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Pencil Pine

Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'
$180.95 $238.95

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Typically 20cm to 2.5m tall on arrival, depending on the size you choose. Size guide

This size is on backorder. Want it the moment it lands back from the farms?

Good to know: pot sizes, availability and delivery
  • Sizes are pot sizes, not plant heights. A 200mm pot is the width of the container. Typical plant heights per size are in the size guide.
  • Every order is availability checked. If anything cannot be supplied as listed, we contact you within 2 business days with the closest equivalent, the option to wait, or a refund. You choose.
  • Delivered Australia wide. Live plants packed for transit, no minimum order. Details on the delivery page.
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  • Fast, reliable delivery Australia-wide
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  • Flat-rate delivery from $29.95 for standard items
  • Larger plants and trees are delivered via nursery truck from $149.95

FAQs

Can I pick up my order?

No. We operate as an online-only nursery and do not offer customer pickups.

Can I delay delivery?

Yes. Add your preferred delivery timing in the order notes at checkout.

What if I’m not home for delivery?

Your order will be left in a safe location at the delivery address.

What if my plants don’t arrive healthy?

Every order is covered by our 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee.

Pencil Pine 'Nitschke's Needles' (Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles') is an Australian bred selection of the Italian cypress chosen for one thing: it stays genuinely narrow. Expect around 5m tall and under 1m wide in a home garden, with fine dark green foliage packed tightly to a single upright form. That makes it the plant to reach for when you want vertical structure in a bed only a metre deep.

Why you'll love it

  • Narrow without maintenance. It holds under 1m across on its own, not from a ladder and a hedge trimmer every spring.
  • A realistic height. Around 5m in a garden, which screens a fence and a first floor window without dominating the street.
  • Roots that stay put. Non invasive, so it suits a driveway edge, paving or a boundary wall.
  • Tough across dry Australia. Frost hardy, heat tolerant, drought tolerant once established, wind firm and happy in poor soil.
  • Formal structure, no fuss. Evergreen, dense, and it takes light shaping.

Where it works best

Driveways and avenues. A matched row is the classic use. Space them 1m apart for a solid vertical screen, or 2m to 3m apart for a rhythm of separate columns.

Screening in a narrow bed. At 1m apart the columns meet and give a formal screen in a strip most screening plants cannot fit. Keep them 60cm off a fence so air moves behind.

Entries, pots and topiary. A pair either side of a gate gives instant formality, and the tight habit takes shaping well. Use a container at least 500mm across.

Growing Pencil Pine in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with plenty of air around the plant. This is a Mediterranean plant at heart and it belongs in warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens: Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and inland New South Wales and Victoria all suit it. Humid tropical and subtropical gardens are not its climate.

Soil. Drainage matters far more than fertility. It grows happily in stony, sandy or poor ground and sulks in heavy wet clay. On clay, plant on a raised mound with gypsum and coarse compost worked through.

Water and feed. Water deeply once a week through the first two summers, then only in prolonged dry weather. Overwatering an established plant does more damage than drought. Feed lightly in early spring.

Pruning and staking. Almost none is required. For a crisper column, shear lightly in late spring and stay within green growth, because conifers do not reshoot from bare inner wood. Stake advanced plants for the first year.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: 200mm pots in packs of six, then 25L, 45L and 100L. The 200mm packs are the sensible way to plant a long driveway run: fast to establish, and the saving over a dozen plants is considerable. The 25L and 45L sizes suit a pair at an entry, and the 100L is semi advanced.

Conifers arrive thirsty, so water them the day they land and again two days later. Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Growth is slow and steady, which is exactly why the shape holds. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

Common questions

How tall will it get?

Around 5m in a garden over many years. Older Italian cypress in Europe reach far more, but this is a slow, narrow selection and 5m is the realistic figure to plan around.

How far apart should I plant them?

1m apart for a continuous formal screen. For an avenue where the columns should read individually, 2m to 3m apart looks better.

Will it grow in Brisbane or Darwin?

It is not the right plant for humid tropical and subtropical gardens. It is at its best in warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and dry inland climates where summers are drier and air moves freely.

Plant details

Mature height5m
Mature width1m
PositionFull Sun
Water needsLow, Moderate
Growth rateSlow
FoliageEvergreen
FlowersInsignificant
Native toMediterranean, Cultivar or Hybrid
ClimateWarm Temperate, Cool Temperate, Mediterranean, Arid & Semi-Arid
ToleratesFrost Hardy, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Wind Tolerant, Poor Soil Tolerant
SpacingPlant 1m apart for a formal screen

Great for

Screening & PrivacyFeature PlantingDriveways & AvenuesSmall GardensTopiary & ShapingTall & NarrowNon-Invasive RootsLow Maintenance

Compare similar plants

Pencil Pine against the rest of the conifers range

Mature sizes are typical in Australian gardens; growth rate and position are from the plant details on each page.

