I've been trying to decide on a narrow conifer for a tight spot in my garden and came upon Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro' which looks like it could be perfect. BUT I seem to remember 20 or 30 years ago that beautiful old Lawson's Cypress trees were dying all over the Lower Mainland . . . phytophthera root rot?? Should I even be thinking about this cultivar, knowing it is the same species? I would be planting it in a very well drained area. If I'm right about the fungal threat, could it have run its course by now?
Ah-ha! I just found the answer to my own query about whether or not to plant Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro'. Learning that it is grafted onto disease-resistant rootstock means I won't worry about it being killed by Phytophthora. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro' A unique Port Orford Cypress, evergreen conifer with deep blue-green foliage. Trunk and branches can twist and produce arms like the Saguaro cactus. Prefers organic rich well-drained soil. Grafted onto DR Rootstock (Disease Resistant rootstock). Now I just have to find a local nursery that sells it.
Concept depends on water molds never getting established on the scion at any point during the intended life of the planting, merely because it is perched just above the soil on a resistant stock.