Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Green Globe - Lawson Cypress

Chamaecyparis lawsonia Green Globe is the smallest of the Lawson's cypresses. This rockery conifer is a miniature bush, forming a very dense ball with vibrant green foliage. While its growth is very regular when young, it becomes more tousled with the years. Not exceeding 50 cm (19.7 in) at maturity, it grows slowly and is particularly suitable for permanent decoration in rockeries and containers. It is hardy and accommodating but appreciates sunlight and moist, fertile, slightly chalky, neutral or acidic soils.

The Lawson Cypress, sometimes called false cypress, is a majestic conifer of the cupressaceae family native to the humid coastal forests of the northwest United States. In its environment, it often reaches over 30 m (98 ft 5 in) in height, with a trunk approaching 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) in diameter. Its habit is straight and conical, and its trailing branches form soft curtains dressed in fairly dark, bluish-green foliage. It has given rise to numerous cultivars, among which there is a wide choice of smaller-sized plants.

The Green Globe cultivar is a miniature form of this species. It has a very dense round ball habit, not exceeding 30 cm (11.8 in) in all directions after 10 years of cultivation. At maturity, it will form a small bush of 50 to 70 cm (19.7 to 27.6 in), with somewhat disorderly growth. It produces many slender, flattened branches covered with two types of scale-like leaves, a fairly tender green when juvenile, then a fairly dark but vibrant green in adult leaves.

Chamaecyparis lawsonia Green Globe, with its round silhouette and small size, is ideal for enhancing the decoration of a rockery or a flower bed, or planted in groups of 3 specimens in a container. It does not require pruning. The architectural qualities of dwarf conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes and textures over flowers. These plants structurally enhance a flower bed, mark pathways and border terraces, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood. They serve as a setting for small roses, peonies, or unruly grasses with a very complementary form. They can also be combined with shrubs or ground cover plants such as aubrietas and ceraistes, as well as flowering shrubs. The key is to play with volumes and colours.