Other Names:  Japanese Falsecypress, Sawara Falsecypress

Description:

Certainly the softest foliage of the cypress group; a full sized accent tree with silvery juvenile foliage, good for articulation in the home landscape

Ornamental Features

Moss Falsecypress is primarily valued in the landscape for its distinctively pyramidal habit of growth. It has attractive silvery blue evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and remain silvery blue throughout the winter. The shaggy antique red bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Moss Falsecypress is an open evergreen tree 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 tree. 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.

Moss Falsecypress is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent

Planting & Growing

Moss Falsecypress will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree 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.