Baby Blue Chamaecyparis
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Baby Blue'
Height: 6 feet
Spread: 4 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4
Other Names: Japanese Falsecypress, Sawara Falsecypress
Description:
A conical shaped garden evergreen with soft and mossy silver-gray foliage which turns bronze in fall, a great choice for adding texture to a garden, also used for bonsai; prefers humid environments
Ornamental Features
Baby Blue Chamaecyparis is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental upright and spreading habit of growth. It has attractive silvery blue evergreen foliage. The threadlike sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn coppery-bronze in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Baby Blue Chamaecyparis is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. 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 high maintenance shrub that will require regular care and upkeep. 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.
Baby Blue Chamaecyparis is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Vertical Accent
- Mass Planting
- Hedges/Screening
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Baby Blue Chamaecyparis will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 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 60 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.
