A slow-growing variety of cypress with a narrow conical crown, reaching 2 m in height at the age of 10 years. The needles are soft, not prickly, silvery-blue. It grows best on fertile, moist soils in an open place. Recommended for small gardens
It is widespread in Japan, in the mountains it rises to a height of 500 m above sea level. It prefers moist soils, avoiding calcareous ones.
A tree 25-30 (-50) m high with a conical crown and horizontally spreading branches. The bark is reddish-brown, falling apart into thin strips. The shoots of the last year depart from the axial fan-shaped. The needles are dark green on top, with white stomatal stripes on the underside. Flat leaves are about 1.5 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, ovate, saber-shaped, obtusely keeled on the back, with an unclear gland, suddenly pointed. Lateral leaves are equal in length to flat leaves, strongly flattened from the sides. Cones on short petioles, small, spherical, 4-8 mm in diameter, brown, from 7-12 wrinkled scales depressed in the center. The scales have a slightly wrinkled surface, behind each scale there are 1-2 seeds with a wide, transparent, thin wing. On both surfaces of the seed there are 5-6 small resin glands. Photophilous. Introduced to Western Europe in 1861, in Crimea - since 1859. It has been successfully grown in St. Petersburg since 1860, and is present in the botanical gardens of the BIN and LTA, as well as at the scientific and experimental station "Otradnoye". In the first years of life, it grows slowly, with age, growth accelerates.
In cultural conditions, it requires fertile soils and periodic watering. It does not tolerate dry air well, but responds well to sprinkling. It does not tolerate smoke and calcareous soils. It reproduces by seeds, which are soaked in water for 12 hours before spring sowing, by cuttings and grafting.
It is susceptible to snow breakage, especially when wet snow sticks. In St. Petersburg, this happens more often at the beginning of winter. Here it is quite winter-hardy in protected places, freezes in severe winters, but tolerates them, reaches more than 10 m in height and is grown from local seeds. In the North-West of Russia it can grow in warmer and more protected locations, open, windy and excessively and stagnantly moist places should be avoided.
It is used in group and single plantings. A valuable park tree, mainly for single plantings in the south of Russia, in Central Asia. In its native land, the wood is used mainly for making staves.
It has many cultivars that successfully grow in the temperate zone of Russia.
The variety of forms and high frost resistance of a number of varieties allow this beautiful species to be widely used in landscape gardening in moderately cold, humid areas, and more drought-resistant juvenile forms - in arid areas. Due to the abundance of decorative forms, its use is diverse.
