Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-09-12
Evergreen Of Many Coots
FoIseeypress Must Be Critically Studied
As to Size. Foliage Form and Color
By W. n. Younsnon
The Sfur's cordsn Edisoe

The falsecypress. known boz /
tanically as Chamaecyparis, but |
also listed in some books and |
nursery catalogs as Retino-
spora, is widely planted ever
green, although few gardeners |
know 1t by name.
Some forms are exceedingly |
rapid growing, others equally |
slow-groWing.
There are many horticultural |
varieties Of the three major |
species-Sawara, Hinoki and
Lawson. Some of them are quite |
conspicuous because of form of |
foliage or color.
Because they are easy to grow,
and are perfectly hardy in this
area, they are oftentimes used
in places where not adopted.
The most commonly planted
falsecypress is the species sawara
&C. pisifera) and the variety
plume sawara &C. pisifera plu-
mosa) Is the one most often
seen. 1t is a tall-growing
evergreen with pluny foliage.
While commonly planted
around foundations, this variety
will reach 80 to so feet in a few
years unless pruned twice a year.
It has only a few years of
useful life in the foundation
planting at best. Without the
regular pruning it is good for
about five years. BY that time it
will be hiding the first floor win
dows, and in or 10 years will
be to the caves.
ldeol os Background Tree
The best uses Of the plume
sawara are as a background
evergreen or for q windbreak
where it will have an oppor-
tunity to develop into its full
stature. However, when crowded
It will lose its interior needles
and become rather open in tex
ture. This can easily be con-
trolled for a few years by regu-
lar pruning. Pruning is also i'm
portant where the trees are to
be kept to a narrower spread
than is natural.
; AS indicated, the falsecypress
are quite tolerant of soil and
situation, but they are usually
too sparsely foliaged in shade to
be desirable. They will withstand
wind better than most ever
greens. The dwarf varieties
should be useful for hedges and
backgrounds for flower borders.
but are not widely stocked by
the nurseries.
Foliage color-Wotch Size
Much emphasis has been
placed upon those forms with
unusual foliage such as the
thread sawara, which reminds
one Of the cartoons of the "old
man"-long strings Of needles
hanging down in all directions.
Then there are those with yell
low foliage, such as the sulfur-
plume, and with grayish foliage
such as the silvertip.
There must be Is or 20 vari- !
cites of the sawara falsecypress
listed in nursery catalogs,
probably more. The height to
which they will grow. however,
should be the basis Of selection
when thinking about low hedges |
or foundation paintings.
Dwarfplume is the most likely
! to meet the majority of situa-,
tons. But for a really low one,
3: there Is the midget sawara which
Is likely to be most interesting
in a rock garden. It is too fiat
topped for the foundation plant
ing and is so slow in growing that
few will be interested in buying
q mature sized specimen.
Interesting Moss Soworo
Quite distinct from the plume
sawara is the moss sawara. It
has no apparent similarity to the
plume because the foliage is like
a myriad of short needles. When
young they are very attractive in
appearance. The billowy con-
tours of the moss is interesting.
However, the moss sawara tends
to shed it's inside needles when
ever there is a deficiency Of
moisture. In unfavorable situa-
tions 1t is likely to become a
w-shelled specimen. It does
stand clipping very well and Is
seldom bothered by children or
animals because of the form of
the needles. There are dwarf
forms as well as the taller grow
ing ones. They are often listed
as "Squarrosa" falsecypress or,
worse still, as Retinospora squar-
rosa. It is a shame that such a
useful and interesting evergreen
should have such a confusing
array of names. Even the COM
mon name is not too helpful
falsecypress.
The sawara species seemingly
lacks a columnar variety that
would be suitable for a narrow
evergreen hedge. However, they
are easily pruned and respond to
this attention both by twiggy
branches and pleasing compact
ness.
The second species Of false
cypress Of interest to local gar
deners is the Hinoki &C. obtusa
formosa). In many respects this
species resembles the sawara.
PLANT N0wI :