Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Stardust - Lawson's Cypress

The Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Stardust is a golden-leaved Lawson cypress with moderate growth and a fairly wide but dense conical habit. Its slow growth, tolerance to light and repeated pruning, and its excellent screening power make it a perfect tall hedge tree. Elegant, very bright, and decorative all year round, it is also suitable for planting as a specimen tree in the garden. While not difficult to grow, this conifer appreciates sun, and cool, fertile, deep, but well-drained soil.

The Lawson Cypress, sometimes called false cypress, is a majestic conifer of the Cupressaceae family native to the moist coastal forests of the northwest United States. In its natural habitat, it often reaches over 30m (98.4ft) in height, with a trunk approaching 1.20m (3.3ft) in diameter. It has an upright and conical habit, and its drooping branches form soft curtains adorned with fairly dark, bluish-green foliage. It has given rise to numerous cultivars, among which there is a wide selection of plants of more modest stature, better suited to the size of our gardens.

The 'Stardust' variety is a golden-leaved form of this species that will reach approximately 6m (19.7ft) in height and 3.50m (11.5ft) in spread after many years if not pruned. Its growth is rather slow. From a young age, it exhibits a regular, fairly wide, and very dense conical habit, supported by erect branches emerging from the base of the trunk. Its slender and flattened branches are densely covered with scale-like leaves that are initially golden yellow, gradually turning greener over time.

The Chamaecyparis lawsonia 'Stardust' can be used as a hedge, a specimen plant or planted in a grove in a large garden. It does not require pruning, but it can tolerate light pruning. With a real presence and strong personality, it is quite challenging to pair with other large shrubs, but it plays its role perfectly as a bright screen at the back of shrub or perennial beds. The architectural qualities of conifers deserve to be more frequently introduced to our gardens, as they provide a permanent structure. These plants are reserved in summer, reasserting themselves in winter, when floral displays have deserted our gardens.