The cultivar name 'Tetragona Aurea' hints at the geometry at work in this plant. The branches ascend and spread in asymmetrical formations, flattening or nodding slightly at their tips, which gives the foliage an uncanny resemblance to fern fronds. Exposed surfaces glow a true, clean gold in good light, while the interior growth remains green, creating a depth of color that changes with angle and season. It is one of those plants that looks different depending on where the sun is standing.

Native to Japan, this dwarf hinoki cypress selection grows slowly to three to six feet tall and two to three feet wide, making it tractable in small gardens while still offering enough presence to serve as a specimen. It does best with four to five hours of sun daily to develop its best color, and it is worth noting that it resists deer browse, sunburn, and wind damage, qualities that are not always found together. Moist, well-drained, neutral to acidic soil suits it across zones 4 through 9. In winter, when so much of the garden retreats to brown and bare, the gold holds.