The Carolina Sapphire Cypress, or Hesperocyparis Arizonica, is a fast-growing evergreen that has silvery-blue leaves. The plant can grow twenty to thirty feet tall and can have a pyramidal shape. You can use this tree as an alternative to a privacy fence, as it becomes a live fence when fully grown. The extraordinary thing about this tree is a fast evergreen growing, with having excellent resistant to insect, deer, and disease.
Garden Uses
The Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree grows in an upright pyramidal form, twenty-five to thirty feet tall and eight to twelve feet wide. The Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree is ideal for use in evergreen privacy screen plantings.
The tree is useful to frame in the background anywhere in sunny landscape borders, corners of tall buildings, or homes. It is an exceptional addition to your Xeriscape gardens, where low water needs, conifer gardens, bird gardens, and wildlife gardens. The tree is also suitable for an outdoor Christmas tree.
Growth and size
The tree can grow at maturity up to twenty to thirty feet in height. The width of the tree at maturity can reach up to fifteen feet. If you want to use the tree for privacy screen plantings, keep eighteen feet or more of space between trees.
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Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree profile
Light requirement
The Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree is very happy if they receive all the sun you can provide them. The tree will also tolerate some shade.
It would be a good idea to know the light requirement for the tree you intend to plant. It will grow well if they get full sun from the morning until dark.
Soil
The Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree will adapt to a full range of soils. The tree prefers a moist but well-drained soil when they are young. The tree becomes tolerant of dry soils when they get matured. Wet soil or soggy soil can be problematic.
If you are uncertain about soil drainage in the area, you should take your time to test the drainage in the area before planting. You can do this by digging a hole about twelve inches wide by twelve inches deep in the planting area. You have to see how the water drain when you pour a bucket of water into the hole. After the water drains, fill it with a bucket of water again.
Use your stopwatch, clock how long it takes to drain. It should have a rate of one inch per hour of water level that goes down if the soil is well-drained. If the water drains at a faster rate, such as in sandy and loose soil, this could be a sign of potentially dry site conditions. A slower rate of water level to go down indicates poor draining soil.
If so, you might require to enhance drainage, or plant the tree in a raised mound or bed, or look for plants that are more tolerant of wet or soggy conditions.
Temperature
With USDA Plant Hardiness Zones of 7a to 9b, the lowest temperature for the Carolina Sapphire Cypress is 25 to 30 Fahrenheit (-1.11 °C) and -1.2 to -3.8 Celsius. It can be grown in California, Desert Southwest, southernmost Texas, and central Florida.
Humidity
The ideal humidity condition for Carolina Sapphire Cypress is between 66% to 85%. You should be aware that the tree can thrive well in the warmer region in the US.
How to care for Carolina Sapphire Cypress
Fertilizer
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Carolina Sapphire Cypress trees are not heavy feeders. The trees would benefit from fertilization to support growth and maintain the right foliage color, especially during the early stage. When established, fertilizer is not usually necessary as the tree can get the nutrients they need from the rainfall, decomposing mulch, and soil.
Carolina Sapphire Cypress trees should be fed in early spring or late winter prior as new growth starts to emerge. The fast-growing Carolina or Sapphire Cypress can be re-fertilized in late spring or early summer months.
To prevent being damaged to new growth stimulated by the fertilizer, stop feeding the tree two months before the average first frost date in the area.
Fertilizer in the yard
Fertilize the fast-growing Caroline Sapphire Cypress trees growing in the ground according to the recommended rates on the product label. Use a slow-release shrub and tree fertilizer that consists of sulfur and iron for deep greening.
You can feed the plants with a portion of organic plant food. If the leaf of your trees or shrubs develops chlorosis (fading of the leaf), this could indicate a high soil pH or alkaline soil.
It could be a sign of a lack of iron in the soil. You can acidify the soil as well as for deep greening by applying sulfur and iron at rates recommended on the product label.
Fertilizer in pots
Feed the tree as recommended on the product label with a slow-release or water-soluble plant food listed for containers. Mostly, trees and shrubs feed themselves from their root system. The feeder roots are seen beyond and at the branch. The drip line is where most of the fertilizer should be spread.
The drip line will be determined by the age and size of the fast-growing shrub or tree. Spread the fertilizer using hand or spreader under the plant and three to four inches beyond the drip line for each twelve-inches of plant height. If a tree is feet tall, spread the fertilizer about fifteen to twenty inches beyond the drip line.
Watering
Since the Caroline Sapphire Cypress tree prefers a moist to damp but well-drained soil, it is tolerant to dry soil conditions. The tree will not tolerate soggy or wet soil conditions that can cause root rot and harmful plant diseases. That is why you should be careful not to over-water the tree.
For stimulating early root formation and providing reliable root development, you can water the newly planted tree with a Root Stimulator solution. This stimulator can lower transplant shock and promotes greener, and more vigorous plants.
During the winter, this dormant season tree will need less water. So, do not to overwater during winter.
On average, you must not have to water your newly planted tree every day. This watering practice will cause soggy soil conditions that can lead to root rot and plant diseases. If there is a lack of rainfall, you should water the tree only as required to keep the root ball and soil damp to moist. You have to remember that deep soaking less frequently.
Please let the soil dry out somewhat before watering again. This practice is much better than splashing just a little amount of water on the tree every day. During prolonged periods of drought, the tree will be happy to receive some supplemental water. It would be best if you did a good, deep soaking whenever you see the leaves wilting or stem tips drooping during prolonged drought.
When you are carefully watering with an automated irrigation system, it is recommended to set your timer to water in the early morning hours. Do not set the timer in the late evening or at night. The evening watering can cause the onset of fungus and other foliage diseases. During the first few weeks after planting, you should check the soil moisture. Adjust the irrigation time to keep the soil moist, but not wet.
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Pruning
Carolina Sapphire Cypress trees do not need any pruning. It can be pruned lightly just for shaping purposes. It is recommended to give the tree ample room to grow to their mature size. With enough room, the tree never needs pruning. Prune only when you want to remove a stray or damaged branch that spoils the shape or the beautiful look of the tree.
You can do light pruning for shaping at any time of year. However, it is recommended to prune in late winter before new growth has started to emerge. It would be best if you stopped pruning two months before the average first frost date. When pruning your tree, always sterilize and use a sharp pair of bypass hand pruners. When shearing for shaping purposes, you can utilize clippers or hedge trimmers.
Planting and growing
Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree will grow to be about thirty feet tall at maturity. The spread of the tree at maturity is at twenty feet.
The tree has a low canopy with a clearance of one foot from the ground. You must be careful not to plant the tree underneath power lines. Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree grows at a fast rate. The tree can be expected to live for more than 60 years.
This Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree should only be grown in full sunlight. The Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree is not particular about soil pH but grows well in sandy soils. It is tolerant of urban pollution and an excellent selection of a native North American species.
Propagating Carolina Sapphire Cypress
If you want to achieve the best results growing Caroline Sapphire Cypress tree, buy directly purchasing a new tree from the local nursery. Professional use grafting techniques to quickly and propagate these trees for the nursery industry.
Grafting is the task of cutting a young branch from the parent tree and join it to a root cutting. When the graft union heals, the outcome is a duplicate of the parent. The new tree requires growing in containers for at least one season before planting in the ground.
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Pest and diseases
Cypress bark beetles can damage and even kill Carolina Sapphire Cypress trees. They are susceptible to diseases caused by water stress. The tree is susceptible to foliage blight caused by Cercospora Sequoia, limiting commercial production in some areas. Seedlings are susceptible to damping-off fungus.
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