Are you looking for a conifer with an elegant look, with beautiful bluish gray colors, to plant alone or in a hedge? Try the Ellwoodii cypress, with the advice of Roland Motte, our gardener.
You will find it in garden centres, sold as a dwarf conifer. But beware, it can reach three meters high. So be careful where you are going to plant your Ellwoodii cypress… with the advice of Roland Motte, the gardener of France Bleu Sud Lorraine and France Bleu Besançon.
The origin of the Ellwoodii cypress
It is called Chamaecyparis Lawsoniana Ellwoodii. It is one of Lawson’s false cypresses and it has a conical, compact and very dense habit. Its foliage is persistent, of a very pretty green, slightly bluish with gray reflections. Lawson’s cypress is a conifer of the Cupressaceae family. They are native to the humid coastal forests of the northwestern United States.
The Ellwoodii cypress is three meters high, one meter fifty wide. Ever since it was young, it has always had this conical habit that is at the same time a little slender, narrow and then always very dense with well erected branches, which emerge from the base of the trunk. Its twigs are covered with tortoiseshell leaves, first a little light blue and then, over time, they take on gray reflections. And then, eventually, they take on a slightly greener hue.
Its cousin, Ellwoodii Gold, is a tiny bit more yellow at the top. It’s true that you can’t really see the difference.
– Roland Motte
The maintenance of the Ellwoodii cypress
These are small plants that don’t really need pruning. But if necessary, he will support it. Its development is rather moderate, its growth is quite slow. It has excellent hiding power because it is very dense. Sometimes it is used for hedges. It is elegant and refined. It is ideal for isolated planting in the garden. It is not very complicated to cultivate. It appreciates full sun, rather cool, very fertile, deep and above all well-drained soils, not too much watering or stagnant water.
The catch is that it is often sold as a dwarf conifer. But dwarf when it is small, after it grows up, it can grow up to three meters in height. So think about it if you plant it in a small rockery, it grows, it grows, and sometimes it’s a little too big.
It is also used in balconies, mixed with other plants, it is very pretty.
Cypress foliage turning brown?
It is compact. The light will not pass inside. That’s why you’re going to see, if you spread the branches and look inside, the foliage turning brown. So that’s not a disease, it’s just a lack of light. If there are stains on the outside, however, it could be red spider mites. This often happens in the summer. In this case, it is necessary to spray the plant well.
– Roland Motte
Find Roland Motte on France Bleu Lorraine and France Bleu Besançon and on his website www.rolandmotte.fr.