7 golden conifers to plant in a rock garden
A selection of bright conifers for rock gardens
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Would you like to create a rockery and are you wondering which plants to grow there? Among the bushes that can be planted in a rockery, compact conifers feature prominently to create distinctive and unusual displays. They offer many attractive qualities, such as the variety of their silhouettes, whether ball-shaped, pyramidal or columnar, as well as their evergreen foliage and the diversity of colours. Slow-growing and easy to grow, rockery conifers have many attributes to win over gardeners. Discover our selection of rockery conifers with golden foliage, which will illuminate your garden.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Elwood's Gold' – Lawson cypress, a safe bet.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Elwood’s Gold’ – Lawson cypress is a small conifer that reaches 1.50 metres high and 0.70 metres wide after ten years. Its slow growth makes it a perfect bush to plant in a rockery. It has an upright, columnar habit, compact and dense, and its foliage takes on a golden colour in spring. Its shoots are adorned with scale-like leaves of an intense yellow as they appear, then they become green-grey with age. This conifer is a reliable choice that brightens the garden. Hardy to -23°C, it grows in full sun in cool, fertile soil, even calcareous soil.
In a rockery, this Lawson cypress can be used to structure the rockery thanks to its upright, conical habit and bright foliage. It pairs nicely with other rockery conifers, displaying different habits, from rounded to pyramidal.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Minima Aurea' - dwarf Lawson cypress
Smaller still, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Minima Aurea’ — Lawson cypress, dwarf offers a compact, conical habit with a broad base. It reaches 1 metre in height and 80 cm in width at maturity. It nevertheless stands out thanks to the golden colour of its foliage. The shoots are clothed with scale-like leaves that do not prick and are bright yellow at first. They become a little greener afterwards. Hardy to −20°C, this conifer, however, dislikes drought. Plant it in sun or partial shade, in cool, fertile and well-drained soil.
Thanks to its small size, this Chamaecyparis is well suited to a rock garden, where you can pair it with cyclamens, which will grace its base with elegance and lovely colours.
Thuja occidentalis 'Amber Glow' - Canadian arborvitae, a luminous globe-shaped shrub.
Canadian arborvitae – Thuja occidentalis ‘Amber Glow’ stands out for its globe-shaped form, its compact size and changing colour, with bright yellow in spring and summer, its evergreen foliage becomes yellow-orange in autumn and winter, offering a beautiful display across the seasons. The shoots bearing flattened scale leaves grow slowly and give it a rounded topiary look that doesn’t require pruning. At maturity, it reaches 1 metre high by 1 metre wide. Easy to grow, it prefers sun and soil that is not too dry, neutral to calcareous.
Pair this ball-shaped shrub with gauras, if you like a light touch, or with Salix purpurea ‘Nana’ – Purple Willow for a looser silhouette and bluish foliage.
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15 plants for a sunny rockeryJuniperus horizontalis 'Golden Carpet' - creeping juniper, a soft green and golden carpet.
Creeping juniper – Juniperus horizontalis ‘Golden Carpet’ forms a carpet of soft green foliage with golden tips. In winter, it takes on subtle orange tinges. Reaching 30 cm in height at maturity, this creeping juniper grows fairly quickly, spreading to about 2 metres in width. It is an ideal candidate for carpeting a rockery and serving as a colourful groundcover. The foliage consists of juvenile scale-like leaves and adult leaves which are needles. The young leaves are golden and grow on light green foliage, while the adult leaves are a vivid green that turns orange when cold weather arrives. Robust, this creeping juniper prefers full sun and well-drained, dry, calcareous soil. Hardy down to -34°C, it is suited to challenging growing conditions.
In a rockery, this creeping juniper can be paired with ornamental grasses or with a Mahonia, whose yellow flowers will recall the conifer’s golden foliage.
Pinus mugo 'Ophir' – Mountain pine, a yellow-gold conifer in winter
The mountain pine – Pinus mugo ‘Ophir’ has a spherical, compact habit, in light green, which turns golden yellow in winter and sometimes even orange. It grows slowly, about 3–4 cm per year, and reaches 1 m by 1 m when mature. Its branches are dense and clad with fine, short needles arranged in a brush. Withstanding temperatures down to -34°C, it adapts well to montane climates. Easy to grow, it does not require pruning, enjoys a sunny aspect and will tolerate ordinary soil.
It makes a superb feature in a rock garden alongside other dwarf conifers with differing habits: creeping, as Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Chip’ – creeping juniper, globose as the Picea abies ‘Little Gem’ or upright as the Juniperus communis ‘Sentinel’.
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Fernspray Gold' - Japanese Hinoki Cypress, a touch of golden fern.
The Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Fernspray Gold’ – Hinoki Cypress from Japan is characterised by golden foliage that takes on different hues with the seasons. In spring, it is golden with cream tones; in summer it becomes more yellow, and in winter it becomes pale green. Its flexible shoots are covered with flat, scale-like leaves, giving it the appearance of golden ferns. This compact variety grows slowly and reaches a height of 2 to 2.5 metres at maturity, making it a bush for a rock garden. Its pyramidal habit is irregular. Preferably plant it in partial shade and in cool, fertile, well-drained, non-calcareous soil. In hot weather, it appreciates regular watering.
In a rock garden, it can be paired with other dwarf conifers of varying shapes and colours, as well as groundcover plants such as Aubrieta.
Picea glauca 'Dendrofarma Gold' – White Spruce, a variety to discover
The white spruce – Picea glauca ‘Dendrofarma Gold’ is a dwarf variety that is hard to find in France. It forms a bright, compact ball 60 cm across at maturity. Over time, its habit becomes slightly more rounded, taking on a dome-shaped silhouette. Its evergreen foliage consists of dense, short sprays of aromatic needles. The young shoots are bright golden in spring, then they turn to lime-green with time. This small conifer enjoys full sun and fertile, well-drained soil, cool to moist. Plant it in the right position from the start, as its shallow, highly ramified roots make it difficult to transplant once mature. Hardy to -40°C, however wind-sensitive.
We can play with the colours of this spruce and pair its golden foliage with other red-leaved shrubs such as Photinia x fraseri ‘Nana’.
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