Shore Juniper Juniperus conferta All Gold

All Gold keeps the low, wide-spreading dune habit of the shore junipers and adds colour to it: overlapping layers of prickly needle foliage carrying a clear yellow-gold cast on the new growth, deepening towards green in the older interior. The effect is a mat that reads as a pool of light rather than a block of dark evergreen. Use it as a colour break in a rockery, along the top of a retaining wall, through a gravel garden, or spilling over the edge of a raised coastal bed.

The gold only happens in full sun

Full sun is not a preference here, it is the whole point, and it is also the one real failure mode. Sited under a tree, on the shaded side of a fence or in a courtyard that gets a few hours of morning light, All Gold grows out green, thins in the middle and ends up an ordinary green juniper with none of the colour it was selected for. The colour is generated by light, so give it an open position with sun most of the day.

Beyond that it is straightforward. It takes salt wind, poor sandy soil and coastal exposure, and asks for very little water once established. Space plants around 700mm to 1m apart for cover. Growth is slow to moderate, so a bed takes two or three seasons to close over, and something short-lived planted between them while they fill is worth considering. Drainage still matters, as it does for every juniper: mound the bed or plant on a slope rather than in a hollow, keep irrigation modest, and hold mulch back off the stems so the crown stays dry. It is prickly, like the green form, so weed the ground thoroughly before planting rather than reaching in afterwards.

When gold is worth it over green

Against Shore Juniper - Juniperus conferta, this is the slower and more decorative of the pair. The plain green species is more vigorous and the sensible choice for covering a large bank quickly or for erosion work where nobody is looking at colour. All Gold is for the visible position, used in smaller quantity, where it lifts dark foliage and grey stone around it. Used across a whole slope the gold can read as unnatural, so most gardens want a drift rather than a field. For soft green texture in the same spreading habit, Juniperus taxifolia Lutchuensis is the third option. See low maintenance.

Shaping without losing the colour

Shape it in spring by shortening green shoot tips only, which also encourages the new gold growth that carries the colour. Cut back into the bare brown wood inside the plant and it will not reshoot, leaving a permanent hole in the mat. Feed once in early spring, and keep the rate light and low in nitrogen, because a heavy feed pushes lush growth that runs greener and softer than the colour you bought. Top up gravel or coarse mulch around the plant rather than over it.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 3 sizes, from 140mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to low water gardens.