My favorite is 'Spiralis'. I can't grow them here nor in microclimates with perfect dappled sunlight. It's the winters that snapped mine.

They do have sharp spines that fall to the ground such as those that are always missed after pruning barberry, a plant I refuse to not plant even if it has invasiveness. I don't wish to step on them or have my dog either. Other than that many are cool as all heck.

Dax

I love cryptomeria. But I just have "Black Dragon" at the moment. I think I will be getting more of them as I understand they're one of the few conifers that can take the deep south east heat and humidity.

Thank for sharing the pics, have any more?

Anyone have a link to a good source?

Terry

Thanks Darren,

I only have room left for the smaller Cryptomerias,
but I have managed to collect about half as many as you.

My most prised acquisition is a couple of C.j. 'Araucarioides' -- although its going to be quite a few years before it gets its characteristic look (assuming it survives that long -- no winter damage so far....).

My newest is this little Mushroom:

Darren, The 'Rasen' is awsome! I love a conifer that can take the heat!

Hi Darren-
Thanks for the nice pics. Either you are a much better plantsman than I am( wouldn't take much) or your zone 5a is somewhat different from mine. The 4 Cryptomerias that I have all suffer from our winters(central Michigan), with a C.j. 'Ryoku gyoku' perishing after its second winter.
Here are pics of the others-
Cryptomeria japonica 'Tenzan' - I have had this for 5 years. The damaged areas are getting larger after each winter. I may move it to an an area that has partial shade.
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Cryptomeria japonica 'Koshyi' - this is growing in partial shade.
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Cryptomeria japonica 'Kilmacurragh' - this may be the least hardy of what I have. Nice green color and little cockscombs. But it looks as though it is getting damaged more each winter. I have little hope for it surviving.
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I also have C.j.'Birodo-Sugi'(compressa) which seems to be getting damaged about the same as Tenzan and Koshyi.

shannon

I got a birodo-sugi recently and made a post about over-wintering it. The only cryptomerias that seem hardy to my area are the ones that get really, really huge.

I find that the larger growing the plant the hardier it is also. This year we had more snow than usual and buried a few of the more dwarf ones. Most of these I've had for a few years now. I find that planting them in filtered shade or morning sun and afternoon shade seems to be working quite well for me.

C.j. Cristata
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C.j.Sekkan Sugi

These two are the same cultivar...'Tansu'.

Two different growing characteristics. Planted at the same time, about 8 years ago. They appeared to be the same in every respect but took off into two different growing habits. Maybe this is normal, I don't know.

The pyramidal one grown in 80% shade.

The horizontal one grown in full sun.

Apparently sun has no bearing as to how fast they grow as they are close together size wise.

Dave
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I find myself drawn to Cryptomerias as well. Mine are still really young and I only have a handful now, but my favorites are probably 'Rasen' and 'Araucarioides.' My husband really loves 'Sekkan Sugi' (and he normally ignores plants).

Darren-how old is the 'Rasen' in your photo?

Dave, I am so glad you shared your observation. I have had a lot of trouble with sunburn on my little babies...they seem so much happier in shade. If your finding holds true for my location, it would also free up more space for conifers in my yard (lots of big old trees cast a lot of shade).

Thanks to everyone who posted photos. I love them.

Hi Dave,

My Tansu looks like your 1st picture, a bit more pyramidal then spreading. I hope mine looks like yours in a couple years. It's a nifty plant.

Asbestos, Rasen is 6 years old and is slightly taller than 5' (150cm). Last year it grow over 12" (30cm). I had the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture here for a tour yesterday and they were quite enamoured with the plant. When you touch it, you would think it's plastic.

If you have the room I would recommend getting one. It seems to stay fairly narrow but tall growing.

I've thrown out a few of the dwarf forms myself from planting them in the wrong spot. Either being too optimistic or just lacking good judgement for the little fellows.

Darren

I have a few Cryptomerias also. Here's my 'Kilmacurragh'
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&currentMy Tenzan has also burned this year in quite a lot of sun. It was newly planted in spring, silly me, and though it was planted early I should have protected it. I have a bunch of others; I'll try to get some photos over the weekend (it's currently dark!).

Once thing I won't be able to get a photo of, but am glad I saw, was a fairly mature Cristata at a tree nursery near here. It had a bunch of those fused, flattened sprays that were older growth, and as I have a young plant, I had been wondering what happens to the crests later. Turns out they turn woody as they get to the age of losing their needle growth, and new stuff grows out of them. Not exactly beautiful, but quite cool.

