Propagating Carolina Sapphire Cypress

Grown for its pyramidal shape and bluish-green foliage, Carolina Sapphire is a commonly available cultivar of Cupressus arizonica, or the Arizona cypress. It has a compact size and shape with a gracefully tapering top and pleasantly fragrant foliage, making it a desirable addition to gardens and landscaping in USDA zones 7 to 9. Because Carolina Sapphire is a hybrid cultivar, it will not grow true from seed and must be propagated using vegetative techniques such as cuttings. Propagating Carolina Sapphire is very simple and within just a few years the trees will reach a mature height of 10 feet.

Things You'll Need

• Anvil shears
• 0.5-percent IBA (indole butyric acid) rooting hormone
• 6-inch nursery container
• Coarse sand

Instructions

1. Take a 6-inch-long cutting from the tip of a young, vigorous Carolina Sapphire twig in late fall when the tree enters dormancy. Snip the twig at an angle using anvil shears.

2. Strip off the foliage from the lower half of the Carolina Sapphire cutting. Scrape the bark off a 1/2-inch portion of the stem at the base.

3. Dip the defoliated end of the Carolina Sapphire cutting in 0.5-percent IBA rooting hormone. Tap off the excess hormone.

4. Pot the hormone-treated Carolina Sapphire cutting in a 6-inch nursery container filled with lightly moistened coarse sand. Press it into the sand up to the lowest spray of foliage.

5. Set the potted Carolina Sapphire outdoors in a ventilated cold frame for the winter. Water sparingly during the winter. Apply 1/8 cup of water every 14 to 21 days.

6. Test the cutting for growth early the following spring by lightly tugging on the base to feel if it is anchored to the sand by roots.

7. Transplant the rooted Carolina Sapphire cutting into a 1-gallon nursery container filled with garden soil once outdoor temperatures reach 68 degrees F.

8. Keep the Carolina Sapphire sapling in its 1-gallon nursery container for one year before planting it out in a sunny, draining permanent bed.

References

• University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; "Arizona Cypress"; James Robbins
• The University of Texas at Austin Wildflower Center; Native Plant Database; Cupressus arizonica