Hinoki Cypress
Information about the Hinoki Cypress
One of the fascinating things about the Hinoki Cypress is the tree’s versatility. For this, a dwarf species makes the ideal choice for growing a bonsai plant or a full-size tree could be planted and enjoyed outdoors. The official name of this tree is Chamaecyparis obiusa, although some people call it the Japanese Cypress or simply Hinoki. Obviously, the name shows the origin of this tree being Japan.
This particular species of Cypress grows very slowly but at maturity, it is beautiful. The bark is dark reddish brown and the leaves are about three inches long, featuring blunt tips, as well as green on the top and green with a white stomatal band on the underside. The Hinoki Cypress also produces cones, which are globose, about eight inches in diameter, and with anywhere from eight to twelve scales that appear in opposite pairs. Although Taiwan has a similar species of Cypress tree, the two can be identified in that the Taiwanese version has smaller cones and the leaves are not as blunted.
In its natural habitat, the Hinoki Cypress grows in timbered areas with high quality soil. Because the wood is so beautiful with a light pink brown coloring, straight grain color, and has a natural lemon scent, it has been a popular choice for construction. In fact, when looking at temples, shrines, palaces, bath houses, theaters, masu, and table tennis blades, this wood is the most popular material to use. Another benefit of the Hinoki Cypress is that it is rot resistant, which adds to the value as building wood.
Throughout Japan and other Asian countries, wood from the Hinoki Cypress is also commonly used as an ornamental tree in parks and the famous Japanese gardens. However, it has been discovered that this type of Cypress does amazingly well in other parts of the world so today, people in North America and Western Europe also use this tree for building, as well as ornamental purposes in gardens and parks. While this type of tree offers tremendous benefits, it is also the number one cause of allergies in Japan.
Just as this particular type of Cypress can be grown as a full size tree or dwarf version perfect for growing bonsai, there are also variations whereby the color and shape of leaves and foliage changes. In all, more than 200 cultivars exist, each with unique characteristics to include maturity size. For example, a variation of this Cypress that many people love is called the Crippsii, which has a conic golden/green crown although the Nana Aurea is also a great choice due to the golden tips on the fans and bronze gold color seen in the wintertime.
As a part of the evergreen family, the tree can grow up to 30 feet tall and between 15 and 30 feet wide. Overall, this tree has beautiful features but the stringy soft bark and gold colored fans are without doubt the most beautiful. To grow this type of tree, it prefers moist but also well-drained soil that is slightly on the acidic side. In addition, the tree needs to be planted in full sun. The challenges of the Hinoki Cypress include twig blight, root rot, needle blight, and spruce mites.