Looking for a similar everygreen to Italian Cypress

Hi,

I was interested in planting an Italian Cypress tree, where I live (Port Moody, BC); however, I am told that this type of tree will not thrive very well with the condition Port Moody offers. Is there something that grows fast, thin, and can do well in a partly sunny area? I need several of these trees in order to screen off my property and to reach a height at least 14 feet tall.

Thank you

 

Italian cypress grows in Seattle. What's wrong with Port Moody? Too wet? I suspect they were wrong about that, frankly. But Italian cypress is not fast, and grows tall. You can find small forms on the market but these are quite slow and somewhat expensive. Last year I saw one kind at a local outlet for 60 dollars in the 5 gallon pot. A row of these would add up big fast. And Italian cypress needs full sun. Maybe try 'De Groot's Spire' arborvitae insead. If that is too slow, maybe Narihira bamboo - with a root barrier.

 

There are Italian cypresses in the Van Dusen Botanical Garden and, I believe, at the UBC Botanical Garden. It is supposed to be hardy to Zone 7.
However, see this recent answer from the Times Colonist speaking about Victoria (which is warmer and dryer than the Lower Mainland):

Helen Chestnut, Victoria Times Colonist, July 29, 2008
"A. Growing Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), a much-loved feature of Mediterranean landscapes, has been considered somewhat iffy in our coastal climate with its very wet winters. These trees grow best in dry climates in dryish soils, and some references suggest they do better in slightly warmer climates, in zones 9 and 10 rather than in our zone 8. Chiltern Seeds, a British source, lists 'Stricta', the most common form, and suggests the tree "may be hardy outside in some regions with frost-free protection in winter." Still, a few phone calls to veteran nursery people evinced a variety of opinions.

Robin Dening of Brenwood Bay Nurseries says that Italian cypress trees grow very well on the Island, but excellent soil drainage is an absolute essential. He has grown the trees successfully from seed, and seed-grown plants have a better chance to adapt and succeed in the area where they were grown than plants imported from warmer climates."

Cindy

 

Environmental parameters of seedling genetically fixed before it sprouts and gets planted in a particular location. Growing on Vancouver Island will not make individual specimens adapt to conditions there as they age. The only way this works is if generations of plants are grown in an area and ones better suited to its conditions emerge through natural or artificial selection.

Common in Seattle, Italian cypress has grown as tall as 50' there so far.

 

Properly called Mediterranean Cypress, it is native to the eastern Mediterranean region (northern Libya, eastern Greece, southern Turkey, western Syria, Lebanon, Iran), but NOT to Italy (only cultivated there).

Most origins are only hardy to zone 8-9, but the hardiest origins can survive in the milder parts of zone 7. It copes very well with wet winters and dry summers, that is what it is adapted to in the wild.