Cryptomeria ‘Globosa Nana’

* Common name: Dwarf Japanese cedar ‘Globosa Nana’

* Botanical name: Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa Nana’

* What it is: A slow-growing, compact, rounded evergreen with soft, finely textured green needles that take on a rusty cast in winter.

* Size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide in 10 years, ultimately creeping up to 6 to 8 feet tall and wide if never pruned.

* Where to use: Excellent specimen evergreen along a sunny house foundation or in a sunny border or mixed garden. Does best in full sun but tolerates light shade.

* Care: Improve soil with compost before planting and keep soil consistently damp (never soggy) for first 2 years. Then soak well every 2 or 3 weeks if soil goes dry in hot weather. An annual spring scattering of an acidifying organic fertilizer is helpful but not mandatory. Pruning not needed if you give it enough space. If you must prune, do it lightly and only in spring.

* Great partner: Black-eyed susans, orange butterfly weed, and red or gold lilies or mums are good perennial partners. Plant the base and flank with golden daffodils for spring color.