Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Compacta' is a dwarf, upright, broadly conical selection of Hinoki cypress with irregular, sculpted branching carrying sprays of dark-green foliage. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 4 feet (1.3 m) tall and 3 feet (1 m) wide, an annual growth rate of 3 to 5 inches (7.5 - 12.5 cm). This conifer is considered an intermediate to
C. obtusa 'Nana' and
'Nana Gracilis' in growth rate.
This cultivar has been in cultivation in Europe since the 1870s, first described in botanical literature in 1875 by
William Barron in Gordon. It is widely believed that multiple clones can be implicated as the parental source of this cultivar.