Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Sawara Cypress bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Sawara Cypress, Sawara False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera).

More about sawara cypress

About Sawara Cypress

Chamaecyparis pisifera · also called Sawara Cypress, Sawara False Cypress · flowering

Sawara Cypress is a Japanese false cypress grown as bonsai and garden conifer, with soft, feathery foliage in green, golden, and thread-leaf forms. An outdoor tree, it likes full sun to part shade, evenly moist but well-drained soil, and humid airflow. Its fine, plumose sprays give it a graceful, textured appearance distinct from Hinoki.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Limited back-budding on old wood: Like other false cypress, it buds poorly from bare branches, so always retain green foliage when pruning a branch you want to keep.

The reasons sawara cypress isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming sawara cypress traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding sawara cypress a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get sawara cypress to flower

Maximise sun. Give sawara cypress the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for sawara cypress and get the feeding right with the sawara cypress fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Sawara Cypress flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full sawara cypress care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Sawara Cypress blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my sawara cypress flower?

Sawara Cypress blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make sawara cypress bloom?

Give sawara cypress the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does sawara cypress normally bloom?