Lemon Cypress Tree Care

Just before the festive season, the potted lemon cypress shows up at all the big box retail stores sold as a Christmas tree. The tree has a narrow columnar shape with a powerful, strong lemon scent, perfect to create a holiday scent indoors.

The needle conifer you can use to form a hedge, bonsai, or specimen or keep it on the patio to decorate.

Plant Name: Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’

Other Name: Lemon cypress, Goldcrest Monterey cypress trees

Plant Type: Tree

Native Areas: North America

Light Requirement: Sunny spot with partial shade

Watering: Moderate

Fertilizer: None

Toxicity: Non-toxic, but the cones are not considered edible

Temperature: Between 20°F and 80°F

Propagation: Cuttings

Growth: 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Soil Type: Sandy well-drained soil pH neutral

USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-10

More About Lemon Cypress Trees

The Cupressus macrocarpa Goldcrest is an easy tree to care for. The tree has upward-growing branches with green-yellow leaves. The tree is native to North America, and in its natural habitat, it reaches up to 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

Another highlight is the green-yellow foliage, planted close to darker green conifers, stands out. Or you can place the lovely textured tree next to fencing or boulders. When you brush against or crush the foliage, you get a lemony scent filling a room.

Lemon Cypress Plant Care Guide

When you buy the lemon cypress tree, you can find it in two sizes, small and even smaller. For homes growing lemon cypress trees indoors, the dwarf lemon cypress is best. The dwarf variety of Monterey cypress only reaches 3 feet in a container.

The conical growth pattern with needle-like foliage and the bright, fresh citrus smell is great for the living space.

The Best Soil For Monterey Cypress Trees

Whether you grow lemon cypress outdoors or in indoor containers, it adapts well to sandy well-draining soil with very low organic content and is not very fertile. Thus, it can adjust to neutral and alkaline soil.

With infertile soil, your slow-growing tree paces through its development stage to match the height of its roots. Furthermore, growing as an outdoor tree prevents winds from blowing your tree over.

Suitable Lighting For Cypress Trees

Regarding lemon cypress care and light, it needs a good amount of full sun to partial shade as an outdoor tree. Indoor containers need six to eight hours of sunlight in the morning with afternoon shade.

We recommend avoiding a west-facing window as the afternoon sun will burn the leaves, leaving them less vibrant. Ensuring sufficient light and turning the container regularly will provide the proper growth for your tree.

Watering The Lemon Cypress Cupressus Macrocarpa

The care for lemon cypress outdoors, once established, needs little water. You can water your young plants once a week in the first growing season. Never allow the soil to become too dry when grown as a houseplant.

Temperature and Humidity Lemon Cypress Houseplant Care

Your lemon cypress trees prefer moist and cool indoor temperatures. Your tree cannot tolerate temperatures above 80°F or below 20°F as it can cause damage to the needle-like foliage. Indoor containers need to stand in a room with enough humidity.

In some icy regions, the winds can burn the needles, and they might need some protection. Another vital thing is to keep your tree moist during winter, so it helps to place a humidifier near your trees for indoor growing.

You can grow lemon cypress trees in the USDA plant hardiness zones 6-10.

Fertilizing Lemon Cypress Trees

You need not feed your Monterey Bay tree as they thrive in poor soils and infertile conditions. With rich soils, you get uneven growth making your tree unstable.

Pruning Not Needed

You need not prune the lemon cypress as it looks impressive in its natural form and upright shape. Regular pruning is only needed when you grow them as a hedge or bonsai. But trimming must be done promptly when growth appears, as most conifers do not handle heavy pruning well.

Potting Lemon Cypress

Drainage is essential for your lemon cypress trees; it helps ensure enough drainage holes. An ideal choice for potting is a terracotta pot, as it does not allow air to get into the roots and dries out faster.

You can repot your lemon cypress trees every three to four years. You can move it to a larger container, about one inch wider than the old one. At the same time, you can prune the roots to keep the growth in check.

Propagating Lemon Cypress

Winter is the best time for cutting the lemon cypress Cupressus macrocarpa for propagation.

1. Take a sharp, sterilized knife to cut a piece of the stem four inches long.

2. Remove the lower foliage of the stem to leave it about two inches bare. Moisten the cut end and dip it into a rooting hormone.

3. Fill a pot with well-draining soil and moisten it. Poke a hole with a pencil in the soil and place the cut end into it.

4. Cover the container with a plastic bag and prop it up with some sticks to prevent it from touching the cutting.

5. Leave the container in a warm spot away from direct sun. Water as needed, and once it develops a root system, remove the bag.

6. Move the container to a sunny spot and leave the sapling to grow taller until you can transplant it to a larger pot or in the garden.

It is also not recommended to grow your lemon cypress trees from seeds, as most are cultivars. The seeds will not grow with the same features as the parent plant.

Similar Plants As The Lemon Cypress Tree

There are a few cultivars available you can grow at home, as seen here:

• Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest Wilma’ the tree is a dwarf cultivar and slow-growing, reaching 8 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It also has golden yellow needles with a bright, fresh citrus smell. It is a great dwarf lemon cypress to grow indoors.

• Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Golden Pillar’ mature tree reaches 20 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It has golden-yellow needle-like foliage when grown outdoors in direct sunlight.

• Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Citriodora’ branches exude to heights of 30 feet. The new growth is bright yellow, turning a deep green.

Lemon Cypress Common Plant Diseases and Pests

The lemon cypress trees are prone to become the food of mealybugs, aphids, scale insects, and caterpillars. While they do not affect the tree’s health, you can still control it using neem oil or insecticidal soap. A serious concern with lemon cypress houseplant care is cypress canker, a fungus killing the tree.

The best is to quickly remove brown needles from infected branches and dispose of them in the trash.