Tree · Cupressaceae
Sawara False Cypress
Chamaecyparis pisifera
Set it in full sun and free-draining soil, and false cypress keeps its quiet color through every season.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
20–30 ft · 6.1–9.1 m
Overview
Sawara false cypress is a hardy evergreen conifer from Japan, grown for the soft, feathery presence it brings rather than for any flower. It belongs to the cypress family and stands up to cold as low as -29°F (-34°C), which is why it anchors so many northern gardens across USDA zones 4 to 8. Left to itself the species rises to a tall tree, but most homes lean on the smaller named forms that suit a real garden.
The named cultivars are where this plant shapes a space. Some stay as low golden mounds that warm a bed, others rise into soft blue-green columns that calm a corner, and the threadleaf forms spill in loose yellow strands. That range lets it serve as a foundation planting, a standout specimen, or a stroke of color that carries the garden through winter when everything else has stepped back.
It asks very little once it has settled in. Give it sun, soil that drains, and a position out of the harshest drying wind, and it holds its year-round color with almost no attention. The one habit worth learning before you reach for the shears is its pruning, since this is a conifer that will not regrow from bare wood.
Care
The short version: full sun to part shade, set in moist but well-drained soil that never sits soggy, with light pruning kept strictly to green growth and a balanced evergreen feed each spring.
Light
False cypress shows its color best in full sun, where the gold and blue forms hold their truest tones and read clearly from across the garden. It accepts partial shade too, though too little light thins the look and quiets those colors.
Water
Keep the soil moist but never waterlogged, watering deeply while the plant settles in and through any dry spell. Once established it takes a fair stretch of drought in stride, but it still wants sharp drainage, since standing water is what invites root rot.
Soil
Set it in moist, fertile, well-drained ground. It isn't particular about chemistry and is at home anywhere from acidic to slightly alkaline, roughly a pH of 5.0 to 7.5, so long as water moves away freely.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy conifer, content from about -29°F to 86°F (-34°C to 30°C). It carries through hard northern winters, though biting, dry wind can scorch the exposed side.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air suits it, so there's no number worth chasing. What counts far more is air movement, since crowded, still, damp foliage is where blight and mites take hold.
Feeding
Feed it lightly in spring with a balanced slow-release fertilizer made for evergreens. A single seasonal feeding is plenty, since this is a slow, steady grower that doesn't care to be hurried.
Pruning
Keep pruning light and shape it only while green growth remains. The firm rule is to never cut into bare brown wood, which holds no dormant buds and will not fill in. Clearing dead interior branches as the plant ages keeps the whole shape looking clean.
Repotting
Container and dwarf forms want a fresh, larger pot every 2 to 3 years. Roots circling the pot, water that runs straight through, or growth that has stalled all tell you it's time to move up a size.
Size & spacing
Its scale depends entirely on the form you choose. The species can reach 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) tall and spread anywhere from 3 to 20 feet (90 cm to 6 m), so check the label and give each plant the room its variety calls for.
When to plant
False cypress is a hardy conifer that earns its place in the ground rather than on a seed tray. Plant it in spring or early fall while the soil is warm and the moisture is steady, so the roots can settle before summer heat or deep winter cold. There's no bloom or harvest to plan around, since it carries the garden on its year-round foliage alone.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or early fall
- Harvest: non-flowering; grown for evergreen foliage
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most false cypress trouble comes down to wet feet, dry wind, or a careless cut. Notice the early signs at the tips, across the foliage, or in low, soggy ground, and you can step in before a whole branch is lost. Find the match below and act while it still does some good.
A slow fade and thinning crown in heavy, wet ground
A plant that thins out and loses its presence in a low, wet corner is almost always struggling with root rot, often Phytophthora. Ease the soil away and you'll find dark, mushy roots where firm white ones should be. A badly rotted plant is past saving, so lift the drainage in that spot, ease off the watering, and replant only where water drifts away on its own.
Fix:
- Improve drainage immediately and stop overwatering
- Remove severely affected plants
- Replant only in well-drained soil
When the branch tips turn brown and quietly fade
Browning tips at the edge of the planting usually mean tip blight, a fungus that settles into young or stressed growth during a wet stretch. Drying winter wind leaves the same look along the sun-facing side. Take out the affected twigs well below the damage, wipe your tools between cuts, and open up the setting so air moves through and harsh wind passes around the plant rather than over it.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy blighted twigs well below symptoms, disinfecting tools between cuts
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering
- Shelter plants from harsh drying winter wind
A dull, dusty cast traced with fine webbing
When the foliage loses its glow and picks up a faint webbing, the cause is usually spider mites, which move in on dusty, stressed plants in a tight or sheltered spot. Hold a sheet of white paper under a branch, tap it, and watch them scatter. Bagworms give themselves away differently, with small spindle-shaped bags dangling from the foliage. Rinse the mites off, lift the bags by hand, and treat young bagworms with Bt as the crawlers appear in early summer.
