuchs'. https://raemelton.com/wp-content/uploads/RaemeltonFarmAvailability.pdf

Just for kicks I knew about this list of nurseries from the Phipps Conservatory.

https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/green-innovation/at-home/greener-gardening-guide/recommended-local-nurseries

So I checked a few...

Only one I could find, a 'Shalimar', not thought to be quite as hardy as the 'Paktia' clones.

https://www.plumlinenursery.com/product-page/cedrus-deodara-shalimar-shalimar-cedar

I remember the name Plumline from shopping for a plant in the past, but I found it somewhere else. Considered the most serious tree nursery in Pittsburgh.

OH wait a sec, I missed this one! https://www.plumlinenursery.com/product-page/cedrus-deodara-kashmir-kashmir-himalayan-cedar