Wait, here's an old photo of it:

I'll add an update soon.

KarinL

Wow Karin, burning on your Tenzan in a Zone 8. I never would have thought. I learn something new every day. I have learned the hard way (several times in some cases) to wrap most of the Cryptos in burlap that are juvenile foliage.

Look forward to more pictures.
Darren

Will these trees grow in chicago, zone 5?

Hardiness varies by cultivar I guess. Check plantfiles or something. Dwarf ones seem less hardy. I don't know much about them though.

S.S. I think you would be able to grow several C.j's. I just seem to have a more difficult time with cultivars that have juvenile foliage. The larger growing ones are still fairly easily pruned or sheared. For us Zone 5 folks. I have found out how they hate winter wind and won't tolerate it. Morning sun and afternoon shade seems to work the best for me. Mainly due to our stronger late winter sun and relatively cold nights. These extremes can cause a lot of burning as well.

A protected area in general is needed for good success. Even in Chicago you are a still generally a little warmer then I am. Try a couple out and they aren't overly expensive. I have planted out cuttings of C.j.Cristata and they have survived easily and are now over 2 feet tall after 2 yrs. So you don't have to necessarily go and buy a big plant.

Darren

So, here is the crest shown above, some 2 years later:

This is "Little Diamond" planted just this spring, bought last year in a 4" pot:

This is Knaptonensis, photo taken into the sun but you get the idea. I changed the photo angle then, but then you can barely find the plant. I know I over-plant, but the rhodos are going to grow up out of the mass and it will eventually look OK:

And this is C. j. Spiraliter falcata. I couldn't resist buying it, but I am having trouble finding a place for it as it is unappealing as a plant - it has basically no shape and is just a wild green blob with interesting foliage up close.

And here is my burnt Tenzan. I THINK it's still alive. Darren is right, they come in small pots, thank heavens. Sorry about the focus!

KarinL

Here's one of my Cryptomeria j. 'Jin Dais' pruned to look like an old growth conifer.
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here are a few of the Cryptos from my garden. Hope you all enjoy:

1. C. japonica 'Cristata' in the ground approximately 6 years/bought as a gallon-size specimen

2. detail of an elaborate fan from the same tree:

3. here is the base of the plant, showing what happens to old fans:

4. Little Diamond (foreground) and Auracauroides (background)

5. C. japonica 'Vilmoriniana Gold'

6. and finally, C. jap. 'Spiraliter Falcata.' I agree that it doesn't look like much when young, but this one's really coming into his own:

Dave

Wow! ...great photos! ....just wish they were bigger :(

Also some great clues: No C. japonica 'Cristata' for me: it gets way too big for my garden.

Regarding Araucarioides: I have two, but they don't look like yours (unfortunately!).
Instead of simple straight shoots like yours, mine develop sprays at the ends.
Is this something that will go away as the plant ages, or is simply some slightly different variety ? ....what did yours do when it was young ? (Thnx)

Very nice pictures everybody. Love that Auracauroides, reminds me of my Psuedotsuga men. Skyline.

Jaro, you could prune a Cristata like Botann's and use the fans for Thanksgiving and Christmas centre pieces. Each fan costs around 3.00 bucks here. Having a cool tree and saving on your floral bills..... :-)

Darren

Here's a Cryptomeria, j. 'Nana' I have. it's 8 ft. tall. Just short of 3 meters.

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I got interested in cryptomeria when I first saw the picture of Cryptomeria jap Elegans's winter colour in the Harrison book. Does any one has any success in growing it especially in a Zone 5 garden?

Here's a winter picture of one of my 'Elegans' last year.
I'm in the colder part of Zone 8.
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Hi Garcan,

I have one growing here at home. It is about 2 feet . It is prone to freeze back or death if planted in the wrong spot. Definitely not the easiest going plant for our zone. I have a feeling my Elegans will never reach the size of Botann's.

A friend of mine in Brantford, has one that is about 3 to 3.5 feet (1 metre). I sold it to him a couple of years ago. He seems to have a lot better luck then me, living a town with wooden privacy fences everywhere to break the wind.

I think Elegans Nana may be a better choice, same soft fuzzy touch and colour but not as fast growing and easier to wrap.

