Siberian cypress
Microbiota decussata · Cupressaceae
A low, wide-spreading conifer with soft, feathery, bright green sprays that turn bronze-purple in winter. It looks like a creeping juniper, and tolerates shade.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around Siberian cypress
The planner designed this bed around Siberian cypress when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why Siberian cypress stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Siberian cypress × 1, green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 3, pink
- 3 Brown-eyed Susan × 5, yellow
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 5, purple
- 6 Blue-eyed grass × 19, blue
- 7 Slender mountain mint × 3, white
- 8 Creeping phlox × 8, pink
- 9 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue
- 10 Surprise lily × 5, pink
- 11 Red spider lily × 3, red
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
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 31% of the edge.
- 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 14 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: 10 of the 11 groups (91%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height in early August, with 6 kinds out together. The front edge is finished with Siberian cypress, bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' and creeping phlox.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 Satisfactory. 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 Siberian cypress goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
It does the job of a carpeting juniper in the shade, where junipers fail. It needs well-drained soil and dislikes hot, humid summers.
- Evergreen groundcover for part shade
- A juniper substitute where it is too shady
- Cold climates
What to plant with Siberian cypress
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Christmas fern: tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its fine ones.
Questions about Siberian cypress
Does Siberian cypress need sun or shade?
Siberian cypress grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Siberian cypress grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 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 Siberian cypress be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Siberian cypress plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Siberian cypress 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 Siberian cypress?
Siberian cypress comes from Southeastern Siberia and Northern Primorye. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Cliff green: the same job in a bed; 3 ft narrower.
- Creeping mahonia: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft narrower, flowers mid April to early May.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Siberian cypress?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does Siberian cypress look like in winter?
Siberian cypress keeps its green and bronze leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green, bronze
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern Siberia and Northern Primorye
- Stands up to
- Deer, erosion
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.