Get something small that won't require "topping".

Even sheared formal specimens like in the picture you posted have to be allowed to grow a little larger every year or they deteriorate. In addition a need to reach back inside a bit beyond the sheared outer shell and cut here and there to promote replacement growth may become necessary along the way - are you interested in doing all this upkeep? That will require moving and standing on ladders or platforms that enable you to reach all the way to the tops of 15' specimens? And cleaning up all the pieces generated in the process?

I’ve seen some pretty bad looking sheared Italian cypress’s . I have my second home in the Coachella Valley also. It’s been my experience that , with water, everything seems to grow a little faster there than elsewhere ( due to all the sun, climate). I’d buy the smaller ones.

Have you considered other alternatives? I have modern landscaping around my pool & throughout my yard .... there are lots of sculptural looking specimens available.

Thanks for the input. Can anyone recommend something that grows faster than the Tiny Tower but still keeps it's fastigiate shape? Even something that would grow 10-15' tall total would be nice. I was thinking of Skyrocket Junipers. Can anyone recommend anything else that would be similar? I'd like something that would be fast growing.

Really the only evergreen woody plant group that shoots up to a predetermined height and then stops is the bamboos. And that's individual culms that reach the full height that particular culm is ever going to reach the same year it emerges. And not the entire plant - at least until the full height a particular kind is going to ever reach on a given site is achieved.

That's not true, Embothrium. I see that Skyrocket Junipers reach 12' feet tall and the Forever Goldy Arborvitae grows 10-12 feet. Both only grow about 2-3ft in width. Also, the spiral Junipers grow to 15'.

Also, to others here who have warned against topping cypress;

I used to live in Washington state and frequented a nursery in the suburbs of Seattle. They used Leyland Cypress to create a living hedge fence where they topped it off at about 14ft and only allowed it to grow about 4ft wide. I asked them how they did this and they said they trimmed it twice a year. It was incredible and beautiful. They planted them about six to eight feet apart and there were easily 100 of them or more planted in a line. They were all doing amazingly well.

Given that a Leyland Cypress grows to approximately 70' tall topping it at around 14' seems quite extreme. I know it's not an Italian Cypress but I'd imagine since it's in the cypress family that they are very similar in how you can grow and trim them.

Sorry but you are mistaken - junipers and arborvitaes do not naturally grow to a pre set height and then stop, to remain there for the rest of their lives. You are apparently misinterpreting height representations given by commercial and other sources. Which are always approximations subject to individual climate and site conditions, as well as being in reference to particular periods of time. As in "10' in 10 years" and so on.

Leyland cypress is known for being exceptionally good for close formal shearing as long as the bare wood inside the outer shell of foliage is never cut back to. Otherwise nothing about your Seattle example disproves my preceding remarks - if they go on indefinitely shearing back to the same exact distance from the center of the hedge each time something will have to be done to compensate for this eventually.

Skyrocket grows far taller than 12 feet. Think twice that at least. And they don’t stay particularly slim at that height. If you topped them they’d grow even fatter unless you also sheared the sides. Topping and shearing effectively defeat the purpose of choosing a tree with that natural shape in the first place. Leylands may well be happy in Seattle but that doesn’t mean they would necessarily work in California. And, yes, they can be sheared into formal hedges where but it’s a life’s work to keep them under control. You might look into Cupressus sepervirens ‘Totem’ for a smaller Italian cypress. (Embo might question the name, and he's certainly right, but that’s what mine is labelled. ) It grows very slowly in my garden and is very slim. The requirement for a tree with a fifteen foot ultimate height pretty much precludes fast growth. For that you do need to look at bamboo.

@Embothrium

I'm not misinterpreting anything. I'm simply regurgitating the information that I find on either the tags themselves on the trees of interest I'm looking at or from what I see on the internet. And there's no mention of 10' in 10 years on the information I'm looking at. Plus, that doesn't make sense since most of the trees I've looked at are already 4-6'. If they grow an average of 1-2' per year in height they'll surpass ten feet in less than a decade.

I just contacted a licensed arborist who did some work for us back in Seattle and he says dwarfing a standard Italian Cypress would work just fine. I don't know your credentials. You sound like you know what you're talking about. But I think you're getting a little carried away and being overly anal about trees growing indefinitely forever. I lived in Seattle for nearly ten years and don't recall an emerald arborvitae being taller than 12-14'. My next door neighbor had some that were in her yard and she's lived there for over twenty years. She had six of them and none of them were taller than 12'. For the nine years I lived there I couldn't really recall any significant growth. It was also easy to gauge since our 6ft tall fence in front of them could serve as a marker for continued growth.

At any rate, I went to my local nursery today and saw that they had the Tiny Tower Monshel and decided to plant them around my pool. They are shorter but they're actually very impressive looking. They're much denser looking than the standard Italian Cypress. And for another project, I am going to plant a row of standard Italian Cypress in our front yard five to six feet apart and three feet away from the property line on our side. At this point I may or may not top them. A nearby neighbor has one that is 40' or more high and it's stunning.

