Cupressus macrocarpa Seeds | Monterey Cypress
LATIN NAME: Cupressus macrocarpa
COMMON NAME: Monterey Cypress
Plant Profile
Monterey cypress is one of the rarest trees in the wild and one of the commonest in cultivation. Its natural range is two small headlands near Carmel, California, where salt wind prunes the crowns into flat-topped, wind-sculpted shapes. In shelter it grows fast into a dense column twenty to twenty-five metres tall.
The foliage is bright green and lemon-scented when crushed, and the cones are large, round and grey-brown, staying closed on the tree for years until heat opens them. The timber is heavy, aromatic and famously resistant to rot, which is why it was planted so widely as a farm tree in the southern hemisphere.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is a case study in both tree breeding and tree disease. New Zealand and Britain planted it widely as a shelter and timber tree in the nineteenth century, and much of that material traces to a handful of wild parents, so the planted population is genetically narrow.
Since the 1940s a canker caused by Seiridium cardinale has killed millions of trees across the Mediterranean and the southern hemisphere, and resistance screening now drives much of the research. Monterey cypress also hybridises with Nootka cypress, producing the widely planted Leyland cypress, a cross that has become a whole industry of its own.
Uses & Benefits
In coastal gardens it is used as a windbreak, a clipped hedge or a specimen allowed to develop its characteristic flat crown. The wood takes a fine finish and was traditionally used for boat ribs, fence posts and coffins. On farmland it is planted as a shelterbelt because it stands salt and wind that defeat other evergreens.
The essential oil from the foliage is distilled in small quantities for perfumery and household preparations, and the sawdust is used in some traditional remedies for its scent. Gardeners in mild, damp climates value it for the speed with which it makes a screen, though that same speed makes it a poor choice for a small plot.
Old specimens in New Zealand are among the largest planted trees in the country, a reminder of how fast the species grows in a cool, moist climate.
Growing from Seed
Sow in autumn, or stratify for six weeks in the fridge; light improves germination. Use a free-draining mix, cover the seed thinly, and keep at 15-18C. Seedlings grow quickly and can reach thirty centimetres in their first year, so pot them on early to avoid root restriction.
Plant out in full sun with room for the crown. The tree is fast and eventually large, and it is not suitable for a small garden. Avoid humid, still sites, where canker is worst, and do not clip a young tree hard until it has made a clear trunk, since the cut wounds are slow to heal.
Our Take
Fast, salt-proof and unmistakable, Monterey cypress earns its place on exposed ground. It is a tree for a large site and a long view, not for a suburban strip.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Monterey Cypress: