Sawara cypress 'Boulevard'
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard' · Cupressaceae
A dense cone of soft, feathery, silver-blue foliage that is pleasant to stroke and turns grey-purple in winter.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around sawara cypress 'Boulevard'
The planner designed this bed around sawara cypress 'Boulevard' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why sawara cypress 'Boulevard' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sawara cypress 'Boulevard' × 1, blue-green leaves
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 32, yellow
- 3 Leadwort × 22, blue
- 4 Milky bellflower × 5, lavender
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Lady's mantle × 8, green
- 7 Surprise lily × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 18 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 9 of the 11 groups (82%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Among the neighbours here are three pairs of recognised partners, such as lady's mantle and surprise lily. Leadwort and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 in at the front, 14 in in the middle and 4 ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 3½ ft and 10 ft, and no two neighbours are the same height. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sawara cypress 'Boulevard' goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A blue conifer of medium size for a mixed border. It needs moist, acid soil and shelter from wind; in dry or exposed places the inner foliage browns.
- A blue vertical in a mixed border
- Year-round colour
- Conifer and heather gardens
What to plant with sawara cypress 'Boulevard'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Heather: adds the flowers, late July to mid September; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Winter heath: adds the flowers, late January to mid April; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
- Dwarf fothergilla: adds the flowers, late April to mid May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about sawara cypress 'Boulevard'
Does sawara cypress 'Boulevard' need sun or shade?
Sawara cypress 'Boulevard' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does sawara cypress 'Boulevard' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should sawara cypress 'Boulevard' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sawara cypress 'Boulevard' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is sawara cypress 'Boulevard' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like sawara cypress 'Boulevard'?
Sawara cypress 'Boulevard' comes from Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Arborvitae 'Emerald Green': the same job in a bed; 3½ ft taller, 12 in narrower.
- Inkberry: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, 12 in wider.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat sawara cypress 'Boulevard'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does sawara cypress 'Boulevard' look like in winter?
Sawara cypress 'Boulevard' keeps its blue-green and silver leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Chamaecyparis
- Dwarf Hinoki cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Gracilis'
- Threadleaf false cypress 'Golden Mop' Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; blue-green, silver
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- Japan
- Stands up to
- Drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.