Information about plants & gardens for Brisbane & Qld

Pencil Pines

Cupressus sempervirens cultivars

Other Common Names: Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Mediterranean cypress
Family: Cupressaceae

The common name "pencil pine" is loosely applied to a number of narrow, upright conifer species, but horticulturally it usually refers to Cupressus sempervirens, the classic tall, narrow conifer of the Mediterranean.

The wild type of Cupressus sempervirens is actually broad tree. The familiar narrow "pencil" types are derived from an upright form which has been cultivated for centuries. These are usually denoted as variety 'stricta' or 'pyramidalis' to distinguish them from the wild form. A number of cultivars such as 'Glauca' and 'Swanes Golden' have been derived from the stricta form.

'Nitschkes Needle' (synonym 'Karoonda') is often listed as a type of Cupressus sempervirens but is actually a columnar form of Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress).

Unfortunately, the pencil pine is susceptible to cypress canker.

Pencil pines were covered in more detail in the 22-08-2022 edition of Get Results Gardening. This is a weekly email publication for Australia, with a particular focus on SEQld and NNSW. It sometimes discusses problematic plants (like the pencil pine) that are nevertheless grown in this region, but more often the feature plant each week is something that is easy to grow and reliable in the subtropics. There's plenty of general gardening information and news items, too. Find out how to get a free trial at calyx.com.au/getresultsgardening.html