The smooth Arizona cypress is a conical to columnar, needle-bearing evergreen tree native to Arizona in the southwestern United States, and often found in rocky or gravelly soils of canyons and ravines. The tree can mature up to 70 feet tall, but typically grows 25 to 40 feet tall and 25 to 30 feet wide. This conifer has distinctive peeling gray outer bark that sheds, revealing a smooth dark red inner bark. The dense foliage is scale-like and bluish-green, and the fruit is small, gray or brown round cones. It is a member of the cypress family (Cupressaceae). The specific epithet, glabra, means "smooth" and refers to the tree's bark. It thrives in full sun and in a variety of moist, well-drained soils. It is drought-tolerant once established, deer-resistant, salt- and poor-soil-tolerant, and resistant to cypress canker. This conifer is winter hardy in zones 6 through 9. The smooth Arizona cypress is frequently used for screening or windbreaks or planted in gardens and parks. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: Monitor for cypress aphids, and it may be susceptible to honey fungus. Overwatering can cause root rot.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
24-60 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 25 ft. 0 in. - 45 ft. 0 in. | Width: 25 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Conical; Dense; Erect
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf value
Fragrant
Leaf size
< 1 inch long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The foliage is scale-like, blue-green to waxy blue, each scale measuring 0.04 inches long. The leaves are short, closely pressed to the twigs, acutely pointed, thickened and keel-shaped on the back, and resinous. Tiny white dots seen on the foliage are actually resin glands. The leaves die during the second year, turn a bright red-brown, and remain on the twigs for about four years. The foliage is fragrant when crushed.
Flower detail
Non-flowering.
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit detail
The cones are woody and become gray or brown upon maturity. The male cones measure about 0.1 inches long and appear in September. The female cones measure 0.6 to 1.2 inches wide. They have 5 to 10 scales. They do not open for several seasons and often seen clinging to the branches. The seeds are smooth or warty, and winged, dispersed by the wind.
Bark color
Light Gray; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
The blistering and peeling gray outer bark sheds in thin, flat reddish strips or plates; beneath the bark is a smooth, red inner bark.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Central Arizona
Distribution
Native to Central Arizona. Introduced in Italy and Tunisia.
Play value
Screening; Wind Break
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Slope/Bank
Landscape theme
Drought Tolerant Garden
Design feature
Hedge; Street Tree
Garden tags
#needled evergreen #evergreen tree #evergreen #tall #drought tolerant #smooth bark #blue green needles #columnar #cone #conical #conifer #hedge #interesting bark #privacy #screen #windbreak #deer resistant #erosion control #full sun #ornamental tree #poor soil tolerant #salt tolerant