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Products > Cupressus macrocarpa   Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey Cypress     [2nd Image] Habit and Cultural Information Category: Tree Family: Cupressaceae (incl. Taxodiaceae) (Cypresses) Origin: California (U.S.A.) Evergreen: Yes Flower Color: Insignificant Bloomtime: Not Significant Synonyms: [Hesperocyparis macrocarpa] Height: 25-40 feet Width: 25-40 feet Exposure: Full Sun Seaside: Yes Summer Dry: Yes Deer Tolerant: Yes Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress) - A beautiful wind-sculpted 40+ foot evergreen tree that is native to the Monterey Peninsula. As a young tree it is pyramidal but with age and winds it is transformed into its well-known striking and picturesque form. Plant in full sun and irrigate only occasionally. This plant grows naturally within a few hundred yards of the Pacific Ocean on the Monterey Peninsula and at Point Lobos and as such it does best in windy coastal areas, where it is less susceptible to Coryneum Canker (Seiridium cardinale), a bark killing fungus that has killed off many Monterey Cypress, Italian Cypress and Leyland Cypress. It has been speculated that coastal plantings are better because the salt laden coastal winds decreases the fungal spore viability. Recent genetic research has shown that the Western Hemisphere cypresses are a well supported clade quite separate from the Eastern Hemisphere cypresses. For this reason a new genus, Hesperocyparis, has been erected for the New World cypresses while the Old World plants will retain Cupressus. We are currently leaving this plant as Cupressus until this change becomes widely accepted.  The information on this page is based on the research that we have conducted about this plant in the San Marcos Growers library, from what we have found on reliable online sources, as well as from observations made of our crops of this plant growing in the nursery and of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens where we may have observed it. We also have incorporated comments received from others and welcome getting feedback from those who may have additional information, particularly if this information includes cultural information that would aid others in growing Cupressus macrocarpa.     [MORE INFO]