Cupressus - Cypress

(Cupress'us)

DESCRIPTION: This group consists of twenty tender, evergreen conifers from North America, southern Europe, northern Africa and Asia. These trees, commonly known as Cypress, have mostly columnar or conical shapes. Cypresses do not make good hedges because they don't tolerate pruning. They do not transplant well, which is why young plants are always container-grown. They do, however, tolerate a wide range of soils, except wet ones, and several varieties will even grow in shallow, alkaline soil. C. cashmeriana (Kashmir Cypress) is a beautiful, tender conifer that forms a small to medium-sized, conical-shaped tree. The ascending branches are covered in long, swaying branchlets, which are clothed in flattened sprays of blue-gray foliage. C. glabra (Smooth Arizona Cypress) is a small to medium-sized tree with grayish-green or gray foliage. Its peeling bark is reddish colored. C. macrocarpa var. Goldencrest is a beautiful, medium-sized tree of a narrow, columnar shape. This compact tree is covered with feathery foliage that is brilliant yellow when young. C. sempervirens var. Green Pencil is an interesting, medium-sized tree that has a very thin shape and bright green foliage. A tree of this variety that was grown in the Hillier Gardens and Arboretum is a good example of its height compared to its narrow width; it was 341/2 feet high and only 32 inches wide.

POTTING: Cypress can be grown outdoors in mild climates only; otherwise, they can be cultivated in a greenhouse. They will thrive in almost any garden soil where the atmosphere is clean; they won't survive in polluted locales. Soil that is always moist, but not waterlogged, is the best. If they are planted in soil that is too dry, their growth will be stunted. Cypress should be positioned where they are shaded from harsh winter sun and sheltered from strong winds. The trees should be set far enough apart so that their branches do not intermingle before they are full-grown. The larger growing varieties should be set from 15 to 20 feet apart if they are to be planted in groups. These trees shouldn't be pruned.

PROPAGATION: Seeds can be sown in the spring, in containers filled with fine, light soil. Hybrids should be increased by inserting cuttings of short shoots, 2 to 4 inches in length, in a propagating case in a warm greenhouse. They may also be grafted onto seedlings of their respective types, which were previously established in pots.

VARIETIES: C. cashmeriana; C. glabra & var. Aurea, Blue Ice, Pyramidalis; C. lusitanica & var. Glauca Pendula; C. macrocarpa & var. Donard Gold, Goldcrest, Golden Pillar, Gold Spread, Lutea, Wilma; C. sempervirens & var. Green Pencil, Swane's Golden.

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