Sickle fir ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Cryptomeria japonica
• Family: Cypress family (Cupressaceae)
• Origin: Japan, southern China
• Synonyms: Japanese cedar, Sugi, Japanese cedar
• Growth type: conifer
• Growth height: 10 m to 20 m
• Leaves: needles
• Leaf characteristics: sickle-shaped, evergreen
• Flowers: cones
• Fruits: cones
• Bark: reddish brown, dark brown
• Hardiness: hardy

growth

the cedar is one of the most beautiful conifers for creative garden design. In its Japanese homeland, the conifer is an important forest tree. Its light, fragrant wood is sought after for building bridges and ornate furniture. The following key growth data illustrate the magical aura of a picturesque natural beauty from the land of smiles:

• growth type: single-stem conifer
• Crown: slender pyramidal, increasingly broadly conical with age, densely branched, young twigs slightly hanging.
• growth height: in Central Europe 10 m to 20 m, in Asia up to 60 m.
• growth width: in Central Europe 4.5 m to 7 m, in Asia up to 20 m.
• annual growth: 50cm to 80cm

When young, the thick, soft bark sets decorative accents with a subtle, reddish hue. With advancing age, the bark turns dark brown and peels off in long strips. Underneath, bright red-brown trunk wood appears.

Japanese cedar - planted in 1865 in the Fürstenlager State Park

leaves

The German name Sicheltanne is borrowed from the shapely leaves with these specific properties:

• leaf shape: sickle-shaped needles, tapering to a point
• sheet size: 6 mm to 15 mm, rarely up to 30 mm long
• leaf color: dark green
• leaf phase: evergreen
• winter coloring: dark brown to bronze colored
• texture: hard
• arrangement: spiral, close fitting

The evergreen needles are replaced at intervals of four to five years. During this inconspicuous process, a Japanese cedar sheds individual needles or shoots in stages.

blossoms

The cedar thrives as a monoecious unisex conifer. Male and female flowers sit on a tree, recognizable by these features:

• male flowers: long-elliptic, green, later yellowish-orange, located in the leaf axils of the needles.
• female flowers: spherical, 2 cm in diameter, inclined at the end of spurs.
• heyday: in Central Europe from March to April

A Japanese cedar is usually mature from the age of 20 years. Varieties grafted in Central Europe flower much earlier.

fruit

Pollinated female flowers undergo a striking transformation. Within a short time, the small flower balls grow into brown cones with a length of about 3 centimeters. At the same time, the scaled cones turn upwards by 180°. From October the ripe, brown fruits stand upright on curved stalks, as we do with local ones pinecone know.

hardiness

A well-rooted Sugi is frost-resistant down to – 35° Celsius. Young cedar firs have to develop this stable winter hardiness in the first few years. Read the care instructions to find out how you can help the Asian coniferous tree with simple winter protection.

Plant cedar

For Asian garden idylls in beds and tubs, you can buy ornamental and small Japanese cedar trees from the tree nursery. Best planting time is in spring. Thus, the frost-sensitive young trees have enough time for resilient rooting until the first frost. Read here the best tips about purchase, location and planting:

Buy cedar

Hobby gardeners prefer to plant a Sugi variety that is suitable for gardens, because the original species, growing up to 20 meters high, is much too large for beds, terraces or balconies. The following table names five popular cedar varieties that you can buy in the nursery:

The majestic pure Cryptomeria species is perfect for the big one Japanese garden or the solitary position in the extensive park. For a young Sugi conifer in a pot with a growth height of 30 centimeters you pay from 9.99 euros in the tree nursery. Because the cedar is one of the growth rockets among the conifers, an impressive size is reached within a few years.

