Cupressus macrocarpa seed
LATIN NAME: CUPRESSUS MACROCARPA
COMMON NAME: Monterey Cypress
The Monterey cypress is a wind-sculpted evergreen of the Pacific coast, its broad, flat-topped crown and gnarled, spreading branches giving it a dramatic, windswept silhouette that is iconic of the California shoreline. In cultivation it is often seen as a tall, columnar tree with dense, dark-green, scale-like foliage, but in its native habitat, where it is battered by ocean winds, it takes on a picturesque, irregular form. The small, round, grey-brown cones stay on the tree for years, opening to release winged seeds after fire or hot weather, and the foliage carries a pleasant, lemony scent when crushed. Native to a tiny stretch of coast around Monterey, California, it is one of the most widely planted cypresses in the world, valued for its fast growth, its wind hardiness and its tolerance of coastal salt spray. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and it makes an excellent windbreak or specimen tree in mild climates.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Monterey cypress has a substantial record in horticulture, forest pathology and ecology. Horticulturists study its fast growth, its many cultivars — including the golden-leaved forms and the dwarf, lemon-scented varieties — and its use as a windbreak, hedge and specimen tree. It is also the natural host of a devastating canker disease caused by an introduced pathogen, and plant pathologists have studied this disease extensively, working to understand its spread and to develop resistant trees. Ecologists examine its role in the coastal plant community, its fire-adapted cone opening and its interaction with wildlife. Forestry researchers study its wood properties, its growth rates and its potential for plantation forestry. For a tree so widely planted and so emblematic of the coast, the Monterey cypress has a rich and practical body of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Monterey cypress is a valuable coastal tree. Its dense, evergreen canopy gives shelter and nesting sites for birds, its cones feed seed-eating birds and rodents, and its wind-hardy form provides protection from salt spray and wind for other plants and animals. In its native range it is part of a rare and threatened coastal ecosystem. Economically, it is one of the most important ornamental and shelterbelt trees in mild climates, used extensively for windbreaks, hedges, coastal plantings and specimen trees, and its many cultivars are mainstays of the nursery trade. The wood is durable and fragrant, used locally for construction and fencing. For a grower, it is a fast, dependable evergreen for a windy, coastal site, and for a gardener it brings dark, scale-leaved texture and wind-hardy form. The winged seeds germinate readily on the surface in a bright, sheltered spot.
To grow the Monterey Cypress from seed, to raise the Monterey cypress, sow the winged seeds on the surface of gritty, moist seed compost in a bright, sheltered spot and keep them lightly watered until the seedlings appear.
sow the winged seeds on the surface of gritty, moist seed compost in a bright, sheltered spot, and keep the young cypresses in a bright, sheltered spot until the seedlings appear.
LATIN NAME: Cupressus macrocarpa
COMMON NAME: Monterey Cypress
The Monterey cypress is a handsome, tall, columnar or broad, evergreen conifer of the coastal regions, and its fine, scale-like, dark-green foliage and its small, round, grey-brown cones have made it a treasured and wind-hardy tree of the coast and the garden. It grows as a tall, evergreen conifer, reaching up to twenty metres or more, with the upright, branching trunk bearing the dense, columnar or broad crown of the fine, scale-like, dark-green foliage and, through the year, the small, round, grey-brown cones of the many winged seeds. It is a species of the coniferous tree in the cypress family, and it is native to the small coastal region of the western North America, while it is grown as a treasured windbreak and ornamental tree, and it is known as the Monterey cypress.
The Monterey cypress belongs to the cypress family, Cupressaceae, and it is a species of the tall, evergreen conifer, native to the small coastal region of the western North America, while it is grown as a treasured windbreak and ornamental tree, and it is known as the Monterey cypress. It is prized for its fine, scale-like, dark-green foliage and its wind-hardy form.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Monterey cypress has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the horticulture and the land use, since its fine, scale-like, dark-green foliage and its remarkable, wind-hardy growth have made it a treasured windbreak and ornamental tree of the coast, and researchers have examined its growth, its form and its cultivation, while its value as a windbreak has drawn attention in the international horticultural and ecological press as a tree of the coast. The plant has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a native of the small coastal region of the western North America, and its relationships, its distribution and its role in the coast have been examined, while the ecology of the coastal trees has been of continuing interest, and its fine, scale-like foliage has been of interest to the botanists. The species has also been studied in the forestry and the ecology of the wildlife, since its small, round cones feed the seed-eating birds, and its dense, evergreen crown gives a fine cover to the wildlife, while the ecology of the coastal woodlands has been of continuing interest, and the Monterey cypress has been of value in the shelter of the coast. For a tree of such wind-hardy value, the Monterey cypress has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Monterey cypress is a generous tree of the garden. Its small, round, grey-brown cones feed the seed-eating birds, and its fine, dense, evergreen foliage gives a fine cover and a shelter to the birds through the year, while its wind-hardy form gives a fine shelter to the coast and the garden.
Its economic value is real. The Monterey cypress is prized for its fine, scale-like, dark-green foliage and its remarkable, wind-hardy growth, and its value has drawn attention in the international horticultural and ecological press as a tree of the coast, while its fine, wind-hardy form has made it a treasured windbreak and ornamental tree of the many coastal lands. For a grower, the Monterey cypress is an easy and rewarding tree, and for a gardener it brings a scale-leaved, wind-hardy, evergreen tree to the garden. The seeds are easy to start — sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, keep them lightly watered in a sunny spot, and theyll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a scale-leaved, wind-hardy, evergreen tree.
Cupressus macrocarpa originates from the Mediterranean area. Wilma is a sport of Goldcrest which was raised in Truro Cornwall around 1948. A superb, dense, small, conical conifer with bright yellow needles which have a strong lemon fragrance when bruised. Wilma is not the hardiest of conifers so will require a sheltered location. Althought it is used for hedging, its most common use, and one for which it is ideally suited, is as an accent plant in pots and containers or sheltered garden borders. Not fussy as to soil, as long as well drained and once established it is very tolerant of drought. Plant in full sun as in more than light shade the foliage will turn green. This plant can be used in a mixed planting or as a stand alone specimen in the garden or can easily be grown in a pot or other container. Use a good quality John Innes compost with added course peat or other organic material as this plant will be there a long time and pure peaty types of compost eventually degrade, become too packed and choke the roots. Ensure you keep them well watered and feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmoscote pro 12-14 month applied in the early spring. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires for the whole year. John Innes is a soils based compost.