Pronounciation: koo-PRES-sus air-i-ZO-ni-ka

Hardiness zones
Sunset 2-13
USDA 7-11

Landscape Use: Background, informal LARGE screen, medium size tree. Arizona cypress is especially great for use in Arizona landscapes at higher elevation.

Form & Character: Upright and ovate to oblong, symmetrical, dense, dry, blue gray. This is a signature tree of upland Arizona woodlands below the Ponderosa pine forests.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, woody, perennial narrowleaf tree, moderately upright in habit to 15- to 50-feet tall with a somewhat lesser spread. Variably vigorous depending on water availability.

Foliage/Texture: Leaves glaucous to bluish, scale-like in the classic 'juniper' sense scarcely or not overlapping at all; twigs are slender, square, covered in scale-like leaves, pointed at tips, turning gray with age; typically branch at nearly right angles, mature trees develop a stout trunk with a smooth a fibrous phellum (bark); fine texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Monoecious, male inflorescence are small, pale yellow-green at ends of branch tips; female inflorescence are small light green near branch tips; fruit are dry, round, woody, serotinous (open with fire) cones, 1 inch in diameter, 6 to 8 pointed scales.

Seasonal Color: None, though the bark is very always attractive, shredding and peeling in long strips to reveal gray and reddish brown patches. On older trees the bark may develop a fine, shallow furrowed pattern or reveal a mottled patchy look.

Temperature: Tolerant, hardy to -15^oF and struggles when temperatures exceed 110^oF.

Light: Full sun to partial shade.

Soil: Widely tolerant of acid to alkaline soils.

Watering: Infrequent but regular deep summer irrigations are needed.

Pruning: Rarely except to control shape.

Propagation: Hardwood cuttings of male plants.

Disease and Pests: Spider mites and juniper scale are the biggest problems.

Additional comments: Arizona cypress is generally not thought of as a landscape plant for the "desert". However, it does quite well in Phoenix, and grows well as a landscape tree along the west coast, and throughout the southwest and southeast United States. Beware of this tree's eventual size and spread! 'Blue Ice' is a rare columnar cultivar that has a distinct grayish blue color that gives it a ghost-like appearance as if it has been snowing (LOL!!! Like that ever happens in Phoenix).

Arizona State University (ASU) historical factoid: The oldest documented tree planted on the ASU campus was an Arizona cypress that was planted in 1910 by James Carter. It thrived until the torridly hot summer of 2024.

Fun forestry factoid: During the mid and later 20^th century, researchers at Auburn University conducted field trials on the feasibility of growing Arizona cypress as a Christmas tree in the southeastern United States.