Plant Finder

Other Names:  Modoc Cypress, Siskiyou Cypress

Description:

A narrow accent tree with a conical crown; foliage is fine pendulous sprays of blue-green; found on sites that are difficult for plant growth in the wild; use as a solitary accent in the yard or a large garden

Ornamental Features

Baker's Cypress is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The fragrant scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Baker's Cypress is an open evergreen tree with a strong central leader and a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Baker's Cypress is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Windbreaks and Shelterbelts

Planting & Growing

Baker's Cypress will grow to be about 35 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.