Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Japanese Falsecypress, Sawara Falsecypress

Description:

A garden-sized evergreen with bright green foliage and a compact pyramidal habit, much like a miniature version of the species itself, a beautiful choice for a fine textural backdrop in the garden composition

Ornamental Features

Compact Sawara Falsecypress is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its distinctively pyramidal habit of growth. It has emerald green evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage remain emerald green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Compact Sawara Falsecypress is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Compact Sawara Falsecypress is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Compact Sawara Falsecypress will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Compact Sawara Falsecypress makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.