Chamaecyparis pisifera
Sawara cypress
This is a Golden Threadleaf Sawara Cypress, Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ tree. It is sumptuous, perhaps overly so although lovely to look upon. It has a bold, seamless yellow coat of drooping, thread-like foliage that sits like a huge canary-gold Easter Egg. The brilliant color of the Golden Threadleaf Sawara Cypress appeals to everyone mostly, however, its bold yellowish colour may not be pleasing to some folks.
Chamaecyparis pisifera is one of those species that horticultural humanity has fooled with for a very long time, and it is an easily propagated plant. ‘Filifera Aurea’ is an old cultivar of C. pisifera with tightly compressed needles wrapped around pendulous branchlets hence the name, ‘Threadleaf’, to describe the appearance of the foliage. There is also a cultivar, ‘Filifera’, with the same type of foliage that is a nice quiet green. But ‘Filifera Aurea’ stores some of its excess sugars and starches that form in its needles as a bright gold pigment, a glorious gold pigment, a wild, extravagant, take-your-shoes-off-and-dance gold pigment that has to make any gardener smile, even in the midst of the late winter doldrums.
‘Filifera Aurea’ is a good sized plant, eventually reaching 18-20 feet with age, but retaining a relatively formal, broadly conical shape that adds to its bold statement in the landscape. Chamaecyparis pisifera cultivars perform surprisingly well in the hot, wet southeast and ‘Filifera Aurea’ is no exception. It will happily grow a foot a year, if not overly stressed, in a broad range of soil conditions as long as it has full sun and reasonably regular moisture.
Photo Credit:©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Max Fusion Camera
Location: C.B. Huss Recreation Complex; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
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