Weeping Alaskan Cedar

Weeping Alaskan cedar is Cupressus nootkatensis, a narrow evergreen whose branches hang straight down from slightly raised limbs, so the whole tree reads like a curtain. This page lists the weeping Alaskan cedars Nature Hills Nursery carries, hardy in zones 4 through 7 and usually 20 to 30 feet tall at maturity.

Green or blue

The green forms are the ones most people picture, with deep green flattened sprays. The blue selections carry blue-green foliage that holds its color through summer heat and reads cooler against brick or against a dark wall. The blue form here reaches 20 to 30 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide in zones 4 through 7 at a medium growth rate.

How much room it needs

This is a tall plant on a small footprint, roughly 8 to 12 feet wide at 20 to 30 feet tall. That shape fits a house corner, a courtyard, the gap between a drive and a property line, or anywhere a two-story wall needs something vertical. Give it open ground in front so the full drop of the branches is visible. Planted in a row it loses the outline entirely.

The staked leader decides the height

A weeping conifer has no leader of its own. Young plants are trained up a stake, and the height the tree reaches depends on how long that leader stays supported. Left unstaked, the same plant sprawls into a wide mound instead of a column. Decide which of the two you want before you plant, because it is much harder to change later.

Sun, wind, and drainage

Full sun to partial sun gives the densest foliage. The narrow form sheds snow well but catches wind, so a spot with some shelter holds the shape better in an open landscape. Soil has to drain. This is not a plant for the low corner of the yard that stays wet after rain.

Every tree here ships with our 45-day Growing & Glowing Guarantee. Check your zone, then measure the corner.