PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Cupressus sempervirens
Cupressaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Cupressus sempervirens

Cupressus sempervirens

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Poisonous[1]. No more details.

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthMedium

Italian cypress grows in a Mediterranean climate with dry, hot summers and winter rain, the climate becoming semi-arid in the more eastern parts of its range. It is often be cultivated in the subtropics and at higher elevations in the tropics[2]. Thrives in a deep well-drained loamy or peaty soil[3]. Established plants are very tolerant of hot dry conditions and drought[4]. Tolerates poor sandy soils[4] but is then more subject to damage by white-scale insects in a succession of dry seasons[3]. Plants are not very happy when growing on chalky soils but they thrive on limestone[5]. Requires a sunny position[4]. Growth can be quite vigorous, especially in young trees, with many averaging 60cm a year[6]. Growth slows and almost comes to a halt when the tree is 12 - 15 metres tall[6]. Plants are subject to injury by the wind[7, 3]. Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus[5]. The seed takes two summers to mature[8]. Mature cones can remain unopened on the tree for a number of years[4]. They open after the heat of a forest fire to scatter their seeds which then germinate and grow away quickly in the ashes of the fire[5]. Plants are resentful of root disturbance, any transplanting should be done in April or September when the roots are in active growth[3, 4]. A very variable plant[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a cold frame and only just cover the seed[9]. Three weeks cold stratification can improve germination rates[9]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 2 months at 20°c. The seedlings are very subject to damping off so should be watered with care and kept well-ventilated[10]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seed can store for several years[10]. Cuttings of almost ripe wood, September in a frost-proof frame[7]. mid spring is the best time to take cuttings[10]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Cupressus+sempervirens>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  7. [7]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  8. [8]Trees of North Texas — Vines. R.A. · University of Texas Press. · 1982 · ISBN 0292780206 ↩︎A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
  9. [9]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  10. [10]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
  12. [12]A Handbook of the World's Conifers Vol. 1 (Second revised edition) — Farjon A. · Brill; Leiden, The Netherlands · 2017 · ISBN 978 90 04 32449 7 ↩︎
  13. [13]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  14. [14]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  15. [15]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  16. [16]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  17. [17]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [18]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  20. [20]Aromatherapy - A guide for home use. — Westwood. C. · Amberwood Publishing Ltd · 1993 · ISBN 0-9517723-0-9 ↩︎An excellent little pocket guide. Very concise.
  21. [21]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.