Planting Fernspray Hinoki Cypress from Monrovia
Adding just one type of tree, bush, or plant can totally transform a space.
A couple of years ago, I planted a group of large Fernspray Hinoki cypress bushes along the carriage road just past my allée of lindens near the entrance to my Japanese Maple Woodland. They looked so beautiful, I decided to plant some more. Last year, I planted slightly smaller Fernspray Hinoki cypress bushes in between the lindens on both sides of the allée. And last week, I planted another selection of Fernspray Hinoki cypress specimens on the other side along the carriage road to my chicken coops. They all look so pretty with their delicate flattened fernlike fronds. I am looking forward to watching them mature and thrive.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Chamaecyparis obtusa, the Fernspray Hinoki cypress is a large-growing, upright, bush, with long, ascending branches. I knew several would be perfect at one end of the Linden Allée leading to my vegetable garden.
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- I planted a selection of these upright, bushy conifers in the fall of 2022.
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- Fernspray Hinoki cypress do best with medium moisture, in well-drained soils. They also prefer full sun to part shade and some shelter from high winds. These bushes are surrounded by other trees and a barn.
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- I loved how they looked so much, I decided to plant more Hinoki cypress bushes the following autumn in between the lindens of the allée, adjacent to the peafowl pen.
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- I purchased 16 36-inch tall bushes for this area. Spring blooming bulbs and flowers are also around the base of these bushes.
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- Here is the allée after the bushes are all planted. These Hinoki cypress bushes can grow several inches to a foot each year. And do you know… when the foliage is slightly crushed, it lets off an aromatic scent?
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- Most recently, I decided to plant more Hinoki cypress bushes on the other side of the large specimens along the carriage road leading to the chicken coops.
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- These are Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘MonYur’ grown by Monrovia, a wholesale plant nursery. This plant features a compact, uniform habit on a handsome pyramidal form.
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- Each small specimen is positioned in between linden trees also planted here.
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- The Hinoki cypress has gracefully curved branches which hold sprays of fern-like green foliage.
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- The foliage color is dark green with some brighter green highlights toward the tips of the branches.
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- When planting, the holes must be at least two to three times as wide as the root ball, but no deeper than the root ball. Once in the hole, the top of the root ball should just be slightly higher than the soil surface.
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- A good fertilizer made especially for evergreens, trees and shrubs should be used. This Scotts Miracle-Gro Evergreen, Flowering Tree & Shrub fertilizer is fortified to help with transplant survival, increased water and nutrient absorption, and to encourage vigorous root growth and lush foliage.
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- The plant is removed from the pot and the root ball is scarified, meaning beneficial cuts are purposely made along the sides and bottom to stimulate growth.
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- Here is Chhiring using his Hori Hori knife to carefully scarify the root ball.
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- The specimen is placed into the hole and checked to make sure it is at the proper depth and the best side is facing out toward the carriage road.
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- The Hinoki cypress is then backfilled and soil is tamped down to ensure good contact.
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- These bushes will all mature so nicely here beneath the dappled shade of the lindens. These Hinoki cypress bushes are slow growing and will mature to six to eight feet tall and about four feet wide. Be sure to consider a plant’s full size when selecting a space.
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- And in winter, these bushes will take on a bronze hue. Once established, the Hinoki cypress is generally low-maintenance and can live to 100-years or more.
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