Chamaecyparis pisifera Kaatje - Sawara Cypress

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Kaatje', also known as Sawara Cypress, is a beautiful novelty. This improvement of Chamaecyparis 'Sungold' shows even thicker foliage and a consistently yellow-lemon to spring-green colour. Slow-growing, it gradually forms a beautiful rounded bush with undulating vegetation, composed of thread-like foliage. Its branches are covered with very fine and trailing branchlets, giving the plant a cascading appearance. Perfect for large slopes and filling small spaces, this conifer is remarkable when planted above walls and retaining walls and adapts well to container cultivation. It prefers a sunny or partially shaded exposure, and moist but light and well-drained, humus-rich soil.

Chamaecyparis pisifera is a robust Japanese species belonging to the cupressaceae family, which can reach 45m (147 ft 7 in) in its natural state. It is mainly used, for its lemon-yellow and rot-resistant wood, in the production of lacquered furniture and for the construction of numerous buildings such as palaces in its country of origin. It has given rise to numerous cultivars, classified into four groups of cultivars: 'Plumosa', 'Squarrosa', 'filifera', and 'Nana'.

The 'Filifera Kaatje' variety is a mutation of the 'Sungold' cultivar, marketed since 2014 by a Dutch nursery. After many years, it will form a beautiful rounded and spreading bush, measuring at least 1.20m (3 ft 11 in) in height, with a spread of 2m (6 ft 7 in), although more time is needed to determine the final size of this variety. At the age of 10, it will measure approximately 90cm (35.4 in) to 1m (3 ft 4 in) in height. Its slender and compact branches are thick but flexible, slightly trailing, covered with dense and fragrant foliage, consistently yellow gold when opening, green-yellow in summer and golden at the tips. The juvenile leaves are needle-like (linear, rigid, and pointed), while the adult leaves are scale-like and pointed, darker in colour. Its barely visible bark is dark red and filamentous in appearance. The plants are either male or female; fruiting is rare and of little ornamental interest.

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Kaatje' is a conifer that will be appreciated in gardens for its soft cascading habit and vibrant colour. It is ideal for crowning a wall or retaining wall, which it will dominate with its presence. It works well on a large slope or in a rock garden and can also be planted in a large pot on the terrace. With its slow growth and romantic silhouette, which requires no pruning, it can accompany varieties with cushion, columnar, pyramidal, or narrow conical habits. The architectural qualities of dwarf conifers naturally fit in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of forms, silhouettes, and textures over flowers. These plants, with their reassuring permanence, structurally define a bed, mark pathways and border the terrace, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood. The key is to play with volumes and colours.