Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Alumigold - Lawson Cypress

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Alumigold is a variety of Lawson Cypress that is interesting for its bright foliage and its upright and tightly packed branches that naturally form a sort of flame. Its foliage, intensely golden in spring, then turns yellow-green and remains decorative all year round. Ideal for hedges, flowerbeds, or as a specimen plant, it is very useful for creating the evergreen structure of a garden. It should be grown in a sunny position, in fertile, moist or even chalky soil.

The Lawson Cypress, sometimes called False Cypress, is a majestic conifer from the Cupressaceae family native to the humid coastal forests of the northwestern United States. In its natural environment, it often reaches heights of over 30 m (98 feet 5 inches), with a trunk approaching 1.20 m (3 feet 11 inches) in diameter. It is straight and conical, and its trailing branches form soft curtains adorned with fairly dark, bluish-green foliage. It has given rise to numerous cultivars among which there is a wide choice of modest-sized plants, better suited to our gardens.

The 'Alumigold' variety was introduced in the Netherlands in 1966. It is a small version of this species, with young golden foliage. From a young age, it is very dense, conical, and regular. At maturity, it will form a tree 5 to 6 m (17 ft to 20 ft) in height by 3 m (10 ft) in spread. It produces many slender, flattened, almost vertical branches, covered with two types of scale-like leaves, intense yellow when they emerge at the end of the branches in spring, and then taking on a acid green hue for the rest of the year.

The Chamaecyparis lawsonia 'Alumigold', a real flame of light in spring, is ideal for creating an evergreen hedge, decorating a flowerbed, placed individually, or planted in groups of 3 subjects. It does not require pruning, but it will be necessary if you want to plant it as a boundary hedge. The angular qualities of conifers deserve to be featured more often in our gardens, where they provide a permanent structure. These plants, which are rather discreet in summer, make their presence felt again in winter when the flowers have long-since deserted our gardens. Perfect in a contemporary setting, conifers also have their place in more classic or even romantic landscapes: they mark the pathways, border terraces, and define the corner of a large shrub bed.