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

I've seen people try to grow bamboo in the Palm Springs area and it's just nasty looking. It's too hot here in the summer for any type of bamboo to thrive. They just barely hang on and look brown and burnt looking. That does sound beautiful, though. I could picture a medium to shorter variety of lush and healthy looking bamboo around our modern looking pool.

Also, I wasn't thinking of planting the Leyland Cypress. I was just using that as an example of a type of cypress that can be topped and do well. Admittedly, I don't know what I'm talking about and assumed that just because "cypress is was part of the name that they would have similar characteristics and could be topped; wishful thinking on my part, no doubt. I only have about 20" of space from front to back to work with in terms of planting space around our pool so Leylands would definitely not work.

Thanks for the compliment.

What did I say that was insulting? I've spent hours over the past several weeks trying to do my research on this topic before I came here to ask for help. Then I'm told I'm unable to interpret basic information. I will admit that when I do a search for Italian Cypress the tree heights I get are 30-50ft. Reaching 30ft takes thirty years from my reading. But if I do a search for the "ultimate height of an Italian Cypress" I see it can reach 100ft but that would take 1,000 years. At least according to this source:

https://paradisenursery.com/product/italian-cypress/#:~:text=Italian%20Cypress%20Information%20and%20Care,any%20landscape%20designers%20tool%20box.

So, yes. Embothrium is correct that trees keep growing. But I'm not going to be around in 1,000 years. As much as I'd like to plant a tree and hope or wish it will grow and last indefinitely it will more than likely not be the case, given that I live in an urban setting where homes and properties are demolished and rebuilt. It just comes off as a bit uppity to show off someone's expertise when in reality and in practical terms, after thirty years no one is going to take a ruler to a tree to measure how many centimeters it grew from that point onward because it won't be visibly noticeable in one person's lifetime.

When someone such as myself comes to the threads it would be nice to get some concrete information. With the exception of your bamboo suggestion, which I explained won't work due to the heat in my area all I pretty much got was, "get something small", "consider other alternatives" or basically, "you don't have adequate comprehension skills."

None of that helped me or gave me direction to look into another specific living specimen for my needs. So I reached out to my licensed arborist whom I've actually met in person whose credentials I believe I can trust. I did that as a last resort after this thread got me nowhere. So please don't say I've been dismissive and insulting.

One thing I've noticed on these forums is that when I present a situation I'm looking to create people who don't agree aren't prepared to provide a specific substitute that they think would work for my unique needs. It's sort of like going to a car deal looking for a new car and telling the sales rep, "I need a new car. My current one is a gas guzzler, how can you help" And his response would be, "Have you thought about getting something that doesn't use a lot of gas?"

"I will admit that when I do a search for Italian Cypress the tree heights I get are 30-50ft. Reaching 30ft takes thirty years from my reading. But if I do a search for the "ultimate height of an Italian Cypress" I see it can reach 100ft but that would take 1,000 years. At least according to this source:"

I'm not sure I'd give that source much credence :-) The typical lifespan of an Italian cypress is somewhere around 50-100 years......maybe as much as 200. I doubt there are many 1000 y.o. specimens hanging out anywhere and certainly not in CA!! Growth rate is somewhat faster than you think - 24" per year is not uncommon and it could be more. There is a nearly 100' tall Italian cypress in Fresno (listed as a CA Big Tree) that I doubt is even 100 years old!!

I won't presume to make tree suggestions for Palm Springs - too far out of my comfort zone - but one of the best resources for any CA gardener is the CalPoly SelecTree website. You can input what requirements you have and it will spit out various possibilities or you can just peruse the listed trees of info. The other excellent resource is from more local gardeners on the California Gardening forum.

The Tiny Towers is not an unreasonable choice for your needs but will grow much slower than the straight It. cypress so get them closest to the size you need or you will be waiting a long time. And even those will get pretty tall eventually....25-30'.

Hmmm .... I believe I did make an alternative suggestion , not specific since I don’t have any idea what your taste is. I mentioned that I also have a home in the CV & there are many varieties of plants & trees that our both suitable for our climate & provide a sculptural look. That would be best addressed with a discussion with either a landscape designer or architect familiar with our climate

BTW, Having traveled throughout Italy I think Italian Cypresses look their best in their natural state, without crewcuts.

Well, it's been a while since I contributed to this thread. I tried planting the Tiny Tower Monshel Italian Cypress trees and they were doing fine until the temperatures reached 115 degrees. The problem in my case is that there is so much concrete and the heat reflected from the water from the pool literally baked them in just one day. It was like they were freeze dried but more like "oven bake-dried" when the summer came. God, I was do upset over that. I planted them in the Fall and they did so well throughout the Fall, winter and Spring.

