Cedrus deodara 'Silver Mist'™ is a mounded conical bush of creamy white foliage. Each spring the plant puts on a show of bright-white new growth that will occasionally burn in hot sunny situations. However with subsequent growth flushes the white foliage will be much more stable. In older plants a terminal leader will develop, but the plant will remain medium sized and compact as compared to the species, making it appropriate for smaller landscapes. Typical growth rate for most climates is 4 to 6 inches (10 - 15 cm) a year growing wider than tall, producing a small, shrubby specimen approximately 4 feet (1.3 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) after 10 years in the garden.
William Goddard of Floravista Gardens, Victoria, BC, Canada discovered this very distinctive plant in the late 1960s. He selected this cultivar as well as sister seedlings, 'Snow Sprite'™ and 'White Imp'™ from the same seed batch, 'Silver Mist' being the fastest growing of the three, but a true dwarf conifer nonetheless.