9-1-09: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana- Port Orford Cedar

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Port Orford Cedar is a special tree for us in Oregon as it is a native child of our state and carries the same name as Port Orford, a lovely Pacific Coast town.

Port Orford Cedar is distinctive in its color and foliage. The color is blue-green, and the foliage is feathery in flat cedar-like sprays. It grows to 40-100 feet tall and 40 feet wide. Port Orford Cedar requires space in the landscape for a tree of this size to show its majesty. Narrow and pyramidal in shape with a buttressed trunk covered in thick deeply furrowed bark; this tree is a very special specimen in the right place. Port Orford Cedar thrives in well-drained but moist soils and can grow in full sun to partial shade.

There are many American plant searchers, folks who travel the world looking for new plants for the horticulture industry. Yet in the 1800s, it was collectors from Europe looking here for new nursery trade plants. In this case it was Lawson and Son Nursery in Edinburgh Scotland who collected and introduced Port Orford Cedar into cultivation in 1854. The wood is very valuable, especially in Japan where it is used in woodworking.

Pleasant Hill Nursery is pleased to offer:

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana in #1's & #3's: Call for Prices & to Check Availability