Scientific Name – Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans’
First introduced to Ireland and the UK 1861, this tree is native to Japan. This common cultivar of the Japanese Cedar has three distinctive growth patterns – upright and conical with a broadly rounded top, broadly columnar or as most often found, arched and bent with many branches and columns and spreading. Due to this most common pattern it is felt by many that it is inappropriately named.
Bark is orange to red brown and sheds in fine strips while the foliage is permanently juvenile and is blue – green in summer and turns purple – brown in winter. It is a slow growing tree generally reaching no more than 20m.