Fix:
- Hose down foliage to dislodge mites
- Hand-pick and destroy bagworm bags
- Treat young bagworms with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) when crawlers are active in early summer
Bare brown wood that never comes back to life
Cut a false cypress back into the bare brown wood at its heart and that spot stays a blank patch, since the old wood holds no dormant buds to send out fresh growth. A little interior browning is simply the plant aging, as the shaded lower branches step back over the years. Shape only into green, foliage-bearing growth, and clear away dead interior wood for the sake of a tidy look while accepting that it won't fill in again.
Fix:
- Prune only into green foliage-bearing growth
- Remove dead interior wood for appearance, accepting it will not refill
Toxicity
Reassuring news for a home with animals: false cypress is not considered toxic. It doesn't turn up on the ASPCA poison lists, and it's regarded as safe around cats and dogs. As with any plant, a pet that gorges on a lot of foliage might feel briefly off, but there's no real poison to keep watch for here.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
An easy plant to live with when there's a cat in the house, since false cypress doesn't appear on the ASPCA toxic list. A cat that works through a lot of foliage might feel briefly off, the way it would with many garden plants.
Dogs None
Nothing here that should worry a dog owner. The foliage holds nothing toxic, though a full mouthful could leave a curious dog a little queasy for a while.
Horses Safe
A safe presence around horses, with no toxic compounds reported in the foliage.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse nearby with nothing to fear. It carries no known poison, so a stray nibble does them no harm.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep grazing close by face no real risk, as this conifer holds no toxins of note.
Birds Safe
Birds settle around it happily, and the dense evergreen cover reads as welcome shelter rather than any kind of hazard.
People Safe
No toxic parts to keep from people, though the foliage isn't meant for eating and the clippings can feel a touch resinous in the hand.
An outdoor landscape conifer; foliage may cause mild stomach upset if large amounts are chewed, as with many plants, but it is not considered toxic.
Varieties
Almost no one sets the full-size species in a garden. These are the named forms and close relatives you'll actually find at the nursery and live with at home.
'Gold Mop' / 'Golden Mop'
A favorite low golden form that reads as a bright, mounded accent in a bed, settling around 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) tall and wide at 10 years before drifting up toward about 5 feet (150 cm).
'Boulevard'
A soft, cloud-like form in cool blue-green that brings a quiet, restful note to a border, reaching roughly 5 to 6 feet (150 to 180 cm) in 10 years and maturing near 12 feet (3.7 m).
'Filifera Aurea'
A golden, weeping form whose threadlike branches give a relaxed, fountain-like shape, reaching 6 to 7 feet (180 to 215 cm) in 20 years and eventually about 20 feet (6 m).
Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
A close relative with a more sculptural, fan-like look and a fragrant presence, set apart from the Sawara's loose threadlike style.
Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)
A North American relative suited to damp, low-lying ground, a different plant from the Japanese Sawara false cypress.
How to propagate
How you increase false cypress depends on what you're after. Cuttings carry a cherished gold or blue form forward exactly, while seed gives you the plain species and a mixed handful of seedlings.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Mid to late fall · Several weeks to months to root
Cuttings are the way to carry a treasured gold or blue form forward, since those won't come true from seed. Take them in mid to late fall and settle in for the wait, as they can take several weeks to months to root.
SeedModerate
After cone ripening · Slow; seedlings variable
The plain species can be raised from seed sown after the cones ripen, though the pace is slow and the results uneven. The seedlings differ from one to the next and won't hold the look of a named cultivar.
Myths
You can shear false cypress hard like a hedge and it will fill back in from the bare wood.
Like most needled evergreens, false cypress keeps no dormant buds on its old brown wood. Cut into that bare interior and the gap remains a permanent blank. Prune only into green growth and reshape it gradually, a little at a time.
False cypress is poisonous to cats and dogs.
Chamaecyparis doesn't appear on ASPCA toxic-plant lists. It is regarded as non-toxic to cats and dogs, though a pet that chews a lot of any plant may end up with a mild, passing stomach upset.