Introduction

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Cypress (Cupressus) species have been widely grown in southern Australia, mainly for windbreaks on farmland. Cypress timber that is currently cut from windbreaks has a good niche market with cabinet makers in Australia.

Production of planting material for forestry plantings has until now depended upon using seed sources with the resultant variability in individual trees being evident. New Zealand Forest Research Institute has implemented a cypress breeding programme since 1980, which has culminated in the production of superior cypress clones (Miller and Knowles 1996). The extensive breeding of these superior cypress clones and cultivars could enable cypress to be included as a productive option for Australian plantation forestry.

Clonal material provides the following benefits over seedlings:
A more uniform crop;

  • Lower initial stocking requirements (less/no cull thinning);
  • Less pruning costs (smaller and less branching);
  • Improved wood processing and recovery percentages;
  • Marketing advantages through uniformity of wood properties and timber appearance.

There is, however a risk that planting identical clones with the same characteristics might increase susceptibility to pests and diseases.
Cultivars

Six clonal cultivars and two seed cultivars were tested and they include:

Cloned cultivars
Hycol - a New Zealand Forest Research Cupressus lusitanica clone from Columbia seed source
SC5 – a Southern Cypress Cupressus lusitanica clone
SC2 – a Southern Cypress Cupressus macrocarpa clone
X Cupressocyparis leylandii “Ferndown” a clone from a hybrid between Chamaecyparis nootkatensis and Cupressus macrocarpa
X Cupressocyparis leylandii “Leighton Green” a clone from a hybrid between Chamaecyparis nootkatensis and Cupressus macrocarpa
X Cupressocyparis ovensii “Ovensii” a clone from a hybrid between Chamaecyparis nootkatensis and Cupressus lusitanica

Seed cultivars
Cupressus lusitanica – A Lismore improved seed lot of Gwavas, New Zealand provenance
Cupressus macrocarpa –Strathallan, New Zealand, provenance

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