After that failure I got a hold of some Skyrocket Junipers and was hoping I could trim them and keep them skinny and columnar-like in their narrow space. I was assured by the nursery owner that they would do well and that they grow just fine out in the desert. But the same thing happened. I planted them in the Fall and they did great but come the following summer, all but four of them fried in the heat. It's because of all the concrete and reflection of heat off the water from the pool that did them in. No one was able to teach me this. What a burning hard lesson to learn about how hot it is here and "reflected heat" from concrete surfaces. The four that did not die were the ones that received afternoon shade next to a fenced wall that is eight feet tall. I was even more upset and in tears the second time around. Actually I cried both times. I love planting tries and have done so in other parts of the country. I have never had one die on me. So to lose seventeen Monshel Tiny tower trees all at once and about eleven Skyrocket Junipers in a similar way was a lot to lose. Not to mention, since the Junipers were spaced differently due to their growth habits I redid the entire irrigation system a second time before planting them.

So, I tried to really think about what could handle the extreme heat and reflected heat around all the concrete and also handle the reflection of sun and heat off the water from the pool. Then I thought of some of the boulevard type streets here in the desert that have plants and trees that are surrounded by asphalt and get direct hot summer sun all day long. Most of the plants these areas have are different types of agaves which I didn't want because the space is too narrow and I wanted something with some height and something that I could shape and trim. Not to mention, agaves tend to have spiky points which can pose as a hazard along a narrow sidewalk. Getting back to the planted boulevard streets, I noticed how well pencil cactus plants were popping up and being planted in these areas on highway streets exposed to rock, gravel and asphalt and all day long with no shade or relief from the sun. And they all looked great. Then I remembered I also had two pencil cactus in large pots that I bought from the nursery that I was neglecting for two summers that were doing well and growing and thriving in full sun all day long with the pot sitting directly on concrete. I bought them at a nursery but wasn't sure what to do with them yet. So I thought to give them a try around the pool. I had to redo the irrigation yet AGAIN due to their spacing being different but I was fine with that.

So far, all but one survived over a year's time. I think the one that died might have struggled due to the metal pool shed reflecting way too much heat back at the furthest pencil cactus planted to the right. I plan to drape some shade fabric over that area come summer to eliminate the reflected heat from metal; which is more intense than reflected heat from concrete/stone. I'm pretty sure that's why that one died. And now you see a new smaller pencil cactus I just replaced this past winter to take it's place in the photo below. Today is April 1st in fact which is when this photo was taken. What I like about these pencil cactus is that they turn a bright orange pink salmon color in the Fall, winter and Spring. Come summer they will turn a bright chartreuse green from top to bottom. I have to admit I wish they'd stay orange-pink all year long. But it's cool to watch the colors change throughout the year. Here are some photos:

With the exception of the one I replaced they have grown nearly twice in size. I read somewhere that they can grow two feet a year in the beginning but their growth will start to slow down as they mature over the years. The more water I give them the faster they grow. During the summer I give them a good drink twice a week and in the winter I give them water once a week; all through underground drip irrigation on an irrigation timer. I just recently trimmed up the bottoms of all of them because they were so bushy and branches were falling over the flagstone edge. I had tons of trimmings which filled a large compost garbage bin completely. I tried to give them away for free as cuttings on craigslist but no one wanted them. :-( I'm going to trim them regularly so that they take on a somewhat columnar shape. I don't want them to completely cover up/block the wall. I look forward to them reaching 6'-8' tall by about 2'-3' wide which is easily doable. I see them around Palm Springs quite a bit and they all seem to thrive anywhere they're growing. I think they're really attractive. I have two growing in my front yard that I am letting grow naturally. They are nearly 5' wide and tall in just three years!

I just wanted to share my experience with planting around lots of concrete. "Reflected heat" in the desert is a real thing and the temps around all concrete can actually be hotter than the ambient temperature. I can feel it when I stick my hands close to or stand right next to concrete walls. Not to mention, the concrete can still hold a lot of heat even as the sun starts to go down. This is something not even the most knowledgeable nursery grower could have taught me to save me a ton of grief and heartache. And getting back to my comment earlier about seeing Italian Cypress trees doing well out here throughout the area, as I inspect them more closely I see that they are planted far away from concrete walls and/or are surrounded by grass which obviously helps tremendously to keep the trees cooler and protected. I hope my long-winded rant here helps other people in the desert who are eager to plant something but not waste time, sweat, blood tears and a lot of money like I did.

And to be thorough, yes I know that the sap can be an extreme irritant to eyes and skin. Just wear gloves and a long sleeved shirt when trimming pencil cactus up. Don't touch your face ever and change and wash your clothes immediately after you're done. In fact, take a complete shower afterwards. Like I already mentioned, I did a serious pruning on the bottoms of my pencil cacti and had no issues. The sap touched my skin and didn't cause me problems. I think it's more of an issue if you have scraped/injured skin or open cuts. You don't want the sap to get into open wounds