Botann, if you post many more photos of these perfect specimens. I going to pack up, sell the farm and move to a warmer zone. :-)

"cold side of Zone 8".... Hmmmm

Darren

Botann
What a graceful beauty.
Darren
Thanks for the info. I think I will put both Elegans and Elegans Nana on my list for the next acquisition.

"He seems to have a lot better luck then me, living a town with wooden privacy fences everywhere to break the wind.color>"

Yeah, those wooden privacy fences can be great.
But they can also be killers: It depends whether you plant on a south-facing side or a north-facing side, and also how close.
On the south-facing side, in late winter or early spring, the wooden privacy fence can heat so much, that it melts away the snow cover of things planted close to it.
Then if you get a cold spell -- or even just the direct sunshine on the dormant plants -- the plants will burn and die....

When I first became interested in conifers, I was drawn to Cryptomeria japonica but had bad luck trying to grow an 'Elegans Nana' in RI and I'm not inclined to try again. I had it receiving morning sun and afternoon shade over a Fall and Winter but there was so much die-back I gave up on it and dug it up. I have a 'Vilmoriniana' growing successfully in full sun. There was no foliage loss over last winter, with attractive bronze coloring, and it remains one of my favorite dwarfs.

Hey all, I've got several growing from seed. I'm not into the cultivars too much. They're very pretty but I like big trees. I'm wondering if regular, plain old cryptomeria will grow and get big in chicago, zone 5. I'm guessing it would struggle a bit, but who knows. I'll probably just stick ten in the ground and let the strongest survive, and those that suffer I'll bring inside and keep as pruned houseplants.

I'm wondering though, anybody seen any LARGE, Non-CULTIVAR cryptomerias growing in a zone this cold, with negative ten F winters?

Here's one of my specie Cryptomerias that I planted in the early 80's. It's planted down over a hill so it is taller than it appears in the photo. Sorry, Zone 8.
Doug Fir on the right.
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"Here's one of my specie Cryptomerias"

Here is a link that might be useful: :-))

Species it is. Thanks Resin. I appreciate being corrected. I still have the ability to learn, despite what my wife thinks. ;-)

Hello to all .Last autumn I fell for a 1 metre C.j."elegans".I planted it in a very sunny but exposed spot.It took on an amazing dark red colour.In january we had some severe storms and, looking by the way the poor plant was being bashed about I could see that this sort of conifer definitely needs a sheltered spot .I decided I was going to replant it in the spring but alas,after greening up for a brief period,it turned red again ,then dark brown-for good.I didn't even get the chance to test it for hailstorm resistance although I suspect that here too,it would probably not score too well.So,I will surely try another one -probably against an east facing wall- and occupy the more exposed spots with the here tried and tested Pines such as sylvestris and nigra ssp.
ps We are in the Southern Alps.Good Sugi growing! Hans

While we are talking 'Elegans' I wonder if, because they are a "juvenile" form, they are just more touchy and difficult to establish. They are definitely "supposed" to turn red in the winter though, they even do this in zn 10a parts of the northern California coast!
Mine has been a bit of a troublemaker: it grew well its first year, but I watered it fastidiously through an unusually dry summer. During a dry spell this spring, I thought I would give it a bit of a challenge by not spoiling it with water. It rewarded me with the top 1/4 of it dying back! Now the rest of it is again growing well, after we got almost 6" of rain in July. (though we are now dry again) Meanwhile, a 'Yoshino' that has never been watered, period, and suffered the indignity of a huge Juniperus falling on it and striping 70% of its branches away, is doing fine in these dry spells. The 'Yoshino' is in a somewhat more favorable site, but my conclusion is it is just a tougher plant than 'Elegans'. There is a fine old 'Elegans' at an arboretum in SE PA, so I know they can be established in the mid-atlantic, with perseverance.

I just got my first cryptomeria, Spiraliter falcata, a real 'Dr. Seuss' plant, 6 gal., w/a few brown tips(I think due to inconsistent watering).

I plan on planting it in a large container (24" high x 24" wide at top)-I usually mix potting mix 50/50 w/ pine fines, but I read here somewhere that small nuggets might be a better choice-what do you think? The tree will be on the N/W side of the house, somewhat sheltered, probably not ideal, but I can keep an eye on the watering & move it if necessary. Any tips?-I really want this plant to do well...

I have a few Cryptomeria, they seem so alien to me here in Ohio. I have a very small weird 'Rasen'... it did fine the first winter. What shape will this type grow? More tree-like or rounder bush-like?

