Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'WHITE SPOT'

Cypress trees and shrubs, especially Lawson cypress varieties, are very popular for their variable shapes, leaf types and colours. Conifer lovers choose especially its coloured varieties which help brighten up dark green landscapes, and work perfectly in outdoors pots, too.

White Spot is a Lawson cypress variety found as a mutation of Monumentalis Nova variety in D.T.Poulsen Nursery, Denmark, in 1943. It boasts pale blue-green, scale-like needles with subtle white marbling which looks like glitter. It is more conspicuous in winter when much of plant’s chlorophyl is hidden in the roots. Also, from autumn till spring the branch tips reveal their butter yellow colour which changes to white as the new growths emerge in spring.

The plant grows moderately when young (20-30 cm per year), and slows down when about 1.5-2 m tall, forming handsome towers at tops of its numerous terminals. It naturally forms a dense and impenetrable shrub of strictly columnar habit which does not require pruning to look good. Still pruning of any kind is possible from early spring till midsummer. Just don't cut into old wood.

False cypress prefers moist but well-drained, slightly acidic soil but is adaptable to almost all types of soil. Grow it in full sun or half shade either in a garden bed or in a container where moisture must be regularly checked but remove the saucer (it requires more frequent watering than e.g. pine tree). Fully hardy to min. -29°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 14-11-2020