Cryptomeria japonica Elegans - Japanese Cedar

Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' is a variety of Japanese Cedar with moderate growth, whose foliage beautifully colours in autumn and winter. This medium-sized conifer has a widely conical and slightly irregular habit, with semi-trailing branches covered in soft and very gentle foliage, giving it a feathery appearance. Superb in large beds, as a standalone specimen, or to create a green screen, this very reliable variety will grow without difficulty in any well-drained garden soil without excessive limestone, in most not too cold regions.

Cryptomeria japonica is a very large conifer of the taxodiaceae family native to Japan. In its country of origin, this tree is commonly planted around religious temples. It is a species that thrives in a mild oceanic climate, humid all year round and mild in winter. In Asia, this forest tree with sequoia-like appearance can reach up to 60m in height, with a trunk diameter of 4m covered in vertical strips of reddish-brown bark. In our latitudes, it still reaches a height of 30 to 40m. The evergreen foliage of this conifer is composed of curved needles arranged in spirals around the branchlets. The Japanese Cedar has given rise to numerous cultivars selected for their small size, foliage appearance, cold resistance, and better tolerance to our soils and average climates.

The 'Elegans' variety was imported from Japan by Thomas Lobb from Britain in 1854. It is a juvenile form of Cryptomeria japonica that maintains moderate dimensions and its beautiful feathery foliage throughout its life. This conifer has a bushy, widely conical and very flexible habit, as well as dense vegetation. Mature specimens often show an irregular habit, sometimes composed of several overlapping columns if secondary trunks have not been removed in their youth. This small tree, which grows rather quickly during its early years, will reach 6 to 7m high and 3m wide after many years. Its wood is reddish-brown, and it has the beautiful fibrous bark typical of the species, also reddish-brown. Its delicate, non-prickly foliage ranges from a beautiful tender green to a deeper shade in summer and takes on beautiful bronze, copper and brown hues, with violet or bronze-green highlights when exposed to cold. It covers numerous slightly trailing branches. This variety is hardy down to -15°C, but it requires shelter from cold and dry winds and scorching sun. The tree sometimes produces small brown cones.

Cryptomeria japonica Elegans deserves to be better known and planted in gardens, in climates that are not too harsh or too dry. With its personality, discreet elegance, beautiful autumn and winter colours, and moderate growth, it is a perfect plant to bring life to the garden during the dull season. It can be planted in large beds, as a hedge, or as a standalone specimen. It can be associated with dwarf conifers with trailing (Juniperus horizontalis Blue Chip), rounded, or columnar habits, of different colours, or planted as a standalone specimen to mark the curve of a path or a shaded stair. Finally, the architectural qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden.

Uses/Properties:

The wood of the Japanese Cedar is pleasantly fragrant, with a beautiful pink-red colour, lightweight but robust and rot-resistant. It is widely used in Japan in all types of construction, both outdoors and indoors.