Here in the pic is a so-called 'Yoshino', it is growing but no real central leader as of now. The old growth (as I got it) browned some, but the new growth last year has stayed green. I'll give it one more year to see if it grows a leader again, I don't really want a fat bush. I ordered another 'Yoshino' and it is so thin it needs staked to stand up, it is the same height but totally thin so I'm not sure what will happen with that one. I want a normal tree.

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The thin one may well grow into a good tree, provided it doesn't get too cold for it in Ohio. 'Yoshino' is a clone selected in the Japanese region of that name, primarily for forestry use, very fast growing in suitable conditions (Yoshino is in zone 8/9 though). See photo of mature specimens at the link below.

Agree the one in your pic above is not 'Yoshino'!

Resin

Here is a link that might be useful: Forestry in Yoshino

The cryptomeria I've got growing in a container looks like it's starting to put out a bit of new growth. The ends of the branches (I guess. It's a birodo-sugi. Those are shaped weird, so I'm not really sure what kind of branches these are) are getting greener and have this "bundled" look to them, like the tips of an actively-growing norfolk island pine branch or something. Are these late growers, or am I just imagining this?

Amccour, I have only one cryptomeria, a 'tansu' in a pot. It, too, is going through a second significant growth phase right now as the weather cools off.

Josh

After getting a cryptomeria to add to a large pot ,'Spirilater Falcata', I found another one to plant in the ground, 'Cristata'-it will be in a semi-protected southern corner, near a wooden privacy fence-I'm going to move a quince that has not done well, pot up for the winter all the elephant ears that are doing extremely well, & move a banana.

The 'Cristata' is 6', very narrow, w/ lots of new growth-it's beautiful...I'm going to be working this in w/ my 'tropicalesque' plantings across the walkway-this is my best southern spot where I have bananas (too big, will move), figs (also too vigorous this year, will probably move), windmill palms (being shaded out by other tropicals) & a few oddballs-jujube, sabal texensis, cordyline, hedychium. agave, setcresea,mandevilla....

Are there any of these plants that would not look odd near a cryptomeria? Right now, the existing planting that I will clear out has elephant ears (3), sabal texensis, dwarf Cavendish banana, lantana,& plectranthus, w/ a passiflora covering the fence....

I planted this tree not realising it would grow so tall, can I transplant it, if so when would be the right time to do so? regards baabaa

I just discovered cryptomeria! I'm interested in cryptomeria japonica gracilis. Does anyone have info about this variety? O

Cryptomerias are my favorite conifer. I have several of the big guys, two that are C. elegans "Compacta" (or so I think I recall, I could be wrong), one that is only 10' after 20 years and gets a nice wine red in winter as opposed to the compactas which are more orange or the "plain" elegans which are a paler red, also have one really small ball-shaped growing with some other ultra-dwarf conifers. It grows about 1/3" a year, it is barely over a foot tall now, but nice and bushy.

I live right (well, 1/4 mile) on the coast in the far northern part of the state and the cryptos all do really well in this area. Have yet to see a "burned" one, but I sure have seen some butcher jobs when it comes to pruning them.

Hey, wow. Two years since I got mine.

It came through winter pretty well. Still got some sort of burning on it, although it was a lot less than last year. I think I might've been under-watering it.

So, yeah. Two years overwintering it in the garage.

Actually, all of my conifers broke dormancy this year. I'm pretty happy about that. Although all the other ones I have are planted out, since they're hardy here.

i love them and grow several cultivars including sekkan sugi, yoshino, black dragaon, elegans, spiralis, and a few others. my largest is 40 ft or so and was unnamed. one of my favorites in fortunei. im not sure the validity of the name, but its definitely different being more open and graceful in habit.

i have a tough time growing the really dwarf varieties. they tend to brown out in our summer heat and humidity here in central alabama.

i just bought another replacement araucarioides that is going in the ground asap. the 2007 summer heat and drought eliminated many many conifers in my collection.

Hi! I know this is an old thread but does anyone know if I can grow Black Dragon from seed? I am very new to Cryptomeria. I just bought 2 trees & one seems to have seeds. i have read that it isn't possible to grow them from seed, but don't know much about these trees. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

You cannot grow cultivars such as 'Black Dragon' from seed. In the case of most conifers, they must be grafted, but Cryptomeria can be grown from cuttings as well. If you grow from seed, you will just get the parent species, non of the unique qualities that make a particular cultivar special