Old Gold Chinese Juniper

Old Gold is a spreading, evergreen Pfitzer juniper with layered branches and gold foliage that holds color through winter. The [American Conifer Society profile](https://conifersociety.org/conifers/juniperus-pfitzeriana-old-gold) describes a 10-year specimen about 4.5 feet tall and 8.5 feet wide, and traces the selection to a sport found at F. J. Grootendorst Nursery in the Netherlands. ## Identity and landscape use The cultivar is often placed under *Juniperus × pfitzeriana*. Kew treats *J. × media* var. *pfitzeriana* as a synonym of *J. × pfitzeriana*, while the Conifer Society records the exact selection as ‘Old Gold’. Its broad, layered habit works in shrub borders, group plantings, rock gardens, banks, and small gardens. Gold foliage provides contrast against darker evergreens. ## Growing conditions Give it sun to partial shade and well-drained garden soil. Avoid persistently wet sites. A professional nursery profile recommends regular watering during establishment and notes a more compact size estimate of 0.5 m tall by 1 m wide at ten years, compared with the Conifer Society’s larger estimate. Allow for local growing conditions and use generous spacing when the mature spread is uncertain. ## Maintenance Water regularly while roots establish. Prune selectively to shape or contain the spreading branches, while retaining the layered outline that distinguishes this cultivar.