Location

The cedar thrives most beautifully when the air is saturated with water vapor and the soil is of good forest soil. The location should be like this:

• Sunny, shady to semi-shady.
• Ideally sheltered from the wind and humid near a pond, stream or pool.
• Deeper, fresher to moister clay soil, preferably sandy-drained.
• Important: acidic pH value, low in lime, low in nutrients.

planting

Good soil preparation, no initial fertilization and protection against wind are the focus of expert Sugi planting. The following tips explain briefly and concisely how to plant a cedar tree correctly:

• Test the pH before planting.
• If the pH value is greater than 5, mix in the excavated soil from the planting pit rhododendron soil.
• root ball in a vat with rainwater stand until no more air bubbles rise.
• Plant cedar fir with a support pole to prevent windthrow (connect trunk and pole with soft hose clamps).
• Water generously and regularly on the day of planting and afterwards.

Please make sure that there is sufficient planting distance to trees, buildings and the property line. The Japanese sickle fir is best planted in a single position.

digression

Jomon-Sugi – Methuselah of the cedars

Cultivate cedar

Like most conifers, the sickle fir is very easy to care for. The mainstay of the care program is the even water supply. A cut back cannot significantly embellish the representative silhouette. Frost-sensitive young plants are grateful for a light winter protection. You can read important information about skilful Sugi care here:

Pour

Proper watering supports deep rooting in shallow-rooted coniferous trees, such as the cedar. The water quality makes a significant contribution to healthy, magnificent growth. This is how you water a Japanese cedar in an exemplary manner:

• Water thoroughly when dry.
• Allow the soil to dry noticeably until the next watering.
• Use mainly rainwater or pond water as irrigation water.

By the Mulch tree disc or green with low heather plants, the soil stays moist and weed-free for longer.

Fertilize

The sickle fir is not fertilized. A supplementary supply of nutrients delays the ripening of the young shoots before winter. A negative consequence is a significant impairment of winter hardiness.

To cut

Regular pruning is not part of the care program. Like all coniferous trees, the sickle fir resents a cut in the old wood and stops growing at this point. You can shorten overly long twigs protruding from the mold, as long as the cut is limited to the green-needled area.

Every three to four years is for conifers a thinning cut recommended. The best time is late February/early March. Cut up dead branches a string away. Poorly positioned, damaged or diseased shoots lead off to a promising side branch.

hibernate

Winter protection in the first few years, precautions against snow pressure and watering when there is frost are the most important key data for proper winter care. It's worth taking a look at these tips:

• winter protection: tree disc cover with leaves and brushwood, cover crown with fleece.
• Snow Pressure Prevention: loosely tie branches together with string in snowy regions.
• winter care: water on mild days even in winter during dry periods.

Japanese cedar trees in tubs are susceptible to frost damage. Wrap the pot thickly with fleece or bubble wrap and slide a block of wood underneath. A change of location in front of the shady, wind-protected house wall makes sense.

Popular Varieties

In addition to the cedar favorites mentioned above, there are these beautiful varieties to discover at the nursery:

• Little Diamond: elegant stem with a spherical crown, light green needles turn reddish in winter.
• Vilmoriniana: distinctive dwarf cedar for beds and tubs, bushy, hemispherical, 50 cm high, 100 cm wide.
• Lawn sugi: boasts bizarrely twisted twigs, dark green needles, columnar habit, 10-15 m tall, 4-6 m wide.

FAQ

My cedar turns brown in winter. What to do?

It is perfectly normal for a cedar needle to turn brown in winter. After the cold season, the needles take on a fresh green to dark green hue again.

Does the cedar grow denser after pruning?

Basically, you don't necessarily have to cut a cedar. However, the Asian coniferous tree actually grows denser and more compact after pruning. To do this, shorten the shoots a few centimeters in the green needled area. Because Cryptomeria japonica are sensitive to frost when young, as a precaution, prune after the last winter frosts and before they begin to sprout.

Can I plant a cedar in the low mountain range at 600 m?

The cedar is native to Japan and southern China, where it is used as a forest tree. In the first few years, the coniferous tree is at risk of frost. Only an older specimen has sufficient winter hardiness in Central Europe. The Japanese cedar loves high humidity, but does not tolerate strong winds and is prone to falling snow. The conifer matures poorly on nutrient-rich soil and is sensitive to frost even in old age. Against this background, planting at high altitudes in the low mountain range is not advisable.