Large, upright, slow growing evergreen tree, conifer (15-20 m, W 6-9 m). Crown broadly ovoid to conical, dense, regular. Branches short, open, densely branched. Young shoots (false needles) arranged along the shoots in remarkable whorles, needle-like, thick, (5-7 mm), hard, straight, (8-12 cm), smooth, glossy, light green to mid green. Real leaves tiny, unremarkable, scale-like (2-4 mm), brown. Flowers in unremarkable, oval inflorescence. Fruits cones, ovate to elongate ovate (6-10 cm), grey-brown. It grows well in always moist, sufficiently drained, light, humus-rich, fertile, acidic to neutral soils. Prefers semi-shaded, sheltered sites with permanent, moderately high air-humidity.
Plants for partial shade need a few hours of direct sun per day to grow and blossom properly, thus could suffer harm from direct sun heat or overlong sun exposure. It is important for the plant not to be exposed to afternoon heat and in early afternoon hours, but must be exposed to morning, forenoon and evening sun. Partial shadow position can mean a site that is sunny one part of the day, or a site with sun and shade in patches, as it is the case under broadlived trees or behind a picket fence - wooden boards with spaces in between.
Conifers have woody stems (i. e. tree trunk and branches) and are also called woody plants or trees. Their leaves are transformed into needles or scales, usually being hard and leathery.
This group includes plants that cannot tolerate limestone (chalk) and need acidic soils to grow normally, this is soil, of which pH must lower tahn 6. According to pH value (acidity and alkalinity), soil can be either acidic, neutral or alkaline, with intermediate levels. Fertile, quality garden soils of most gardens and parks are slightly acidic to neutral (pH 6-7) and suit most of plants. If soil contains a lot of calcium (limy soils), it is alkaline soil. Acidic soils contain much less calcium, they can be richer in humus. Some acidic soils are washed out and poor in plant nutrients. Plants like, for example most of the rhododendrons, heather, camelias and bluberries, grow normally only in distinctively acidic soils, so such soil must be attained when planting. Most of other plants do grow well in slightly acidic soils, but grow as well also in neutral soils with a bit higher calcium content.
Leaves or needles remain on the plant for several consecutive years, usually 2 to 5 years. Our descriptions contain the word evergreen.
Plant can in otherwise appropriate environment survive cold down to - 23 °C.
Porous or dry soils are normally light and loose, there is no stagnant water but relatively quickly flows in deeper layers; such ground are more airy and warmer, yet drier and usually contain less humus and for such undergrowth it is often to for drought to appear (e. g. rockgardens, walls, by paths and roads, on gravel, also on gravel surface in towns and close to buildings ...), plants of such undergrowth need well-drained soil, they tolerate drought but cannot tolerate constant moisture or even flooding.
Woody plant, normally with a remarkable tree trunk and a tree top. May have several stems - multistemmed tree. The tree top may be of different shapes, dense or thin, symetric or uneven. Most trees reach a height of more than 3 metres.
