Keep cypress cool and misted: care tips for small potted conifers
Cypress and other potted conifers are popular in end-of-year floral arrangements and as miniature stand-ins for a Christmas tree. Most often, you’ll find various cypresses and false cypresses for sale.
In autumn and winter, stores start offering small evergreen conifers intended for indoor plantings. Here in Finland, they’re often sold as a “conifer mix” without proper species names.
Most holiday evergreens are cypresses (Cupressus) or false cypresses (Chamaecyparis). Lawson’s cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is a little conifer whose columnar form is beautiful and upright.
The ‘Ellwoodii’ cultivar of the same species and the Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii) are also marketed as Christmas conifers. The Monterey cypress ‘Goldcrest’ (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’ and other cultivars) has lime-green needles that smell of lemon when rubbed between your fingers. It is also sold in spring for summer container plantings.
Caring for cypress and other potted conifers
Care tips for cypress apply equally to other small conifers grown indoors, which are tended in much the same way. Conifers suffer in dry indoor air, so misting with a spray bottle helps them feel at home.
Placement
As houseplants, cypresses, false cypresses and other small conifers do best in a bright spot. A location a bit cooler than typical room temperature improves their resilience.
Some conifers, once gradually acclimated, can tolerate a touch of frost, but the safest overwintering is in a cool place. For example, a porch where the temperature stays between 0–15°C is ideal for small conifers (32–59°F).
Indoors, place cypress and other small conifers away from radiators or a fireplace.
Lawson’s cypress and its ‘Ellwoodii’ cultivar can stay at normal room temperature year-round, as long as you water and mist them diligently.
In summer, you can move Christmas cypress and Lawson’s cypress outside to partial shade, where they’re not exposed to blazing sun. Be sure to keep up with watering in summer, too.
In a sheltered, warm spot, Lawson’s cypress may also succeed planted outdoors. At the Finnish Mustila Arboretum, for instance, results have been mixed. There are big differences between cultivars—some thrive, others are tender.
Watering and misting
Cypresses, false cypresses and small conifers are usually sold in fairly small pots. Set the plant—pot and all—inside a larger decorative outer pot to make watering easier. A deep saucer also simplifies care.
If you plant small conifers in an arrangement with other plants, choose companions that like slightly moist soil.
Small conifers must never be allowed to dry out completely; otherwise they start to brown and drop their needles. Misting with a spray bottle raises humidity and helps conifers do better indoors.
In spring and summer, you can fertilize with a mild solution every couple of weeks.
