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lushgardener

Yellow upright false cypress

This tree has been growing in our garden for going on 20 years, but I've never kept a record of just what it is. I planted it alongside our original rock garden, expecting it to be a dwarf I guess - but it is no longer petite. It resembles some of the golden Chamaecyparis obtusa cultivars, but ours has a sparser branching habit. Just a different cultivar, or a different species?
Rob
{{gwi:360236}}

Comments (8)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    Sure looks like a Hinoki to me :-) It most closely resembles Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea', although that cultivar tends to have a bit more dense branching structure. However it is also described as a "gold tipped version of the species" and that spaced and staggered branching is very typical of that.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:360235}}

  • lushgardener (TX Gulf Coast, Z8b/9)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks - I'll call it 'Aurea' for now, until somebody tells me otherwise ;-)
    Rob

  • carol23_gw
    9 years ago

    Maybe Chamaecyparis obtusa âÂÂcrippsiiâÂÂ. I grow it and was advised to prune it to make it fuller. It looked very similar to your tree.

  • thedecoguy
    9 years ago

    Chamaecyparis tetragona "aurea"

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    Contemporary stock sold as 'Aurea' is a more brassy yellow with the "shell-like" style of foliage sprays. Since this is a soft yellow with long ferny sprays it is more like 'Crippsii'.

    I would just call it a yellow Hinoki as there are a lot of different kinds of these being grown. Even if you clipped a spray, took it to a local labeled collection and found what appeared to be a match it might still not be the same exact introduction - but rather one of the same type yet with a different history and naming.

  • lushgardener (TX Gulf Coast, Z8b/9)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    That sounds reasonable to me. I won't insist on knowing the exact cultivar :-)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    there are some ID experts in the conifer forum ... though you might not get any better answer than you got here ...

    DWARF .. in the conifer world ... means slower growing than the species ... as a generalization.. i like to say.. if momma can grow to 100 feet... a dwarf of her might only be 50 feet... to give you the idea ... see link for growth rates ...

    no tree.. of which conifers are.. every really stops growing.. it has an annual growth rate... and over the decades will continue to grow ... so even dwarfs can become large ...

    the trick is.. if you could see the leader... is that the bark changes color every year.. as it matures... and if you could focus on this years growth ... you could predict its annual growth for your area ... and over 20 years.. you could predict its size ... to some extent ... and if i were to guess... yours would be 6 to 8 inches of growth.. so its not even technically a dwarf per the link ...

    all that said.. point of sale tags.. often simply lie ... lol ...

    be happy you got the light fluffy airy one... as other versions.. planted that close to the house.. would have been problematic.. years ago ...

    conifers.. as well as trees... are very hard to plant as foundation plantings.. as most peeps fail to understand.. their life long potential .... you got real lucky on your plant and placement.. congrats ...

    probably more info than you ever wanted.. lol

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    With that manner of growth it is definitely planning to get a lot bigger than it is now - I would think about moving it, as although it will actually be many years before it is the right height to be in scale with the house it is too close to the house (and window).

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