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Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar

Cryptomeria japonica 'sPg-3-005'

 

 
Dragon Warrior Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'sPg-3-005') at Rainfrost Nursery

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar foliage

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar foliage

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Height:  4 feet

Spread:  4 feet

Sunlight:  full sun  partial shade 

Hardiness Zone:  6a

Description:

A loosely rounded evergreen with very bright emerging foliage that transitions to deep green-black; slow-growing and graceful; an excellent choice for an accent in the home landscape

Ornamental Features

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has dark green foliage with hints of black which emerges light green in spring. The scale-like sprays of foliage remain dark green throughout the winter. The peeling antique red bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Accent
  • Vertical Accent

Planting & Growing

Dragon Warrior™ Japanese Cedar will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight Soil pH Preference
Characteristics
Accent  Articulation 
Applications
Texture  Plant Form  Bark  Winter Value 
Ornamental Features