Rubicon White Cypress Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star'
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Rubicon'
- Phonetic Spelling
- kam-ee-SIP-a-riss thy-OY-deez
- Description
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'Rubicon' is a cultivar of White Cypress. It is known to be a temperamental outside of its native zone and can be prone to having short life problems. However, in places where it is native, the wetlands and bogs of eastern North America, it should thrive. This cultivar was first discovered in Winchester Tennessee where it was discovered by Humphrey J. Welch at the Tennessee Valley Nursery in the 1960s.
This dense columnar tree has blue-green evergreen foliage during the warm season which turns a deep reddish-purple in the cold season. It takes around 10 years to fully mature with around 3-4 inches of growth per year. It can be a good Winter interest plant for the garden and produces cone clusters.
This species prefers growing in full sun, in peat-sandy soils with medium to wet soils.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems; Few disease problems but has some susceptibility to juniper blight, root rot, and bagworms.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Chamaecyparis
- Species:
- thyoides
- Family:
- Cupressaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern US
- Dimensions:
- Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Columnar
- Dense
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- Confier, no fruit, produces cones
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- Conifer, no flowers
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Purple/Lavender
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Short scale-like foliage is blue-green in the spring and summer and red-purple in the winter.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Lawn
- Pond
- Landscape Theme:
- Rain Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Foundation Planting
- Mass Planting
- Small groups
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Wet Soil
- Problems:
- Short-lived
