There seems to be some confusion about the range of this tree in North America with some experts saying it grows as far north as zone 4 & some saying it grows as far south as zone 10.
This is a very slow-growing tree, but it is beautiful! Native to Japan, where it grows much taller (60 to 70 feet) than in North America, it is an extremely long-lived tree & makes a gorgeous specimen tree.
It requires high rainfall but well-drained soil & likes humid summers. If it has these things, it will have good growth.
Tolerates high-acid soils & every other type except highly limey soils.
It has orangish to reddish-brown bark, which comes off in strips but is generally hidden by the lush foliage.

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I've seen a few of this Japanese coniferous tree in the Philadelphia Region of southeast Pennsylvania. I've seen the species at some arboretums, estates, campuses, and professional landscapes. It is slow growing (about 6 inches/year) and an expensive plant to buy; offered at some larger, diverse nurseries or plant specialty nurseries. It prefers moist, well-drained, acid soil and sunny locations. It is not cold hardy at Morton Arboretum in northeast Illinois in Zone 5a, and Dr. Michael Dirr reports that it has not performed well in the Atlanta, Georgia area of Zone 7b. It has been classified in both the Pine Family and the Redwood Family, but some think it should be the lone member of its own Umbrella-Pine Family. It seems more like a conifer of the Southern Hemisphere.

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