Cryptomeria japonica 'VILMORINIANA' Japanese cedar
Cryptomeria
Cryptomeria is a genus of conifers in the cypress family with only a single living representative today, yet its story reaches far beyond the forests of modern Japan. Fossils show that its ancient relatives were already growing in the Early Cretaceous and that during the Tertiary they covered large areas of Eurasia and North America, forming humid, warm forests with high air moisture. The genus was described by the Scottish botanist David Don (1799–1841), who separated it from the then broad group of taxodia and gave it the form in which we know it today. Its only species, Cryptomeria japonica, comes from Japan, where it forms mountain forests on the islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. In the wild the species reaches impressive dimensions, up to around sixty metres in height, and its reddish brown bark peels in long strips, earning it comparisons with the sequoias, although it has finer needles and smaller cones.
The Japanese cedar entered European science thanks to the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828), who described it at the end of the eighteenth century during his stay in what was then a closed Japan. While Don established the boundaries of the genus, Thunberg captured the species itself as he saw it in the Japanese landscape, forests wrapped in mist through which gentle shades of green flicker as light breaks and scatters across the branches, giving the stands an almost sacred appearance. It is no wonder that cryptomeria, known as sugi 杉 in Japan, gained such a strong place in local culture. The Japanese valued it not only for its wood, which is light, durable and pleasantly scented, but also for its calm, upright silhouette. They planted it around shrines as protection from wind and rain, and the famous avenues, for example at Nikko, still show how deep their relationship with the tree was. In everyday life it served as material for houses, baths and boats, but also as a monumental tree that reminds a person that he stands before something older and more enduring than himself.
Vilmoriniana is a dwarf variety of Japanese cedar imported from Japan and introduced around 1890 by French botanist and horticulturist Auguste Louis Maurice Lévêque de Vilmorin (1849-1918). At least 20 different plant species or cultivars proudly bear his name. This cryptomeria is a low and densely branched shrub of a spherical habit. Its evergreen needles are short, bright green in spring and summer and turning bronze red for autumn and winter on insolated parts of the shrub. It is ideal for small gardens or large rockeries and makes a neat understory filling the space under small trees or shrubs which canopies make only light shade (filtered sunlight).
The Japanese cryptomeria belongs among woody plants that require a sheltered site with plenty of moisture in both soil and air. It thrives best in slightly acidic, humus rich soil that does not dry out yet does not remain waterlogged for long periods. Young plants appreciate shelter from wind and partial shade, as strong sun can scorch their delicate needles in the first years. Once established they tolerate full sun and ordinary winter conditions, but long periods of drought weaken them, especially in winter. To maintain a dense habit, occasional deep watering and a mulch of needles or bark that stabilises moisture are beneficial. Pruning is usually unnecessary, as cryptomeria shapes itself and does not respond well to cuts into older wood. In colder regions it is advisable to protect young plants from winter winds, which can cause moisture loss and subsequent browning of the needles. Hardiness is proven to minus 25 °C and it is assumed that it can withstand around minus 27 °C in winter shade (USDA zone 5b).
Last update 14-12-2023; 21-03-2026
