Pinus densiflora 'Aurea'

Take a walk with me, if you will, through a wintertime landscape.

The flowers and other annuals have long since left the scene. The maples, having spent the last of their available color in a blaze of autumn glory, are now dormant and building up their reserves for their “spring event”. Ah, there are the conifers - happy as they can be, sporting their winter hues of blues and greens, also preparing for their spring flush of new growth.
As I continue along this path of discovery, I see a flash of color, out of the corner of my eye that seems oddly out of place. “Wow, where did that come from?” I wonder.

The golden treasure that I have re-discovered is my Pinus densiflora “Aurea”. The cold winter temperatures had, magically transformed my attractive, light green upright into a wintertime treasure. As I come to understand, the colder it gets, the brighter the gold coloring on this variety of Japanese Red Pine becomes.

Pinus densiflora “Aurea” is a medium growing upright (8’ in 10 years) that is hardy in a variety of regions (USDA zones 4 through 7). Its size and form make it a wonderful accent plant in landscape areas of various sizes.

No matter what the landscape setting, however, this unique variety will provide enjoyment from the earliest spring flush, to its role as a “gold in the cold” treasure in the winter landscape.