Expert: Jim Hyland - 5/26/2011

Question
Jim,
I live in a gated retirement community that requires a "tree" in the front yard.  We had a Brazilian Pepper, however after five years bees called it home and we had to remove it since it was close to the entrance to our home.  We replaced it with three Italian Cypress trees that now are approximate 12 feet tall.  Our architectural committee does not consider the Cypress a tree.  I disagree.  Everything I have read describes it as a tree.  Please advise it this is a tree or a bush.  Thanks.  Awaiting your reply.
William

Answer
I also live in a gated community with an architectural review committee (ARC) and have found that while they have some knowledge of buildings they have a limited sense of plants. Mostly they are concerned volunteers that have a desire to keep the principles of the Association, which is good, but know little about plants etc.

Of course Italian cypress is a tree. Cupressus sempervirens, the Mediterranean Cypress (also known as Italian, Tuscan, or Graveyard Cypress, or Pencil Pine) is a species of cypress. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree to 35 m (115 ft) tall, with a conic crown with level branches and variably loosely hanging branchlets

California Polytechnic State University has a web site called Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute where they list trees and recommend tree species for California. Here is a web kink to Italian cypress on their site.
http://selectree.calpoly.edu/treedetail.lasso?rid=477&-session=selectree:42BF9D0...

Here is their home page where they direct you through a tree selection for the tree you may want in your yard. http://www.ufei.org/