Cryptomeria japonica 'Sekkan-sugi'
Common name: Golden Japanese cedar
Cryptomeria japonica 'Sekkan-sugi' has a loosely conical form. It is typically grown for its attractive variegated foliage. With maturity it will reach about 5 to 7 metres (15 feet) tall. C. japonica 'Sekkan-sugi' has soft, awl-shaped needles on branches that are slightly weeping. It tends to fill out right to the ground.
'Sekkan' means 'yellow' in Japanese, referring to the pale creamy yellow new growth which transitions to mid-green during the summer. Crinkled, globular brown cones dangle on the tips of the branches in autumn followed by small, newly developing pale green ones. C. japonica 'Sekkan-sugi ' has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
It is believed that Hillside Nursery of Lehighton, Pennsylvania introduced the tree to American horticulture around 1970.
A number of Cryptomeria japonica 'Sekkan-sugi' can be found in VanDusen's Sino-Himalayan Garden.
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Text and photos by Kumi Sutcliffe