Tree · Cupressaceae
Sawara False Cypress
Chamaecyparis pisifera
Its soft, feathery foliage holds its color through every season, from golden strands to silvery blue-green sprays.
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, prized for the soft, feathery foliage that clothes its branches in fine green sprays rather than for any flower. It belongs to the cypress family and shrugs off cold down to -29°F (-34°C), a toughness that keeps it standing through winter across USDA zones 4 to 8. Left to itself the species stretches into a tall tree, but most gardeners reach for the smaller named forms.
The named cultivars are where the foliage gets its character. Some keep low golden-yellow mounds of stringy, mop-like strands, others build into soft blue-green to silvery columns, and the threadleaf types pour out weeping strands of thread-like yellow. That spread of texture and color carries the plant straight through winter, when the rest of the garden has gone bare.
Up close, the difference between forms is all in the strands: the fine, stringy threadleaf types feel almost loose in the hand, while the moss forms read as dense and feathery. Give the plant sun, soil that drains, and shelter from the worst drying wind, and that year-round color holds with little fuss. The catch is pruning, since the old brown wood deep inside will never green up again.
Care
The short version: give it full sun, though it accepts part shade, in soil that stays moist yet drains so the roots never sit in wet, keep every cut to the green feathery growth, and feed once with a balanced evergreen food as spring arrives.
Light
False cypress colors up best in full sun, where the golden strands and blue-green sprays hold their brightest tones. It takes partial shade as well, though too little light thins the feathery foliage and dulls 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 stands a fair amount of drought, but it still needs sharp drainage, since standing water turns firm white roots dark and mushy with rot.
Soil
Give the roots moist, fertile ground that drains well. Soil chemistry barely registers, running from acidic through to faintly alkaline, about a pH of 5.0 to 7.5, so long as water slips away freely instead of pooling.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy conifer, comfortable from about -29°F to 86°F (-34°C to 30°C). It rides out hard northern winters, though biting, dry wind can scorch the exposed side of the foliage brown.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it, so there's no number to chase. What matters far more is air movement, since crowded, still, damp foliage is where webbing mites and browning blight take hold.
Feeding
A light spring feeding with a balanced slow-release evergreen fertilizer carries it through the year. Just the one seasonal dose suits this unhurried grower, whose fine strands lengthen gradually and resent being forced.
Pruning
Keep pruning light and shape it only while green growth remains. The hard rule is to never cut into bare brown wood, which has no dormant buds and will stay leafless. Clearing the dead interior branches as the plant ages keeps the foliage looking clean.
Repotting
Potted and dwarf forms look for a roomier container every 2 to 3 years. Roots spiraling the rootball, water rushing straight past, or strands that barely lengthen all signal the plant has outgrown its home.
Size & spacing
How large it grows rides on the chosen form. Left as the species it climbs 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) tall with a spread of 3 to 20 feet (90 cm to 6 m), so read the tag and hand each plant the elbow room its form demands.
When to plant
False cypress goes straight into the ground rather than starting in a seed tray. Plant it in spring or early fall while the soil is warm and the moisture steady, giving the roots time to settle before summer heat or hard winter cold. There's no bloom or harvest to wait on, since the draw here is the year-round foliage itself.
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 trouble shows up right on the plant itself: browning at the soft tips, a dull stippled cast over the foliage, sparse thinning strands above soggy ground, or dead brown wood at the core. Read the early signs in the foliage and the roots and you can step in before a branch is lost. Match what you see below, then act while it still helps.
Foliage thinning and going sparse over wet ground
When the canopy thins to bare, sparse strands and whole branches give out in soggy ground, the trouble is almost always root rot, often Phytophthora. Dig down and the roots are dark and mushy where firm white ones should be. A badly rotted plant cannot be saved, so fix the drainage, hold off the water, and only replant where it runs off freely.
Fix:
- Improve drainage immediately and stop overwatering
- Remove severely affected plants
- Replant only in well-drained soil
Soft tips fading from green to dead brown
When the very ends of the shoots turn reddish-brown to brown and crisp up, the cause is usually tip blight, a fungus that grabs hold of soft young growth in wet weather. Dry winter wind can leave the same scorched browning, but only on the side the wind hits. Cut the dead twigs back well into healthy tissue, wipe your blades between cuts, and open the plant up to more moving air and shelter.
