Other Names:  Dwarf Globe Japanese Cedar

Description:

An extremely compact garden detail plant; forms a dense mounded globe with golden new foliage that progresses to green, then turns light brown over the winter

Ornamental Features

Butterball Japanese Cedar is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive green evergreen foliage which emerges gold in spring. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn antique red in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Butterball Japanese Cedar is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Butterball Japanese Cedar is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Butterball Japanese Cedar will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 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 particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. 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.

Butterball Japanese Cedar makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a canvas of foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. 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.