Question
Hi Jim,

I am considering planting a Weeping Alaska Cedar in my backyard and need to know typical height and space requirements.  I've read varied #s: 20'high, 35'high . . .  It is a partial shady location so won't be full sun so should affect overall height.

Thanks,
David

Answer
Common name: Weeping Alaska cedar

* Botanical name: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 慞endula?br>
* What it is: A graceful, narrow, upright, soft-needled green evergreen with a gently weeping habit.

* Size: 25 to 30 feet tall, 10 feet wide

If you want them separate I would plant them 15 feet apart. That way you will have about 5 feet between trees. Single they need a space about 20 feet on a side.  




In the garden it rarely exceeds 30 feet in height; if the soil is not acidic or is too dry, it will be smaller still. But adult trees in the wild can be 80 or 100 feet tall, among the most majestic seen on high cliffs along the coast of Alaska, British Columbia & especially Nootka on the coast of Vancouver Island. The largest Nootka Cedar recorded, however, is in the Olympic National Forest, not far from where Granny Artemis & I live. It is 125 feet tall. These are also extremely long-lived trees, three hundred years being common, to over a thousand years.

It prefers high humidity & rich acidic soil, but is hardy under less than ideal conditions so long as it has a lot of sun & moist well-drained earth. Young trees are shade-tolerant especially in the southern part of their range (Oregon) & may prefer some protection from summer heat. In the northern part of their range (Alaska) saplings do not fare well in shade & forests are usually evenly aged, with no young understory specimens. From mid-coast along British Columbia & in Washington they prefer the sun, though a little shade won't harm.