PlantRatingMature heightMature widthGrowth ratePositionFrom
Pencil Pine
Pencil PineThis plantCupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'
 ★★★★★(20) 5m 1m Slow Full Sun $132.95
Emerald Green Arborvitae
Emerald Green ArborvitaeThuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
 ★★★★★(10) 4m 1.2m Slow, Moderate Full Sun, Partial Shade $148.95
Spartan Juniper
Spartan JuniperJuniperus 'Spartan'
 ★★★★★(9) 5m 1.2m Slow, Moderate Full Sun, Partial Shade $16.95
Mediterranean Cypress
Mediterranean CypressCupressus sempervirens 'Glauca'
 ★★★★★(10) 10m 2m Moderate, Fast Full Sun $209.95
Leighton Green
Leighton GreenCupressocyparis leylandii
 ★★★★★(3) 12m 4m Fast Full Sun, Partial Shade $19.95
Golden Biota
Golden BiotaThuja orientalis 'Nana Aurea'
 ★★★★★(8) 1.5m 1.2m Slow Full Sun, Partial Shade $14.95

See the whole conifers range

Common questions about Pencil Pine

  • How tall does Pencil Pine grow?

    Pencil Pine reaches about 5m tall at maturity and about 1m wide.

  • Does Pencil Pine need full sun or shade?

    it grows best in full sun.

  • How much water does Pencil Pine need?

    water needs are low, moderate.

  • How fast does Pencil Pine grow?

    it has a slow growth rate.

  • Which Australian climates suit Pencil Pine?

    it suits warm temperate, cool temperate, mediterranean, arid & semi-arid climates and tolerates frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant, wind tolerant, poor soil tolerant. Check the planting calendar for the best month in your region. Planting calendar

  • How far apart should I plant Pencil Pine?

    Plant Plant 1m apart for a formal screen. The hedge calculator works out the number of plants for your length. Hedge calculator

  • Is Pencil Pine safe around pets?

    Yes, Pencil Pine is listed as pet friendly.

  • What size will my Pencil Pine arrive at?

    Typically 20cm to 2.5m tall on arrival, depending on the size you choose. The size picker on this page shows the typical height under each size group. Heights vary with the season and the batch. Size guide

  • How is Pencil Pine delivered?

    Packed upright and delivered Australia wide. Freight is quoted at checkout with multiple freight companies and passed on at cost, and the grower confirms your plants before anything is booked. Most plant orders arrive within 3 to 7 business days of dispatch.

  • Is Pencil Pine covered by a guarantee?

    Yes. Every plant is covered by the 30 day healthy plant guarantee: if it arrives in poor shape, send a photo within 30 days and we sort it out with a replacement or a refund. Read the guarantee

Loved by Australian Gardeners

★★★★★ Rated by verified customers across Australia

Customer Reviews

Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 20 reviews.

Customer photo review of Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'

The plants that were delivered were Beautiful, healthy, and much bigger than I expected for the price. And the delivery driver was amazing, dropping off the plants down our very long driveway, out of view from the road, and not blocking anything. Fantastic product and service.

Christopher H. 5/5 Verified

Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'

Plants arrived very healthy and ontime. Just thought they'd be abit bigger for the price I paid. Still very healthy 3 months later.

Joanne H. 5/5 Verified

Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'

Store owner replied: Thanks Joanne, and good to hear they're still healthy three months on. Every product page shows the pot size, and smaller sizes are younger plants that gain height steadily once in the ground. Nitschke's Needles keeps that tight, narrow column as it grows, so it's worth the wait. Emily

Beautiful trees and excellent customer service. I had a little problem with my first order, contacted customer service and they could not have been more helpful. They came to my rescue and I now have beautiful healthy trees.

Caleb W. 5/5

Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'

After you order

What happens next

  1. 1Order confirmedYour confirmation email arrives straight away.
  2. 2Grower confirms stockWe check your plants are ready at the nursery before anything is booked.
  3. 3Freight bookedYou get the carrier and the delivery window by email.
  4. 4Delivered to your doorPacked upright and delivered Australia wide.

30 day healthy plant guarantee on every plant, every size.

BeforeThe same garden at two to three years, designed from the customer photo
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BeforeAt 2 to 3 years

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A driveway lined with Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles' offers year-round privacy as it leads to a house with a tiled roof on a sunny day.

Pencil Pine - Cupressus sempervirens 'Nitschke's Needles'

From $132.95 $229.95

Mature height

4m to 8m

Mature width

0.5m to 1m

Position

Full Sun

Water needs

Low, Moderate

Growth rate

Slow

Foliage

Evergreen

Flower colour

Insignificant

Climate

Warm Temperate, Cool Temperate, Mediterranean, Arid & Semi-Arid

Tolerates

Frost Hardy, Drought Tolerant, Heat Tolerant, Wind Tolerant, Poor Soil Tolerant

Great for

Screening & Privacy, Feature Planting, Driveways & Avenues, Small Gardens, Topiary & Shaping

Spacing

Plant 1m apart for a formal screen

Pet friendly

Yes
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