Cupressus sempervirens Totem - Florence Cypress

Cupressus sempervirens 'Totem', commonly known as Provence Cypress or Florence Cypress, is a tall evergreen conifer that stands out for its particularly narrow columnar habit and rapid growth during its young years. It never bears fruit, allowing it to maintain a compact foliage and an impeccable silhouette, resembling a tall dark green totem. This variety is perfect for punctuating an entrance or structuring a garden. It shows greater hardiness in well-drained soil, even rocky and poor soil, and can tolerate drought.

Cupressus sempervirens is a species in the Cupressaceae family, believed to be native to Asia but acclimatised in Mediterranean regions for a long time due to its excellent adaptation to drought, wind, and poor soils. In nature, it is found in dry and open forests, usually on limestone soil. Similar to Chamaecyparis, it differs in its rounded branchlets arranged in fascicles around the main axis, and its larger cones with woody scales. 'Totem' is a recent variety, belonging to the 'stricta' group, which gathers selected plants for their upright habit rather than horizontal.

'Totem', aptly named, is a tall and narrow variety that can reach a height of 10 m to 14 m (32.8 ft to 45.9 ft), with a spread not exceeding 1 m (3.3 ft). By the age of 6, under good conditions, it will reach a height of 6 m (19.7 ft). This variety has the advantage of not producing fruits, which weigh down and widen the branches, resulting in a messy and unkempt silhouette in other varieties. Well-branched from the base, compact, upright, and fast-growing in its youth, 'Totem' proudly carries its aromatic, dark, and fine foliage on consistently erect branches. Like that of all common cypresses, its wood is fragrant and reveals resin under a brownish-grey, fairly thin and fissured bark. Its root system is taprooted, allowing it to anchor deeply in the soil to draw water and nutrients and withstand even strong winds.

Cupressus sempervirens 'Totem' is perfect for framing an entrance, planted in a group of three, as was historically done in Provence to greet visitors and signal a welcoming human presence to lost travellers. The elegance of its column beautifully structures a garden, whether it is contemporary, Italian, or Mediterranean in style. It can also be used as a standalone specimen, surrounded by grey foliage (Artemisias, lavenders, Melianthus major, Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Spire') or in an evergreen hedge, alongside Arbutus unedo, the Holm Oak, common juniper and its varieties, Ceanothus arboreus 'Skylark', and Eleagnus ebbingei for example.