Tree 19

Hesperocyparis macrocarpa

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Quick Facts

Species: Hesperocyparis

Genus: macrocarpa (formerly Cupressus ‘macrocarpa’ meaning large fruit)

Common Names: Monterey Cypress

Mature Size: 25 metres in home range, much taller in better soil

Height: 17 metres
Width: 11 metres
Diameter of Trunk at Breast Height (DBH @1.4m): 153cm

Age of Tree: Mature, trees have almost reached their expected size in this position.

Place of Origin: Monterey Peninsula, Point Lobos area, coastal California, USA.

Plant Habit: Wide spreading Conifer, dense outer canopy with long lateral stems; often are wide as it is tall.

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Story

Originally planted as a screen of 2 trees; they have grown into a feature next to Church of England in Simpson Street. The first reverend was William Hall who came to Ballan with his wife in 1849, the year they also built the parsonage. A Mr. Denholm laid out the gardens.

The foundation stone for the church was laid in 1861 by Mrs. C.H. Lyon from Ballanee, and the building was completed in 1862 under Rev. Windle, who was an avid gardener. These trees could have been planted already in 1849 by Mr Denholm or around the time the church was built in 1862.

Comparable trees of the same type known were often planted as a screen on rural properties. There is a double Avenue in the Ballan Golf course. They are a cultivar with a more horizontal branching habit, with golden branch tips and with a shorter mature size.

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Learn More

Horticultural Information

Soil Moisture: High tolerance to drought & poor soils, including medium soil salinity.

Soil Type: Medium tolerance to compacted soil

Tolerances: High tolerance to salt spray & complete range of pH. Can be very sensitive to very cold conditions; prefers above-10C.

Useful Life Expectancy (ULE): High. 80+ years

Significance: Make a strong contribution to landscape, providing shade in summer and roosting sites for birds.

Flowering Characteristics: Indistinct male pollen sacks, terminal on foliage; typical conifer, flowering is not a feature.

Features: Large cones (30mm diameter) in clusters.

Points of Interest: Many Cultivars of this type of exotic tree, grown mostly as a screen or on farms as a hedge row.

Common Usage: Wind breaks on farms and in coastal areas; as well as clipped hedges in our urban landscape in south eastern Australia.

Additional Notes

Prone to Seridium sp. (Cypress Canker, pathogenic fungus); this fungus is especially problematic with older trees that have been excessively pruned. No known effective treatment for this fungus at this time. Can also be prone to ‘Cypress Weevil’ as they age, a wood boring insect that can ring bark smaller branches.

This type of tree only re-shoots where there is sufficient foliage present; it cannot re-soot on old or bare wood. Great care must be taken not to over prune hedges, as excessive pruning will result in dead patches in the face of hedge, where branches have all foliage removed, they die and cannot re-shoot. Resulting in an unsightly and unattractive hedge.

This type of tree is very prone to branch failures, in particular when inner foliage has been pruned out and or excessive weight at the end of stems; in particular with acutely attached branch unions.

This is a much smaller tree in its home range, with full coastal exposure on alkaline soils. It is a much larger tree in N.Z. where the soils are younger and have higher nutrient levels and with more abundant rainfall, throughout the year.

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