PLANT FINDER
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold'
Height: 8 feet
Spread: 8 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5a
Description:
A colorful addition to any home landscape or garden, this compact shrub features bright golden foliage all season long on a narrow pyramidal form, much like a dwarf version of the species; best used as a color accent in the garden
Ornamental Features
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its interestingly mounded form. It has attractive gold evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn chartreuse in the fall, which persists throughout the winter. The shaggy antique red bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Landscape Attributes
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Fernspray Gold Falsecypress makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
Characteristics
Applications
Ornamental Features