David's Keteleeria arrives in Western gardens as something of a curiosity: a large, needle-bearing evergreen in the pine family that most gardeners have never heard of and fewer have seen. Native to mountain slopes and woodlands of China and Taiwan, it can reach 100 feet at maturity, with a strongly upright to oval habit, large spreading branches, and medium green needles that cover the tree in dense, uniform texture. The bark grows rough and fissured with age, giving old specimens a character quite distinct from the smooth-barked conifers more commonly found in cultivation. When young, the branches are covered with stiff hairs and the overall silhouette resembles Abies alba, the silver fir, before it begins to differentiate into its own distinct form.

For a tree of this eventual size, its requirements are relatively modest. Full sun and a well-drained sandy or loamy soil suit it best, and it prefers a site with some shelter from cold winds in its early years while it establishes. Heat and dry or slightly moist soils are tolerated well; deep shade and wet conditions are not. Zones 6 to 9 cover its cold hardiness, which makes it available across much of the southeastern United States where it is an underused alternative to more familiar large conifers. No serious pest or disease problems have been noted in cultivation, making it a low-maintenance choice once established. It is a tree grown for the long view, planted in the confidence that what arrives slowly often lasts.