Cypress is an evergreen plant that belongs to the Cypress family. These are thermophilic plants. In landscape design it is used as a single plant and in alleys, can grow in open ground and in pots. In nature, there are about 15 species of cypress, each of which varies in height, color, crown shape, growing conditions.
Evergreen cypress - what it is and how it looks
A tree may have a straight or curved trunk. It is covered with a thin smooth bark, which in youth has a light brown color, then gradually darkens, becomes gray-brown and becomes covered with grooves.
What does cypress look like?
For your information! The branches have a quadrangular or rounded cross section, the leaves are small. Skeletal branches grow and stretch upward, fitting tightly to the trunk. Shoots are soft and thin, branched. It is not for nothing that the nickname "slim as a cypress" appeared.
Young individuals look more fluffy due to the awl-like leaves that lag behind the branch. As they grow, they become scaly and pressed to the shoots. The green color is dark green.
In the first years of life, needle leaves resembling spruce needles. In the fourth year of life, they become scaly. If you look closely, each leaf has a groove that differs in texture and color. This is oily iron. The description of cypress will be incomplete, if not to mention the incredible, aroma of needles.
Cypress trees feel good both in the sun and in the shade, tolerate a decrease in temperature to -20 ° C. Thanks to soft needles it is easy to cut to give a beautiful shape.
Adult specimens easily tolerate transplantation, but it is worth being careful not to damage sensitive roots, you need to transplant with an earthen lump. When buying a seedling, its roots must also be covered and protected.
Despite the possibility of self-seeding, at home it is easier and faster to plant a plant by cuttings. Flowering of the tree begins in the period from March to May. Pollen turns into dirty green shoots and can cause allergies, and woodworms and moths scare away.
Note!Cypress wood is used to make furniture. In its properties, it is similar to walnut specimens.
Where does cypress grow
The birthplace of conifer is North America. In nature, the tree is widespread in Guatemala and California; it can also be found in other countries of the northern hemisphere. It grows in the USA, China, Lebanon, Syria, Crimea, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, subtropics and tropics of the Mediterranean. On New Year's holidays, cypress dress up instead of a Christmas tree.
Needles plants
Cypress - coniferous or deciduous tree
The Latin plant sounds like "Cupressus". It has no sharp needles, visually its crown is similar to foliage, so people wonder: cypress - coniferous or deciduous?
What is cypress can be understood by studying the classification:
- the kingdom is plants;
- department - conifers;
- class - conifers;
- order - pine;
- family - Cypress;
- genus - Cypress.
The answer is unequivocal, cypress is a coniferous tree; it is correct to call its crown a conifer. In addition, seeds that ripen in cones are used for reproduction.
Note! Many confuse cypress with cypress. These are two different plants that belong to different families.
Cypress - gymnosperm plant
When they say that the plant is gymnospermous, this means that its seeds are not located in the fruit and are not protected by anything, that is, they are open. Such plants have neither flowers nor fruits.
Almost all gymnosperms are evergreens, they form ovules, which eventually turn into seeds, covered with flat scales attached to the stem. In conifers and shrubs, ovules resemble a spiral in shape and form cones.
Cypress is a genus of trees that is monoecious. This means that on each tree, both male and female cones of gray-brown color grow. Each diameter is 3.5 cm, with several seeds under each flake. Cones ripening occurs in the second year of life.
Bumps
How much cypress grows
Cypress is a long-liver, at home its life span is up to 300 years, in natural conditions up to 1-2 thousand years.
The evergreen cypress shows the fastest growth in youth, in the first three years of life. During this period, the plant reaches 1-2 m, after which it adds another half a meter a year. At 50, growth stops and is slow, and reaches a maximum height of 100 years and is 30 m.
Does cypress shrub happen
Speaking of cypress, many imagine it as an elongated plant with a triangular or spreading crown. Most species are really slender and tall, but there are lush, spreading shrubs in nature, with a maximum height of 2 m, for example, the view is horizontal.
Cypress: types and description
Each view has its own characteristics and fits perfectly into the garden. The most popular type is pyramidal. Less well-known, but no less attractive - Italian.
Note! You can also grow Apollo in the garden. It is also a tall and narrow tree, but the crown is more fluffy and branched.
It is radically different from all other species of cypress bog or taxodium biline. It grows on swampy soils or along the banks of sluggish rivers. Choosing the right place for planting, you can grow it yourself by buying seeds or a seedling. The root system of the marsh species is pivotal, so a permanent place of growth is immediately selected. Pseudophores or lateral rhizomes, which grow throughout the trunk and create a wall around the plant, add decorativeness. There is no need to look after such a tree.
Swamp view
Pyramidal cypress
The evergreen pyramidal cypress (Cupressus Sempervirens) is a tall coniferous tree. It has a dense crown, which rises in the sky with an arrow.
Pyramidal view
It grows slowly, the maximum height of cypress is 20-40 m. The peak of growth reaches 80-100 years. The wood is gray-brown, dark.
Note! The root system is small but powerful, the roots are branched, like a bush. That is why it is so easy to transplant even an adult plant.
The roots of the tree are sensitive, with them you need to be careful when transplanting and gardening. Even with minor damage, the tree may dry out.
The leaves of the pyramidal cypress densely cover the spreading branched branches. Young leaves are thin and sharp, more reminiscent of needles. As they grow, they become soft and resemble scales. On the lower side there is oil gland.
The needles are small, bright green in color. It is soft to the touch, it is impossible to prick it. The needles of an elongated-rhombic shape are located crosswise and tightly pressed to the shoots. The length of each flake is 10-15 cm.
Male and female cones reach maturity by the end of the second year of life, have a round or oval shape. Young fruits have a green tint; by the end of ripening, they become covered with scales and darken. The diameter of each cone is 3 cm. Seeds remain germinating up to 6 years.
Italian cypress
Italian cypress loves the sun. It is planted on loose drained soil, which requires top dressing every two years.
Small needle-shaped leaves eventually become scaly diamond-shaped. In landscape design, it is used to create an emphasis on a site or hedge.
Note! The shape of the tree is conical, the branches are ascending and pressed to the post. A monolithic silhouette is created by lateral shoots growing in all directions.
This species is resistant to drought and frost, does not require special care.
The maximum height of the plant is 20-25 m. The root system of Italian cypress, like other species, is fibrous, shallow and sensitive.
Cypress is not the most expensive tree, but even those who can’t afford to plant a hedge or make a composition of several trees should remember that a coniferous tree will look great and alone. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about which side of the site to plant it on; it’s not picky about the growing conditions.
