Golden Mop False Cypress
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop'
- Evergreen
- Small spaces
- Drought tolerant
- Slow growing
- Year-round interest
A slow-growing dwarf conifer with bright golden, thread-like foliage that mounds into a soft, mop-like shape.
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‘Golden Mop’ is a dwarf, golden-needled false cypress whose long, thread-like branchlets droop and tangle into a soft, mounded, mop-like form. The vivid chartreuse-gold color holds all year, making it a bright, low-maintenance accent for small gardens.
Slow and steady
This is a genuinely slow grower — it can take a decade to reach two feet — so it is perfect for rock gardens, foundations, and patio containers where you don’t want a plant to outgrow its spot.
Care tips
Give it full sun for the brightest gold color (it greens up in shade) and well-drained soil. It seldom needs pruning. Keep an eye out for bagworms, root rot, and juniper blight, to which it can be somewhat susceptible.
Habitat & form
Where it's from and what to expect.
- Native range
- Japan
- Plant type
- Shrub
- Mature size
- 2–5 ft tall and 2–5 ft wide — slow, taking up to 10 years to reach 2 ft.
- Bloom
- No true flowers; bright golden, thread-like evergreen foliage year-round, with reddish-brown exfoliating bark.
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–8.
Care
How to keep it happy.
- Sunlight
- Full sun to partial shade.
- Water
- Prefers moist to average soil; tolerates some drought once established.
- Soil
- Clay, loam, or sand with acid to neutral pH; prefers well-drained ground.
- Pruning
- Maintenance: seldom needed — trim lightly in spring to tidy the mound, staying within foliage-bearing growth. Renewal: not possible — like other false cypress it won't resprout from bare old wood, so avoid cutting into leafless branches.