Yellow-Foliage Plants Echo Color of the Year

Yellow foliage shows up best in evergreen shrubs and small trees planted among dark evergreens. They bring light and warm feelings, phenomena in short supply at times during winter months, to landscape gardens.

Recognizing the emotional aspects of the color yellow, Pantone®, the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for design industries, announced on December 3, 2008 that PANTONE® 14-0848 “Mimosa” is their color of the year for 2009.

The Pantone® press release described yellow as warm and engaging. It goes on to state that “In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow.”

Landscape gardeners may rely on traditional color wisdom or the advice of modern color authorities for help in developing color schemes. However, mid- to late-winter is the best time to seek out landscape focal areas and corners that need to echo the Pantone® 2009 Color of the Year and bring yellow into four-season garden landscapes.

Because branches on both broadleaf and needle-leaf evergreens mutate and propagate so readily, listings for yellow and yellow-variegated foliage plants abound in current nursery catalogs. Beginners may want to proceed cautiously by designing around and planting reliable varieties.

Evergreens with Needle or Scale-like Leaves

Plants described here as reliable examples are cone bearing and do not produce flowers. They grow best in plant hardiness growing zones 3 to 7, but do not do well in zone 8 and further south. They all thrive and develop better color in full sun.

Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general-purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. Use annual shearing to maintain a formal appearance or leave unclipped for an informal look.

Thuja occidentalis (Arborvitae) – Native American Plant

• ‘Techny Gold’™ arborvitae is a gold form of ‘Techny’ arborvitae and withstands cold as low as zone 3. According to ColorChoice Plants, color in ‘Techny Gold’™ arborvitae withstands winter discoloration and tends to show off even better during cold months. ‘Techny Gold’™ arborvitae reaches 10-15 feet tall and 5-6 feet wide when mature. Although this plant grows best in deep, well-drained soil, it also can thrive in marshy loam. Once established, ‘Techny Gold’™ arborvitae can tolerate drought, heat & limestone soils.
• ‘Rheingold’ arborvitae forms tight mounds of soft needles that are colored deep gold in warm months, but turn copper-yellow in cold temperatures. Use ‘Rheingold’ arborvitae as a formal or informal hedge or screen, or in front of a mixed shrub border. ‘Rheingold’ arborvitae is a slow to moderate growing plant that is usually 4 to 5 feet tall and wide when mature, but may grow larger with age.

Chamaecyparis pisifera (Japanese Thread-leaf False Cypress)

• ‘Gold Mop’ or ‘Golden Mop’ forms small finely textured golden-yellow loose mounds with drooping stringy branches. These small yellow-gold conifers have textured foliage that creates a ground-hugging mound that truly looks like a mop. They make good-looking accent plants among dwarf green conifers or in mixed shrub borders, in containers, or massed for larger effects. ‘Gold Mop’ or ‘Golden Mop’ is slow growing and remains under 3 feet tall, and 4 feet wide.
• ‘Filifera Aurea’ grows to about six feet tall in 10 to 15 years, but may mature to 20 feet tall, and 15 feet wide while maintaining a broad conical shape. Needles appear as golden weeping threads hanging from pendulous branches. Exterior foliage grows densely and is golden-yellow, while interior foliage remains light green. This habit leads to a range of foliage colors and textures, making this variety interesting for complexity that it adds to the landscape.