Cupressus sempervirens Garda

The Cupressus sempervirens 'Garda', commonly known as the Provence cypress or Florence cypress, was selected near Lake Garda in the Italian Alps. This variety has a tall, slender habit, with a tapered but dense columnar shape, and thick foliage of a vibrant green colour. Unlike the classic evergreen cypress, it produces few fruits, allowing it to maintain a compact growth and an impeccable silhouette over time. This large conifer is perfect for accentuating an entrance or structuring a garden. It thrives in sunny, well-drained soil, even rocky, poor, and dry in summer.

The Cupressus sempervirens is a species in the cupressaceae family. It is believed to originate from Asia but has been acclimated for a long time in Mediterranean regions due to its excellent adaptation to drought, wind, and poor soils. In nature, it is found in dry and open forests, usually on limestone or rocky soil. Similar to Chamaecyparis, it differs with its rounded branchlets arranged in tufts around the main axis, and larger cones with woody scales. 'Garda' is a recent variety, part of the 'stricta' group, which gathers plants selected for their upright habit rather than horizontal.

'Garda' is a tall and narrow variety, reaching a height of 10m (32 ft 10 in) but with a spread not exceeding 1.50m. At the age of 6, under good conditions, it can already reach a height of 7m (23 ft). This variety has thick branchlets and the advantage of producing almost no fruits, which would weigh down and widen the crown, resulting in an untidy appearance. Well-branched from the base, compact, and upright, 'Garda' proudly displays its beautiful aromatic foliage, of a vibrant green colour, on consistently erect branches. Like all common cypresses, its wood is fragrant and reveals resin under a relatively thin and fissured brown-gray bark that peels off in strips. Its root system is of the taproot type, allowing it to anchor deeply in the soil to draw water and nutrients and resist even strong winds.

The Italian Cypress 'Garda' is perfect for framing an entrance, planted in groups of three, as was done in the past in Provence to welcome visitors and indicate a human presence. Its slender column elegantly structures a garden, whether it is contemporary, Italian, or Mediterranean in style. It can also be used as a standalone specimen, surrounded by gray foliage (Artemisias, Lavenders, Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Spire') or in a large evergreen hedge. It can also be placed in front of a persistent screen composed of strawberry trees, Evergreen Oak, Common Juniper and its varieties, Elaeagnus ebbingei and Laurel Tin, for example.