Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Plumosa Aurea' / Plumosa Aurea Sawara cypress

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Plumosa Aurea' is a golden version of the ever-popular "Plumosa" types of Sawara cypress. This one is noted for slightly variable bronze-yellow to creamy foliage and maintains more of the softer "juvenile foliage" than do other members of this group. This sturdy bushy clone will mature at around 4.5 to 6 feet (1.2 - 2 m) tall and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide after 10 years, a rate of growth of growth of 6 to 8 inches (15 - 20 cm) per year. However its overall shape and eventual size can be easily maintained through routine shearing.

This very old cultivar originated long ago in Japan and in 1861 was introduced to western markets through Robert Fortune of Royal Gardens of the United Kingdom.