Cryptomeria japonica 'Ryoku Gyoku' / Ryoku Gyoku Japanese cedar

Cryptomeria japonica 'Ryoku Gyoku' is a irregular-globose, extremely slow-growing selection of Japanese cedar with dense, miniature dark-green awl-like foliage that will assume a light-bronzy cast in winter in colder climates. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure, at best 8 to 10 inches (20 - 25 cm) tall and wide, an annual growth rate averaging less than 1 inch (2.5 cm).

This cultivar originated as a witch's broom found in the late 1990s on a containerized specimen of C. japonica 'Tansu' by Edsal Wood of Aurora, Oregon, USA at his nursery, Bonsai Village. The cultivar names loosely translates into "Jade Ball" in the Japanese language.

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Cryptomeria japonica 'Ryoku Gyoku' at the ACS Reference Garden, Oregon Garden, Silverton. A stunning older specimen; clearly one of the first propagated.
Photo by Patrick Breen, Oregon State University
Cryptomeria japonica 'Ryoku Gyoku' — a closeup of foliage detail.
Photo by Patrick Breen, Oregon State University

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