Hinoki cypress ‘Verdoni’

* Common name: Hinoki cypress ‘Verdoni’

* Botanical name: Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Verdoni’

* What it is: A slow-growing, trouble-free, slender, upright evergreen with fans of soft, golden-green needles. Habit is irregular and “loose” as opposed to a tight pyramid.

* Size: 7 to 8 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide in 15-20 years.

* Where to use: Excellent evergreen specimen for a house corner or between windows where an upright plant looks good. ‘Verdoni’ also makes a good choice as an evergreen focal point in a perennial garden or border garden. Full sun or part shade are both fine.

* Care: Scatter an acidifying organic granular fertilizer formulated for evergreens around the base of the plant in March. Keep damp the first season, then water is needed only in extended hot, dry spells. Pruning not needed unless it outgrows the allotted space. Then lightly shear or selectively prune at the end of winter. Heavy shearing ruins the irregular habit.

* Great partner: Pairs well with any red- or gold-blooming perennial (daylilies, mums, black-eyed susans, coreopsis, etc.) Golden creeping sedum ‘Angelina’ is a colorful groundcover underneath. Interplant golden daffodils for early-spring color.