Golden Threadmoss Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea'
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- kam-ay-SIP-a-ris pi-SIF-er-a
- Description
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'Filifera Aurea' Is a semi-dwarf evergreen shrub that is broadly cone-shaped and slow-growing. The foliage is thread-like and golden yellow on weeping branches. It holds its color well through winter and the peeling bark adds additional interest.
Plant in any moist well-drained soil in sun to part shade. The best color is in the sun but can experience sun-scald. Excellent as a hedge or accent plant.
Quick ID Hints:
- Cone-like growth form
- Branches elongate, thread-like, yellowish
- Leaves appressed scales, white glaucous below with age
Evergreen, broad conical gymnosperm, 15-20' tall, golden yellow outside. Female cones small, globular, about 1/4" diameter, brown; scales 6-8 peltate, woody.
Golden cone-like plant that gets very broad basally; utilized as specimen tree or color contrast in landscape. Dwarf cultivar versions occur, variable in growth rates, often planted too close together & growing faster than expected & marketed. Tendency in droughts, to lose color, brown up branches which disintegrate & drop. Prefers loamy, well-drained soils of slight acidic nature, in full sun.
VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I: Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II: Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Chamaecyparis
- Species:
- pisifera
- Family:
- Cupressaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Dimensions:
- Height: 6 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Broad
- Conical
- Dense
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Fruit Description:
- No true fruit -female seed-bearing cones are green when immature turning to brown.
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Flowers:
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Flower Description:
- No true flowers - the pollen bearing cones are small and often reddish, growing from the branch tips.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Scale-like, golden yellow, thread-like needles wrapped around pendulous branchlets. The best color is on the south side of the bush. The north or shaded sides of the plant are often yellow-green or green. Intermediate, subappressed, narrow, acute and spinose, becoming scale-like, 2-3 mm long, appressed to twig in pairs and decussate, each pair overlapping adjacent pair above, acute, yellowish becoming green to brown with age, lower surface developing whitish-glaucous markings below on lateral scales resembling bow ties or butterfly wings.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Red/Burgundy
- Surface/Attachment:
- Exfoliating
- Peeling
- Bark Description:
- Reddish-brown peeling bark on mature branches.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Elongate, exhibiting aspical growth, threadlike with little lateral branching in juvenile growth of twigs.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Landscape Theme:
- Rock Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Border
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Specimen
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Heat
