Lawson's False Cypress Hedge Plants

Chamaecyparis Lawsoniana Hedging

Delivered by Mail Order Direct from our Nursery with a Year Guarantee

Lawsons Cypress, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, is an evergreen, coniferous hedging plant or large, quite narrow tree.
Lawsons Cypress can reach over 40 metres if it grows freely as a tree.

Lawsons Cypress hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

See our selection of evergeen hedging or see our full range of hedging plants.

Spacing a Lawsons Cypress hedge:

Plant Lawsons Cypress hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart.

General description of Lawsons Cypress plants:

Sometimes called False Cypress, this is a large, fast growing evergreen tree that makes an excellent screen or windbreak. It clips very well, so it can be grown as a hedge, but it must be clipped regularly because overgrown hedges can't be hard pruned. The slightly drooping foliage is darker than that of leylandii.

Although this natural species variety does not hold an RHS Award of Garden Merit, it has produced an exceptionally high number of cultivars, about 30, that do. Since these differ only in appearance, you could say that this variety is an honourary holder of the award. 

Did You Know? 

This tree was discovered in Northern California in the 1850's during a search for a missing botanist called John Jeffrey. The first seeds raised in Britain were grown at the Lawson Nursery in Edinburgh. The timber of this tree is very popular in Japan for building coffins. In its native range this tree can reach 70 metres tall.

Growing Lawsons Cypress plants:
Lawson's cypress grows well in windy areas, is shade tolerant. It doesn't tolerate acidic or chalky soil and prefers fertile, moist sites with high rainfall and decent drainage.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge several months in advance, especially if the soil is poor. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. If your soil is rich, you don't have to dig it over, but killing all the weeds is still necessary.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full details. The plants in this video are delivered pot-grown, but planting out bareroot stock is essentially the same.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser.

After Care

After you have planted your Lawsons Cypress hedge, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. You will also need to weed around the plants. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least a year after planting.
Like all evergreen plants, Lawsons Cypress is active and needs moisture in the ground throughout the year. This means that your establishing plants need to be watered in the winter when they are planted, if the weather is dry.

Trimming Formal hedge plants:
Lawsons Cypress is naturally bushy, so it doesn't need any clipping at all in its first year. In the winter of the year after planting, your young hedge should be trimmed lightly and every winter after that until it is mature.
When it is fully grown, you must clip it once or twice a year. If you let it get overgrown, you can't hard prune it without leaving bare patches that won't regrow.

Special notes on caring for Lawsons Cypress hedges:
Lawsons Cypress is a very tough hedge plant that shouldn't need special attention once it has established. If you didn't use a mulch fabric, it is beneficial to mulch around the base of the hedge each year.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.

After you have planted your Lawsons Cypress hedge, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. You will also need to weed around the plants. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least a year after planting.
Like all evergreen plants, Lawsons Cypress is active and needs moisture in the ground throughout the year. This means that your establishing plants need to be watered in the winter when they are planted, if the weather is dry.

Trimming Formal hedge plants:
Lawsons Cypress is naturally bushy, so it doesn't need any clipping at all in its first year. In the winter of the year after planting, your young hedge should be trimmed lightly and every winter after that until it is mature.
When it is fully grown, you must clip it once or twice a year. If you let it get overgrown, you can't hard prune it without leaving bare patches that won't regrow.

Special notes on caring for Lawsons Cypress hedges:
Lawsons Cypress is a very tough hedge plant that shouldn't need special attention once it has established. If you didn't use a mulch fabric, it is beneficial to mulch around the base of the hedge each year.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.