Its inviting scent makes this tree a great pick for landscaping.

However, this narrow, columnar evergreen tree is more than a lemon-scented holiday plant for indoors.

Lemon Cypress Care

One of the great things aboutC.

Lemon cypress trees with conical shapes potted in front of backyard

The Spruce / Missy Schrott

macrocarpaGoldcrest is that it is an easy plant to care for.

Light

Lemon trees require a good amount of light.

Outdoors, a lemon cypress tree should be planted in full sun to partial shade.

Lemon cypress tree branches with short yellow-green evergreen leaves in sunlight

The Spruce / Missy Schrott

Allow the plant to establish itself by watering it once a week during the first season.

Temperature and Humidity

A lemon cypress prefers cool, moist climates with temperatures between 20F and 80F.

Grown indoors, the lemon cypress needs to be kept in a place with sufficient humidity.

Lemon cypress trees with conical-shaped branches surrounded by patio foliage

The Spruce / Missy Schrott

Fertilizer

Don’t fertilize a lemon cypress tree.

Types of Lemon Cypress

In addition to the straight species.Cupressus macrocarpa.

The only regularpruning maintenancerequired is when the lemon cypress is used as a hedge,bonsai, or topiary.

Potted lemon cypress trees surrounding red and pink flowers in backyard

The Spruce / Missy Schrott

In these cases, it needs to be done carefully and in a timely fashion.

This shrub, like mostconifers, does not take well to hard pruning.

Pruning Tip

Looking for the best pruners for your lemon cypresses?

dwarf boxwood shrub in front of a home

We tested 8top-rated prunersin our Lab to check that your shrubs stay happy and healthy.

Propagating Lemon Cypress

The best time for propagating lemon cypress from cuttings is in the winter.

If keeping the lemon cypress in a container, it should be repotted once every three to four years.

Emerald green arborvitae trees alongside brick pathway and white and blue building

Below USDA zone 7, lemon cypress is best grown in a container and brought indoors during the winter.

These usually don’t affect the overall health of the tree and can be controlled with insecticidal soap.

A more serious problem is coryneum canker, a fungus that can kill the tree.

yew hedge

To keep it under control, remove infected branches promptly and dispose of them in the trash.

Evergreen Shrubs You Might Also Like

Yes.

The needles exude a light citrus fragrance when touched or crushed.

Inkberry holly shrub with bright green leaves near pathway

It depends on the variety.

No, lemon cypress will not repel mosquitoes.

US Forest Service Department of Agriculture.

Plants that repel mosquitoes.