Hinoki cypress "Elf"

These plants grow well in sun or in partial shade. Usually they tolerate more sun and heat if given enough moisture; in partial or light shade they need less moisture.

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.

Leaves or needles remain on the plant throughout the winter and fall down in spring when new ones emerge. Part of leaves or needles may fall already in autumn or winter. The falling off depends on winter temperature, so some plants are evergreen in mild winter, yet decidous in cold winter

Plant can in otherwise appropriate environment survive cold down to - 23 °C.

Moist soil usually contain morefine clay parts and less sand, more humus and organic materials, they are somewhat heavier, but not hard; water does not run away quickly but stays among soil particles and is long available to plants. There is no stagnant water, soil is airy enough. Drought occurs rarely on such positions. Plants are given more or less permanent, moderate moisture.

Woody plant, normally branched at the ground level into several side stems, usually lacks of a dominant stem. Tree top can be of different shapes, dense or thin, symetric or uneven. Most shrubs reach a height of 1 to 2 metres, but some can grow much higher (up to 8 m); some can grow into very low or carpet-like forms.