Do you want an aromatic lemon fragrance from your bonsai tree that makes you energetic after opening your eyes to jump into a hectic working day?
Here, Lemon Cypress bonsai will be the best choice as it needs minimum care and maintenance. Though it requires less time and effort to cultivate, you must follow the basic strategies to ensure its suitable environment. Otherwise, the lemon cypress tree may dry out for lack of proper care.
In this post, we have disclosed every possible way to take care of your cypress bonsai to enjoy its beauty, heavenly scent, and unique foliage. So keep reading our further words to know everything.
Overview Of The Lemon Cypress Bonsai
- Common name – Monterey Cypress
- Scientific name – Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’
- Year of Invention – about 153 million years ago
- Country of origin – California
- Origin of name – Cyprus
- Hardiness zones – USDA 7 to 10
- Seed length – Up to 20 to 40 mm
- Plant length – Up to 6 to 8 feet from root
- Plant width – Up to 1 to 2 feet from crown
- Soil requirement – Neutral soil or ph 6.6 to 7.5
- Pruning requirement – Average pruning
- Types of leaves – Pinnately and fern-like
- Preferred temperature – +80°f to +20°f
- Weather that can’t tolerate – Freezing temperature
- Display style – Conical habit
- Growing Season – Summer
- Bloom season – Spring
- The color of flowers – Insignificant
- Blooming duration – Several months
Lemon Cypress Bonsai Care Guidelines
Above, you have just a short overview of the lemon cypress tree. You need more detailed information to cultivate this bonsai plant. The more specific information you can pursue, the more accurately you can grow your passionate bonsai, and the less its chance of dying.
Ideal Placement
Usually, you have to place it in a space where it gets full sunlight exposure, as it needs vast sunlight to grow. It is very sensitive and won’t grow well in a shady place. That’s why it is suggested to keep the indoor lemon cypress bonsai in a south face window, where the sun shines at least 6-8 hours a day.
On the other hand, if your tree is an outdoor lemon cypress plant, then place it in a fully sunny area to get enough warmth to grow. If the tree gets sun shines from one of its sides, then you need to turn the tree pot regularly to ensure each side gets enough light exposure.
Suitable Temperature And Humidity
In winter, you should check the temperature regularly with a thermostat. You have to maintain a temperature between 80°f to 20°f according to the thermostat. If the temperature drops below 20°f, it will start to die.
You can use artificial lights over the tree to maintain the temperature. As most of the LED grow lights come with different temperature setting options, so you can set the temperature that suits your tree. To know more about artificial grow lights, check this post.
Watering
After ensuring proper placement and sunlight, you have to ensure a sound watering system for your lemon cypress tree. Usually, it is a thirsty plant and needs regular irrigation to stay healthy and grow fast. It’s a good idea to make a watering schedule for your tree to avoid its soil dryness. If you miss regular water, the tree’s needles will turn brown and lose their wonderful fragrance.
For best practice, you can check the soil moisture level of the tree to determine the water. We invite you to check how to water the bonsai to know the proper ways to water your tree.
Fertilizer Instructions
The lemon cypress bonsai doesn’t require periodic fertilizing. In this case, it is very flexible. You can fertilize it once in early spring to encourage its growth rate. But, as it needs one fertilizing in a year, you have to ensure proper nutrition and feed in this time. So, you have to choose a balanced fertilizer that contains a 20-20-20 ratio of NPK. Otherwise, the tree doesn’t get enough nutrition to boost its new growth. To know more about bonsai fertilizer, check this post.
Pruning
As your target is cultivating the lemon cypress tree as a bonsai, it needs regular pruning and maintenance to bring a beautiful shape and structure. Though the tree can tolerate hard pruning, you should do it carefully to avoid harm to the tree.
Early spring is the right time to prune your tree. You can select the new shoots to cut when it generates lateral ramification. But if you prune the tree before this, maybe the lemon cypress is drying out. Check this post to learn more about how to prune your bonsai.
Potting and Repotting
As the tree grows super fast and becomes tall
6 to 8 feet from the root and 1 to 2 feet wide from the crown; you have to repot it yearly. When you repot the tree, you should select a pot with a well drainage system and vast. The tree needs neutral soil, maintaining pH levels 6.6 to 7.5. You can choose loam and sandy soil to plant the tree in a new pot.
If your tree is relatively young and in the growing stage, repot it every two years, and if your tree is older, you can repot it after every 3-5 years. Click here to learn more about repotting.
Pests and Diseases
You can treat your lemon cypress bonsai tree like a regular lemon cypress tree for pest and disease control. Here, you have to keep in mind that your tree is miniature in size, so you have to use a gentile dose for this. But fortunately, your indoor lemon cypress tree is primarily free from pest attacks, and there are no known diseases.
Propagation
There are two ways of lemon cypress propagation. One is planting the seed, and the other is cutting its stems. Between the two methods, planting seeds is easier. But if you don’t want to plant the seed and already have a lemon cypress bonsai tree at your home, you can use it for propagation.
You have to choose the best branch (one year old) of the lemon cypress and cut it 4 to 8 inches long using the hedge shears. You must ensure the leaves are attached to the branch when cutting. Then you have to sow it into a pot and take care of it properly.
We suggest you consult with your tree owner to get the most accurate propagation advice from whom you bought the tree.
Where To Buy Lemon Cypress Tree Bonsai?
You can buy a lemon cypress bonsai tree from your nearest gardening store or nursery. But, it will be better if you can find a nursery specializing in Lemon Cypress bonsai trees or Cypress bonsai.
But, if you are unfortunate and there is no specialized nursery near you, the largest e-commerce website Amazon is here for you. There you will find many options to choose your preferred tree.
FAQs
Is lemon cypress good for bonsai?
The lemon cypress is one of the most popular sub-species of the cypress species tree. It is a semi-tropical plant and also good to cultivate as bonsai.
How do you shape a lemon cypress?
Trimming or pruning is the most suitable solution to bring an attractive shape to your lemon cypress. When pruning you have to trim it by maintaining its natural shape because of its conical habit and Summer is the best season to prune the tree.
Can you grow lemon cypress indoors?
Yes, the lemon cypress bonsai is good to cultivate outdoors as well as indoors. You have to keep it in the right place for indoor cultivation to maintain enough sunlight, watering, and fertilizer. Besides, you also have to maintain the proper temperature (80°f to 20°f) to avoid dying.
Conclusion
Now you know all the essential caring information about your lemon cypress bonsai tree. We hope our researching resources will make your bonsai cultivating journey easy, simple, and hassle-free.