Dwarf Mountain Pine 'Winter Gold'

Mountain pine 'Winter Gold' (Pinus mugo 'Winter Gold') is a chameleon among conifers. In summer it is a calm, bright green cushion of slightly twisted needles; the moment the cold arrives the crown fills with golden yellow and keeps glowing all winter long.

That is exactly why it is planted: in a rockery, in a flower border, in a coastal or naturalistic garden - wherever winter colour is missing. It grows wider than tall, 1-1.5 m high by 1.5-2.5 m across, so it stays a low golden cushion that never needs clipping into shape. It takes drought well; standing water it does not.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The more open sun the shrub gets, the more brightly its winter gold flares up.
• Dimensions: At 10 years it is 1-1.5 m tall and 1.5-2.5 m wide.
• Hardiness: Hardy down to -45 °C (USDA zone 2).
• Light: Plant it in full sun: it is in the open that the winter gold of the needles blazes brightest.
• Soil: Happily takes any well-drained soil - chalk, clay, loam or sand, acid or alkaline.
• Watering: Water moderately and rarely: the cultivar is drought-tolerant, and the one thing it will not tolerate is standing moisture.
• Care: No pruning needed; just keep an eye out for adelgids, aphids, sawfly and shoot moth.
• Landscape use: A rockery, a flower border, a coastal or naturalistic garden - and the main colour accent in winter.
• Origin: The cultivar holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.