You don’t need to give mature trees any water except during extreme heat and drought.
Fertilizer
Depending on your soil quality, you might not need to fertilize your hinoki cypress at all.
That’s why it’s best to test your soil before you start tossing in fertilizer.
You might find that your soil is already rich in nutrients or you may discover it’s a bit low in nitrogen, which is common.
Armed with the results, you’ll know exactly what to add so you aren’t over-or underfeeding. Reach out to your local Extension office for testing resources in your area.
While you can buy tests online, their accuracy varies widely, and these tests aren’t tailored to your specific region.
Cultivars to Select
You won’t usually see the straight species in home gardens, but the many cultivars are becoming increasingly popular with home growers.
There are plenty of dwarf options for smaller spaces, along with varieties spanning a wide color range, from deep bronze and bright gold to every shade of green imaginable.
Contorta
‘Contorta’ is an acrobat. The narrow branches twist, twirl, and spiral in a compact, dense shrub-like shape.
It reaches just four to eight feet tall and three to four feet wide at maturity, which happens slowly over decades.
In ideal conditions it can grow a little bit larger, but it tends to stay quite petite.
‘Contorta’ is sure to be a statement piece in the garden, whether in a container or in the ground.
You can find ‘Contorta’ in #3 containers available at Nature Hills Nursery.
Fernspray
‘Fernspray has flattened sprays of foliage that strongly resembles those of a fern on a shrub-like tree that reaches up to 12 feet tall and just four feet wide.
It has an interesting pyramidal form with gracefully curving branches.
Nature Hills Nursery carries this cultivar in #3 containers.
‘Fernspray Gold’ is similar in shape, though about two-thirds the size of ‘Fernspray.’
It has yellow-golden-tipped leaves that turn even more intense in the cooler months. It won the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) from the Royal Horticultural Society in 2012.
If you’d like to give this one a try, grab yours at Nature Hills Nursery.
Gracilis
Often called “slender hinoki cypress,” ‘Gracilis’ has a narrow, conical shape with gracefully angular branches that arch outward informally from a central trunk.
What makes it extra appealing is the dense, full growth that makes the straight species look positively sparse by comparison.
The shape makes it ideal for narrow spots or as a living fence.
You can find ‘Gracilis’ available from Fast Growing Trees in packs of one or four to suit your needs.
Kosteri
‘Kosteri’ usually goes by Koster’s hinoki false cypress, and was named for the Dutch nursery Koster and Son, where it was discovered.
It’s a slow grower that gradually matures to a mere four feet tall and wide, at most. It maintains a slightly rounded, pyramidal shape without any pruning.
The foliage takes on a slight bronze hue in the colder months.
Nana Gracilis
‘Nana Gracilis’ is one of the most popular cultivars. It was awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and has only gained more attention and accolades since.
Young plants have a compact, rounded shape that gradually becomes more conical as the tree matures to its full six feet tall and four feet wide.
It has gracefully arcing branches and a dense growth habit, and is more shade tolerant than the species.
You can find ‘Nana Gracilis’ plants available at Fast Growing Trees.
Snowflake
‘Snowflake’ is as charming as its name suggests.
It grows in a compact, round shape that may eventually reach four feet tall and wide given several decades.
While the shape is appealing, that’s not what makes ‘Snowflake’ especially fabulous.
The fern-like leaves are variegated with pale creamy golden tips when the foliage is young.
Bring home this unique option from Maple Ridge Nursery in a three-gallon pot.
Tempelhof
‘Tempelhof’ has more of a shrub-like than tree-like shape, typically without a strong central leader.
It grows to about eight feet tall with a pyramidal or conical shape and incredibly dense growth. The leaves take on a bronze hue in the winter.
It was cultivated at L. Konijn & Company’s Tempelhof Nursery in Boskoop, The Netherlands in 1964. You can find plants available from Nature Hills Nursery.
Maintenance
Left on their own, hinoki cypress develop a naturally interesting shape without any intervention.
That said, you can prune to manipulate the shape further, or simply stick to maintenance pruning to keep the tree healthy – the choice is yours.
Shaping involves looking at the tree and deciding if there are branches that should be removed to produce a pleasing appearance.
You might also cut or pinch back branch tips to encourage bushier growth. It’s almost like training a bonsai, only in giant size.
Maintenance pruning means removing any branches that are broken, dead, diseased, or rubbing against another branch.
In either case, use clean tools and make all cuts just in front of a branch or cleanly at the trunk.
Don’t cut into old wood if you can avoid it, because the tree might not send out new growth there and you’ll be left with a bare stump.
Cuts can be made at any time of year, but if you’re doing heavy pruning, late winter before new growth starts is ideal. Just make sure the wood isn’t frozen when you cut.
Propagation
If you want to try growing hinoki cypress by seed, feel free. Just treat it as a fun experiment and don’t be too disappointed if germination is poor or if the seedlings don’t thrive.
Starting this species from seed is genuinely difficult, and even if you succeed, there’s no guarantee the resulting tree will look anything like the parent.
For reliable results, cuttings are the way to go. The process is far more predictable, and the new tree will be a genetic replica of the parent plant.
From Cuttings
Take cuttings in spring or summer to give them the best chance to establish before the winter dormant season.
Look for a soft, pliable branch tip roughly the diameter of a pencil or slightly smaller, take a four- to six-inch cutting, making the cut at an angle to maximise surface area.
Dip the cut end into powdered rooting hormone.
