False Cypress

Incomparable texture and color intensity make false cypress a valuable companion in mixed borders and perennial beds, as well as an attractive hedge or screen. The fanlike boughs hold long, soft needles that resemble filigreed lace or ferns. The upswept branches of Hinoki cypress look like a Japanese painting, while the Nootka false cypress features pendulous branches. Color range of the false cypress extends from blue-gray to deep green to gold. A moist, slightly acidic soil is ideal for these trees; they do not thrive in hot and dry or windy conditions.

Varieties of False Cypress

'Baby Blue' False Cypress

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Baby Blue' is a compact selection that forms a dense shrub of silvery-blue foliage. It grows 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Plant in zones 4-8.

'Cripsii' Hinoki False Cypress

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsi' features golden foliage that deepens to dark green. It grows 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide. Plant in zones 4-8.

Golden Threadleaf Cypress

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera' offers chartreuse, lacy, evergreen foliage and grows 40 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Plant in zones 4-8.

Hinoki False Cypress

Chamaecyparis obtusa bears upward-tilting branches, craggy, peeling bark, and fine-textured evergreen foliage. It grows 70 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Plant in zones 4-8.

'Sungold' False Cypress

Chamaecyparis psifera 'Sungold' is a dense evergreen shrub with threadlike golden foliage on weeping branches. It grows 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Plant in zones 4-8