Kings Gold Cypress
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'King's Gold'View more from Dwarf Evergreens
Kings Gold Cypress
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'King's Gold'
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Special Features
Botanical Name
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'King's Gold'
Outdoor Growing zone
4-9
Mature Height
3-5
Mature Width
3-6
Sun needs
Full Sun, Partial Sun
The King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress is a mounding evergreen with unique arching threadlike stems. It grows steadily into a graceful mound of golden foliage 3 to 5 feet tall, and the same across. It is ideal for bringing permanent rich color to the foundation planting around your home, to your garden beds, or as a specimen in a lawn or a stone-mulched bed. It is more resistant to the heat and humidity of southern gardens than other similar plants, and it has been specially selected to hold its gold color through the summer months, when other golden forms of this plant turn greenish.it requires no trimming or training to develop into a stunning specimen that will be an eye-catching feature in your garden, giving a sense of structure and maturity to your layout.
- Beautiful mound of arching golden foliage
- Best variety for hot, humid areas
- Good cold resistance too
- Ideal specimen or focal plant
- Retains its strong gold color all year round
The King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress grows well in partial shade or full sun. Unlike other varieties it will not scorch or burn in all-day sunshine. It grows in most garden soils, and does best in richer soils with a good supply of water. It does not like to be in soil that is constantly wet. It has no pests or diseases of any significance and it is usually not eaten by deer. Despite its striking beauty, this plant needs no special care at all to become an important specimen in your garden.
The King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress is a greatly improved variety of the Golden Threadleaf False Cypress, that is much more resistant to the heat and humidity of southern states, and also keeps it golden color during the summer. It grows a little taller and is in all ways a significant improvement on the older forms. This beautiful evergreen has a unique appearance, growing into a mounded plant with arching narrow, thread-like stems that are a beautiful golden color all year round.
The Kings Gold Cypress is ideal for foundation planting or for mixing with other shrubs in beds, where it makes the perfect accent. Its brilliant golden coloring stands out beautifully against the background of other green plants, and its unique and charming form is a real winner. For beauty and ease of growth, this really is a top-choice plant.
Evergreens give stability and form to your garden, and beautiful plant arrangements are easy with a variety of foliage colors and different habits of growth. These plants develop steadily into superb specimens that give a feel of permanence and maturity to your garden, and they form the perfect backdrop to the comings and goings of flowering plants. Because they become better and better with age, your garden too becomes richer and full of beauty as time goes by, until it looks like those grand gardens you know from pictures or visits. Growing flowers can be fun, and gives brief color, but it doesn’t give that mature look, which is the secret of the best gardens.
This plant has so much to offer that we are sure our stocks will not last. It is the most desirable of the golden threadleaf false cypress varieties, and we know that our sales will reflect that. To enjoy this plant, and the grace and maturity it will bring to your garden, order now or face disappointment.
Growing the King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress
The King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress grows steadily into a mound between 3 and 5 feet tall, and about the same across. Remember that evergreens never stop growing, so in years to come they can be significantly larger. Always allow extra room around them, filled with shorter-live plants, so that they do not eventually become over-crowded. The mounded form of this plant is accented by the narrow, thread-like arching branches that curve in every direction, giving an exotic and striking appearance to this plant.
The color too is exciting, with rich gold foliage that keeps its color through all the seasons, unlike other varieties of Gold Cypress, that often turn greenish during the summer. That vibrant color draws the eye from everywhere in the garden, making a perfect focal point.
Planting Location and Sun Exposure
Choose the location for your King’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress carefully, so that its accent is placed in the right spot. Perhaps in a sunny corner, or at the end of a lawn area. A pair placed on either side of a doorway or entrance will be very striking, and turn an ordinary door into a grand entrance. It will thrive in partial shade, or areas with sun for part of the day, as well as in full sun. Unlike other gold-leaf evergreens, it will not scorch in bright sunlight, so you can safely plant it in open areas in all-day sun.
Soil Type and Watering
It will grow well in most well-drained garden soils, and prefers richer soil, so add plenty or organic material when planting, and mulch over the root system with organic mulch in fall. This mulch is especially important in the colder parts of zone 4, where you are reaching the limits of hardiness. Water regularly during the first season, and after that keep the soil moist, but not wet. This plant has moderate drought resistance, and it is much happier in the hot, humid conditions of the south than the older Golden Mops variety.
History and Origins of the King’s Gold False Cypress
The Threadleaf False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) grows wild on the Japanese islands of Honshu and Kyushu. There it grows into a tall tree, sometimes 100 feet tall, with a broad trunk. However, these trees are rarely grown in gardens, and instead a wide variety of dwarf ornamental forms are grown. These are in three groups – the plumosa type, with feathery leaves, the squarrosa type, with soft, needle-like leaves and the filifera, or threadleaf type, with scaly leaves tightly pressed against round, thin branches.
The variety ‘King’s Gold’ is part of the last group. It is an improved form, with better growth in hot, humid areas, and stronger gold color during summer. This form is widely recognized as the best golden threadleaf false cypress variety, so avoid cheaper and unpredictable plants that do not have the ‘King’s Gold’ name.
