Fluffy is the golden conifer of your dreams

The weather forecast has several days with morning lows in the 50s which is a cause for celebration. We can look for those long-lost fleece vests and it gives horticulturists like myself the ticket to forget flowers to write about a new golden conifer called Fluffy.

There is nothing that adds a thrill to the winter landscape quite like conifers and I’ll be the first to admit I have been doing a conifer happy dance all summer even through staggering heat. You see ‘The Garden Guy’ added nine Fluffy arborvitaes to the landscape, months ago and I love them.

Fluffy is a great new variety of Thuja plicata known as western red cedar or western arborvitae. Those of you in the South may be thinking “Danger Will Robinson” from the standpoint of our sweltering heat.

When I was director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens in Savannah, I fell in love with all sorts of conifers, Chamaecyapris, Cedrus, Cephalotaxus, Cryptomeria and Cupressus to name just a few. It ignited an unquenchable passion for conifers.

So Fluffy, which offers drop-dead gorgeous golden-needle like foliage, was simply more than I could pass up. When I told my wife that I had nine conifers coming by truck, the look was not one of glee. She grew up in East Texas and the only conifers she appreciates are tall pines.

If you look at Fluffy on the Proven Winners website you will immediately want one. It is hard to imagine a prettier small conifer than Fluffy. With nine, I knew I had the opportunity to give it the full sun in Oregon treatment and work my way down to the various shades of sunlight. First, know that everywhere I have planted it has thrived.

In the full sun, the foliage is gold. The more shade, the foliage is more chartreuse with gold tips. These light up this filtered sunlit garden, where it is partnered with blue hydrangeas, azaleas and loropetalums. Nearby there are also spreading plum yew which are indeed conifers, too.

In my almost full sun area, I combined Fluffy with a patch of Blue Rug juniper. This partnership should mature into a real picture and opens the door for more dwarf conifer acquisitions. In the meantime, however I used the new ColorBlaze Wicked Hot coleus as a backdrop. This coleus always looks as though it is a glowing ember of fire which contrasts wonderfully with Fluffy’s golden needles.

In my last treatment, I am using Fluffy as the backdrop to a dry creek that does indeed flow during monsoonal rains. In between the creek, which is a work in progress, I have 15 daylilies. This area gets full morning sun until about 1 p.m. These Fluffy have colored up with a lot more gold than the filtered azalea area.

Fluffy Is recommended for zones 5a-8b, reaching 5 to 10 feet in height with a spread of 5 feet. It naturally develops that conical or Christmas tree shape. If your soil is tight, heavy clay and not well-drained, then plan on amending it with 3 to 4 inches of organic matter and work the bed to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. The best idea might be to copy what the commercial landscapers do, planting on raised beds accomplished by bringing in a prepared soil mix.

Even though good drainage is paramount, water will be necessary to allow the conifers to maintain their health and appearance and to get roots acclimated and expanded in your bed. Be sure and add a good layer of mulch to keep soil temperatures moderate, conserve moisture and deter weed growth.

Fluffy has the ability to create excitement in the garden, or in large containers on the porch, patio and deck.

Norman Winter is a horticulturist and national garden speaker. He is a former director of theCoastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. Follow him on Facebook atNorman Winter “The Garden Guy.”