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
Dull stippled foliage strung with fine webbing
A bronzed, finely stippled cast over the foliage with threads of webbing strung between the strands is the signature of spider mites, which crowd onto dusty, stressed growth. Hold a sheet of white paper under a branch, tap it, and you'll watch the specks crawl. Bagworms give themselves away differently, as small spindle-shaped bags dangling from the strands. Wash the mites off, pick the bags by hand, and hit young bagworms with Bt as the crawlers emerge 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 interior wood that stays leafless
Cut into the bare brown wood deep in the core and that spot simply stays dead, because the old wood carries no dormant buds to push out new strands. Some of that interior browning is just age, as the shaded lower branches drop their foliage over the years. Keep your cuts in green, foliage-bearing growth, and clear away the dead inner wood for a cleaner look while accepting it will not green up again.
Fix:
- Prune only into green foliage-bearing growth
- Remove dead interior wood for appearance, accepting it will not refill
Toxicity
Good news for households with animals: the soft foliage of false cypress is not considered toxic. It doesn't appear on the ASPCA poison lists, and it's counted safe around cats and dogs. As with any plant, a pet that wolfs down a mouthful of the feathery strands might get a brief stomach upset, but there's no real poison in the foliage to worry about.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Fine to keep near cats, since the soft foliage carries nothing on the ASPCA toxic list. A cat that chews through a mouthful of the feathery strands might get a passing stomach upset, as with many garden plants.
Dogs None
No concern for dogs. The foliage holds nothing toxic, though a big bite of the dense evergreen strands could leave a curious pup briefly queasy.
Horses Safe
Counted as safe around horses, with no toxic compounds reported in the soft, feathery foliage.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can graze near it unharmed. The foliage is no known poison, so a stray nibble at the strands won't hurt them.
Livestock Safe
Grazing cattle, goats, and sheep run no real risk from this conifer, whose foliage holds no toxins of note.
Birds Safe
Backyard and wild birds are fine around it, and the dense evergreen cover of layered foliage makes good shelter rather than a hazard.
People Safe
No toxic parts for people, though the foliage isn't food and the cut trimmings can feel a touch resinous and sticky 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 plants the full-size species. These are the named forms and close relatives, sorted by the look of their foliage, that you'll actually meet at the nursery.
'Gold Mop' / 'Golden Mop'
A dwarf threadleaf form whose stringy, mop-like strands glow a bright golden-yellow, mounding to about 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) tall and wide at 10 years before creeping to roughly 5 feet (150 cm).
'Boulevard'
A soft moss form clothed in blue-green to silvery juvenile foliage that feels feathery to the touch, rising to about 5 to 6 feet (150 to 180 cm) in 10 years and maturing near 12 feet (3.7 m).
'Filifera Aurea'
A golden threadleaf form whose weeping branches trail thread-like yellow strands, reaching 6 to 7 feet (180 to 215 cm) in 20 years and eventually about 20 feet (6 m).
Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
A separate relative, set apart by its flatter, fan-like sprays of scale foliage instead of the threadlike strands of the Sawara.
Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides)
A North American cousin at home in wet, boggy sites, standing apart from the Japanese Sawara false cypress.
How to propagate
How you multiply false cypress depends on the foliage you're after. Cuttings copy a prized golden or blue-green form down to the strand, while seed gives you the plain species and a grab bag of seedlings.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Mid to late fall · Several weeks to months to root
Cuttings are the standard way to copy the golden strands and the blue-green forms exactly, since they won't come true from seed. Take them in mid to late fall and stay patient, as they can take several weeks to months to push out roots.
SeedModerate
After cone ripening · Slow; seedlings variable
You can raise the plain species from seed sown after the cones ripen, but the results come slowly and unevenly. Each seedling differs in form and color, and none will carry the look of a named cultivar.
Myths
You can shear the feathery foliage hard like a hedge and it will fill back in from the bare wood.
Like most needled evergreens, false cypress holds no dormant buds on its old brown wood. Cut down into that bare interior and the gap stays leafless for good. Keep every cut in green growth and shape the plant a little at a time.
The soft cypress foliage is poisonous to cats and dogs.
Chamaecyparis doesn't appear on ASPCA toxic-plant lists. It is counted non-toxic to cats and dogs, though a pet that chews a lot of any foliage may get a mild, passing stomach upset.