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Dwarf Japanese Cedar

Cryptomeria japonica 'Golden Promise'

Height: 1' average mature height
Zones: 6-8 Find my zone
Aspect: mostly sun to full sun
Watering: needs regular irrigation, about once per week during hot weather
Maximum Water: tolerates occasional winter flooding but needs drier soil in the summer
Habit: single stem or trunk
Foliage: evergreen
Growth Rate: slow
Size Availability

Out of season.
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall. Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.

Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out.
Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: often not in production; usually due to infrequent seed production, limited propagation material, difficult propagation, or limited demand. May be available in large quantities in some years following seed bumper years. Low demand may cause staggered production, especially for fast-growing species.
'Golden Promise' is a dwarf Japanese Cedar that matures into a small ball of light green foliage. In the summer the leaves turn a bright golden color and even turn almost white during the hottest and driest part of the summer before fading back to lime green in the fall. These plants require almost no pruning or shaping and very little maintenance. The leaves and stems are tough yet flexible, making them resistant to damage from falling branches or heavy yard work.

Propagating Cryptomeria japonica 'Golden Promise'
Cuttings from young wood root easily. We propagate ours by taking cuttings in mid summer and misting them, but they also work well when taken in mid-Fall and kept in high humidity with medium light levels. Cuttings are best taken from tips which grew during the past season in 3-4 inch long pieces. Remove the needles from the bottom inch or two, pulling them off causes relatively large wounds. After pulling off the needles dip them into rooting hormone - this will be absorbed into the tissue in the wounds and will be the location where roots form. Softwood cuttings in summer usually root by late fall, and fall/winter cuttings usually root by mid summer.

Caring for Cryptomeria japonica
Very little pruning or shaping is required, but you can lightly prune plants each year to encourage a specific or more perfectly rounded shape. Fertilize in the spring with a slow release pellet, we like to use Osmocote Plus 20-10-10. You can double the growth rate by providing well drained soil and a slow release fertilizer. Avoid over watering Cryptomeria; although they can handle moist conditions they do best when the soil is allowed to dry out a little bit between watering.

Close up of the foliage on Cryptomeria japonica 'Golden Promise'

2.5 inch potted plant already showing heavy branching (ships bare root)

Our quart size 'Golden Promise'

Packing Plants For Shipping

We pack our plants depending on the needs of each species and size, most plants ship best with the roots packed in moist sawdust or bark fines but some species don't like root disturbance and are shipped in a soil-less growing media.

Excess soil is washed from the roots in preparation for shipping (18-24" White Pines)

Plants are bundled together to fit in boxes

Bundles of plants are secured in long boxes.

Plant Sizes


3 gallon Dawn Redwood

Standard quart shrub

Standard 14-18" multi-stem tree size

Standard deep plug pine tree

Bamboo Plants Are Shipped In Their Containers

Bamboo roots are not flexible and so plants have to be shipped in their containers. These plants are heavier and are shipped separately from bare root plants. Because they are potted they can handle longer transit times so can ship via UPS Ground instead of USPS Air Mail. Potted plants can also be shipped year-round.

We regularly top our 1 gallon bamboo plants at 24-30 inches tall throughout the growing season. This results in dense, bushy foliage while allowing for economical shipping. From this size most running species will grow to 5-6 feet tall in the first spring and clumping species will usually grow to 4-5 feet tall.

1 gallon bamboo plants strapped in and ready to be sealed.

Unpacking Bare Root Plants

You will be sent tracking details as soon as your plants are shipped. Unpack your plants as quickly as possible after they are delivered. We use two types of boxes, side-sealing and top-sealing. For boxes that are taped along the whole length you can cut the tape on either side and remove the plant bundles by cutting the tape holding the bundle to the bottom. For boxes that are sealed on the top and bottom, it is easiet to open the bottom of the box (the shipping label is at the top) and pull the bundle of plants out straight out. Check that the box is empty as there can be a second bundle of plants stuck towards the top.


A bundle of trees.
When you are ready to plant, remove the trees from the plastic and soak the roots in a bucket of water for 30 seconds. Do not expose the roots to direct sunlight and do not allow them to dry out. When planting large quantities of plants we keep the plants in a black garbage bag to keep all sun and air flow away from the roots and pull each plant as soon as the planting hole is ready. Water the soil well right after planting.

What if I am not able to plant right away?

You can usually leave the plants in their shipping container unopened for 1-2 days if there were no shipping delays and you have received your plants from late November through February. Plants shipped when it is warmer can't stay in their packages for as long.

For longer term storage of plants you can pot them up or plant them in rows close together temporarily and then pull them out later in the spring to be planted again. This keeps the roots moist while allowing for air flow to the tops. The roots should have good contact with the soil to ensure they have access to adequate moisture.
Size Availability
Out of season.
Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall. Additional batches of plugs and quarts are added throughout the year.

Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out.
Add your email to be notified as soon as we have them back in stock:
This does NOT subscribe your email to any mailing lists, our system will only send an inventory notification message.
Production notes: often not in production; usually due to infrequent seed production, limited propagation material, difficult propagation, or limited demand. May be available in large quantities in some years following seed bumper years. Low demand may cause staggered production, especially for fast-growing species.

* Shipping Rate Information

Most plants that ship with washed roots ship at a flat rate with free shipping for ordres over $75. Some plants, such as bamboo that are shipped potted, have rate tables based on the quantity and delivery location. Washed root plants ship free with any rate table plant even if the total of the washed root plants is less than $75. Delivery surcharges such as Remote Delivery Area are in addition to the standard shipping and are applied by shipping carriers to addresses with excessively long delivery routes, or those with difficult access such as those on islands that require ferries for delivery. Free shipping does not apply to delivery surcharges.
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