The Blue Italian Cypress is a selected form of the classic Italian cypress, which has beautiful and dramatic blue-green foliage, instead of the normal dark-green found in the regular tree. This makes the tree a much more powerful accent, that really stands out in the garden, and it is a superior color choice to the classic form. With its extremely narrow profile – just 4 feet or so wide and up to 60 feet tall or more, this is the easiest way to create those strong vertical accents that enrich your garden design. There are many places they can be used. A pair on either side of a door or entrance is a wonderful addition. Use them to line a driveway, or as a line to accent and define your property boundary.
- Dramatic pencil form – naturally very narrow
- Striking blue foliage all year round
- Beautiful garden accent or screen
- Grows in the hottest and driest locations
- Needs no clipping to stay super-thin and tall
A sunny location in well-drained soil of any kind is best for your Blue Italian Cypress. It has no significant pests or diseases and this tree is extremely drought-resistant and tough even in the hottest and driest locations. It also needs no clipping to keep its very narrow, upright form, so if you want low-maintenance beauty and drama, this is the tree you need. With its unique blue-green foliage color it is sure to be a hit wherever you grow it.
Strong vertical accents are always a dramatic addition to the garden, stopping the eye and creating depth and focus. There are several evergreens that are used for that purpose, but in warmer areas, none beat the pencil-thin outline of the Italian Cypress. This tree is known for its rich, dark-green foliage, and now we have for your gardening pleasure the stunning blue alternative of the Blue Italian Cypress. With all the great features of its parent, such as toughness and incredible drought and heat resistance, this dramatic tree adds bold green-blue foliage coloring.
Like a bright needle, the Blue Italian Cypress Tree thrusts up against the sky, bringing drama and elegance at the same time to your garden. If you have hot, sunny spots which become very dry, then this is the perfect choice. Never taking up more than an area 6 feet across, even when fully grown, this fast-growing tree will shoot up to stand tall, just like you might have seen in the Tuscan hills of Italy.
Growing Blue Italian Cypress Trees
The Blue Italian Cypress is the perfect accent tree, planted alone, or in a cluster of three or five trees. It is also magnificent planted at even spacing along a driveway – sentinels guarding your entrance, or more closely together as an easy screen that never needs clipping to stay upright and solid. A pair on either side of a doorway or entrance are dramatic and wonderful. Mixed with other trees it stands out and attracts attention. For a hedge in a confined space, it can be kept just 2 feet wide and at any height you need for an indefinite period.
Planting Location
Plant your trees in a sunny location, in any well-drained soil. It will not grow well in wet soil, but for the first season you should water it regularly, until it becomes established. Then it will need no further care, and it is very, very drought resistant. It has no significant pests or diseases and needs no trimming to maintain its pencil-thin narrow profile.
Size and Appearance
With so many uses you may find it hard to believe that this tree is very easy to grow, and so fast-growing that you can literally plant it, and after a little watering during the first year, forget all about it. It will grow almost 3 feet every year, staying narrow and naturally becoming dense and solid. For an even sharper profile, it can of course be clipped, but it simply doesn’t need it. If time is important to you, then trimming is a thing of the past.
The Blue Italian Cypress grows naturally into a spire 60 feet tall, and even more, yet it stays 4 to 6 feet wide its whole life. For many years it will have foliage right to the ground, and even ancient trees only have a short trunk of rugged bark beneath the dense column of foliage. The tight, upright foliage is made up of small scales pressed hard against the thin stems, and the color is a magnificent silver-blue all year round. The new growth is bright blue-green, slowly darkening through the season, until in winter it is richly toned. Then it brightens again as the new growth begins.
