North America is considered the homeland of evergreen conifers of the cypress family, they are also found in East Asia. They are distinguished by a high crown in the form of a cone and drooping branches, which are covered with brown bark, cracking into separate strips.
The genus has 7 species, the most common of them in the culture is the variety "pea cypress". All varietal plants of this genus are extremely decorative, have a beautiful appearance, various sizes and color of needles. They took root well in Europe, but in the Russian expanses, where the climate is more severe, this is still problematic.
This is a widespread plant on the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, growing in coniferous deciduous forests. In mountainous areas it is found up to 500 meters above sea level. It grows well on moist soils, but poorly takes root on calcareous soils. It is a tree of great height with a conical crown, in which the open branches are placed horizontally. Smooth bark has a reddish-brown color. In the natural habitat propagated by seeds. It tolerates insufficient humidity.
Worship and use
In Japan, pea cypress is one of the most revered plants. It is often planted near temples, next to Buddhist monasteries and around dwellings. Used not only in group landings, but also in single. A huge variety of forms, rather high resistance of some of them to frost and low humidity allowed to significantly expand the boundaries of cultivation. The abundance of decorative forms contributed to the fact that the cypress pea fruit began to be used much more often. In Japan, managed to bring out more than a hundred varieties of this tree. Most of them have good decorative data. Almost two dozen promising varieties of this remarkable plant have been successfully tested in central Russia. Many of them showed their best side, demonstrating absolute reliability in our difficult climatic conditions.
Cypress pea "boulevard"
This variety has such magnificent decorative virtues that they try to breed it, despite some unreliability. Although his life span does not exceed ten years, with proper care, he can please the gardener twice as much. And since the “boulevard" is perfectly cut, during this time you can manage to grow many new seedlings. This variety is characterized by a dense crown of a blunt-conical shape. The average height of the tree is about 1 meter, as if it was specially created for small gardens. Its advantages:
- the most popular size is midi;
- soft needles of silver-blue color;
- nice looking thick crown;
- grows steadily on the slopes.
Lavson's cypress
Grows in California and Oregon. Large tree up to 60 meters in height and up to one and a half meters in diameter. It features a slender trunk and conical crown. The wood has a pleasant smell and a reddish color. Needle-shaped needles and light brown spherical cones. It has the following advantages:
- shade tolerance;
- hygrophilous;
- unpretentious to the soil;
- windproof;
- withstands up to 20 degrees below zero.
