Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Stoneham' is an extremely slow-growing, cushion-shaped (squatly conical with age) selection of Hinoki cypress with layered branches and branchlets, and nice green foliage. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure only 6 inches (15 cm) tall and 8 inches (20 cm) wide, an annual growth rate of well under 1 inch (1 - 2 cm).
This cultivar was one of several miniature Hinoki seedlings grown and selected around 1910 by George Gardiner, former nursery foreman at R.H. Rogers & Sons Red Lodge Nursery of Chandler Ford, United Kingdom. Red Lodge began introducing these "tennis ball" seedlings in the early 1920s. They are excellent choices for rock gardens and trough/container culture.
