Red Star White Cypress
Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star'
Red Star White Cypress
Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star'
How are the heights measured?
All tree, and nothin' but the tree! We measure from the top of the soil to the top of the tree; the height of the container or the root system is never included in our measurements.
What is a gallon container?
Nursery containers come in a variety of different sizes, and old-school nursery slang has stuck. While the industry-standard terminology is to call the sizes "Gallon Containers", that doesn't exactly translate to the traditional liquid "gallon" size we think of. You'll find we carry young 1-gallons, up to more mature 7-gallons ranging anywhere from 6 inches to 6ft.
How does the delivery process work?
All of our orders ship via FedEx Ground! Once your order is placed online, our magic elves get right to work picking, staging, boxing and shipping your trees. Orders typically ship out within 2 business days. You will receive email notifications along the way on the progress of your order, as well as tracking information to track your plants all the way to their new home!
Why are some states excluded from shipping?
The short & sweet answer is: "United States Department of Agriculture Restrictions." Every state has their own unique USDA restrictions on which plants they allow to come into their state. While we wish we could serve everyone, it's for the safety of native species and helps prevent the spread of invasive disease & pests. We've gotta protect good ole' Mother Nature, after all.
About Me
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The Red Star White Cypress is an unusual and attractive small, upright evergreen, grown for its handsome winter colors of plum-purple and bronze. It has slightly prickly foliage that makes it look more like a juniper, with new spring-growth that is bright silver-blue and summer foliage that is blue-green. With its constantly changing colors this lively tree will bring lots of changes to your garden landscape and really add a lot of interest and visual value, without needing any care at all. As well, this plant grows well in damp or wet soil, where most other evergreens will not thrive, so it makes a great choice for low-lying areas. However if you just have a regular garden, the Red Star White Cypress will be completely happy too – this is a truly trouble-free plant that anyone can grow and enjoy.
- A big splash in winter with rich plum-purple foliage
- Silver-blue and then blue-green in spring and summer
- Grows into an upright dense bush that could eventually reach 20 feet
- Thrives in those wet areas where other plants fail, or in regular soil too
- Easy to grow and totally pest free
This bush needs no care at all and it is free of any pests. Just plant it in a sunny spot to help it develop the best winter colors and sit back to enjoy the view. This is a great choice for something different and a tree that you will not see in very many gardens, despite it being so easy to grow. It is a special form of a native American tree, so it is ideal for a modern natural gardens too.
- Plant Hardiness Zones 4-8
- Mature Width 2-12
- Mature Height 6-20
- Sun Needs Full Sun
Winter interest should always be a high-priority when choosing plants for your garden, since winter can be such a ‘dead’ time and the profusion of spring and summer flowering plants can easily leave us with bare branches or plain green at the dullest time of the year. This is particularly true in the cooler parts of the country, where winter-blooming plants seen further south are an impossible dream. Winter foliage color from evergreens is the main source of winter color, followed by berries and fruits, but most winter foliage on evergreens is limited to yellow, silver-blue or gray.
Something different is sure to be a big hit and the Red Star White Cypress delivers a very different color punch. As the cold of winter arrives, the normally blue-green foliage of this tree turns a lovely plum-purple, with bronzy overtones, adding richness to the garden view and really glowing on a sunny day, or against a snowy backdrop. As an added bonus, the flush of new spring growth is blue-gray in color, making your tree look like a different plant entirely, before turning blue-green for the summer.
The really good news about the Red Star White Cypress is that it’s not a one-hit wonder, but also a great work-horse around the garden – one that has been strangely overlooked by many gardeners. If you have damp, low-lying spots, or water in your garden you are probably a little frustrated by all the plants that want ‘well-drained’ soil. White cypress hails from swamps and wet-lands, so here is a plant that loves to have its feet in the mud, although it is perfectly happy in normal garden soil and conditions too.
Growing Red Star White Cypress Trees
If using native plants in your garden is also something that appeals to you, then you are on solid ground here, because white cypress (Chamaecyparis thyoides) is an American native tree that is actually the state tree of New Jersey. From Maine to Georgia and also in Mississippi, it is found in swampy and wet areas, mostly not too far from the coast. The natural tree is a bit large and ungainly for gardens, but the Red Star White Cypress is more compact and grows to 5 or 6 feet in the first years, eventually reaching 20 feet in height, compared to the 90 feet that is seen in wild trees.
In addition to being smaller, it is much denser too, upright, and it forms an irregular cone half as wide as it is tall. The foliage is slightly prickly and looks a little like a juniper or even heather. It does not look at all like the wild tree, or even like a typical cypress, and grows slowly, so it will not overwhelm the garden. These improvements have turned an ordinary wild tree into something worthy of a place in any garden.
Planting Location
Plant your Red Star White Cypress in a sunny location to develop the best winter colors – sun in fall is especially important for that, but otherwise it will fit into any garden without problems. Although a great choice for wet soil, around a pond or along a stream, it will be perfectly happy in ordinary garden soil of most kinds and is surprisingly drought resistant too, once well established in your garden. There are no pests and diseases that attack this plant and the prickly texture will resist deer.
Uses in Your Garden
The Red Star White Cypress makes a lovely specimen in a garden bed, or as part of your foundation planting around the house. Plant them singly or in groups of 3, or 5, to make a great impact in the garden. Because it is evergreen this is also a good choice for a screening plant in a wet location and it will develop into an excellent barrier, as long as a lot of height is not needed. Planted among deciduous flowering shrubs it will add density and structure to your beds and really shine in winter when the other plants are leafless.
Adding Red Star White Cypress Trees to Your Garden
If you are looking to liven-up your garden in winter with some unique colors, as well as add a very attractive, upright, easy to grow evergreen to your garden, then the Red Star White Cypress is a great choice. This unusual plant is not often available for sale, so demand is high. Our stocks are limited, so order now or risk missing out on a very special plant that will really give your garden a boost. With so many unique features, this plant can only be grown from stem pieces taken from correctly-identified mother plants. Cheap seedling white cypress will have no resemblance at all to this attractive tree and will only be a great disappointment.
