4 tips for healthy and beautiful false cypress

False cypress are a hardy variety of plant that can add unique colours and textures to your garden. Here's some advice for picking and caring a variety that's right for you.

• The larger trees, which can eventually reach 30 metres (100 feet), are ideal for screens, boundary markers and backdrops for shrubs and smaller trees.
• The slow-growing dwarfs, up to 1.8 metres (six feet), are fit for foundation plantings, terrace edgings, shrub borders and rock gardens.

There are many varieties of false cypress. These are some facts about the most popular kinds:

• Nootka cypress is very long-lived, growing for up to 1,000 years. This species is hardy to Zone 5, prefers a moist climate and resists damage from ice, winds and occasional flooding.
• While most false cypress species form a stiff pyramid, the dwarf 'Compacta' forms a globe. The 'Lutea' and 'Aurea Densa' have a unique cone shape.
• The most elegant is the nine metre (30 foot) 'Pendula.' This variety features weeping foliage that hangs in long streamers.
• Lawson's cypress (C. lawsoniana), native to western North America, is widely grown in moderate to mild climates.
• 'Ellwoodii,' a slow-growing Lawson variety, matures to a nine metre (30 foot) column of grey-green that turns blue in cold weather.
• Most Lawson's cypress are hardy to Zone 6. They may need protection from winter wind.
• Hinoki false cypress, hardy to Zone 5, is a conical tree with horizontal branches carrying thick sprays of deep green foliage.
• The 'Nana Gracilis' is a slow-growing variety with dark green, slightly curving leaves.
• Sawara false cypress forms a narrow pyramid but is a looser, more open plant than other types.
• Two varieties with golden leaves that have a strong presence in the landscape are 'Gold Spangle' and the feathery 'Plumosa Aurea.' Both are hardy to Zone 4.

• Plant small specimens by keeping the soil ball intact to avoid root injury.
• Keep the soil around the roots moist the first year. Plants should endure drought thereafter.
• Apply an eight centimetre (three inch) layer of organic mulch to retard evaporation from the soil.
• In warm climates, site plants on a northern exposure or plant in partial shade.

• False cypress are virtually free of pests and disease.
• Sap-sucking spider mites occasionally infest them in hot, dry weather, causing inner foliage to die.
• Dislodge damaged leaves and mites with a strong spray of water from a hose.

No matter where you live, there's probably a false cypress well-suited to your garden. The trick is regular care and picking the right variety. Once you've done that, your false cypress can grow and flourish.