Blue Ice Arizona Cypress  (Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’)

The conifer garden at the arboretum has a young Blue Ice Arizona Cypress. The finely textured, silver blue needles of this conifer really stand out in the landscape. It has a moderate to rapid growth rate, needs full sun to look its best, and likes dry soil once established.

The stems are a red mahogany color. This tree is an upright pyramidal grower and can get as large as 45 feet tall by 20 feet wide. In our area it typically will be a 15 x 8 foot tree and may reach 25 feet tall. It can be used as a hedge or a specimen tree. The Blue Ice Arizona Cypress is an airy, frosty blue, needled evergreen that really catches your eye. As you drive around, you won’t see many older specimens. It seems to have a short lifespan here. So if you plant this tree in your landscape, use it as a short lived accent plant.