Tsuga sieboldii (09/02/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
Position: Full sun to partial shade
Flowering period: Spring
Soil: Moist, well drained
Eventual Height: 20m
Eventual Spread: 15m
Hardiness: 6a – 8b
Family: Pinaceae
Tsuga sieboldii is a slow growing evergreen coniferous tree with a dense broadly conical crown. Its dark green leaves are up to 15mm long and 2mm wide with a blunt tip. Its grey/ pink bark is smooth when young, becoming flaky with age. Its trunk may achieve a diameter of up to 2.5m. Its monoecious flowers are in the form of pollen cones and juvenile cones and appear at the branch tips. Its fruit are pendulous cones which are up to 25mm long and 20mm broad and when mature are light brown in color.
Tsuga sieboldii Leaf (09/02/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
Tsuga sieboldii, commonly known as the Southern Japanese Hemlock or Tsuga, is native to Japan. In its native habitat it grows in mixed conifer forests.
The etymological root of the binomial name Tsuga is from the Japanese vernacular for the Hemlock Cedar. Sieboldii is named after Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796 – 1866), a German physician who obtained significance for his study of Japanese flora and fauna.
Tsuga sieboldii Cone (09/02/2013, Kew Gardens, London)
The landscape architect may find Tsuga sieboldii useful as an ornamental evergreen tree.
Ecologically, Tsuga sieboldii seed provides food for mammals and birds.
Tsuga sieboldii prefers moist, fertile, well-drained soils. It tolerates most pH of soil.
Tsuga sieboldii requires little maintenance.
Tsuga sieboldii Bark (09/02/2013, Kew Gardens, London)