Generally my take is just being patient in root establishment
for plants such as 'Skylands' 'Perrys Gold',Gabelles golden
Spring' and of course good ol' 'Chief Joseph'.It seems they all want excellent drainage and regular hydration.In PNW
all will take full sun but take a few years to lose that sunburnt look.Doug.

Great topic Nate, as I'm always on the lookout for non-burning, bright yellow conifers that keep their color year round. My observation is that it isn't just about sun exposure, but also heat intensity and low humidity.

My personal favorites are the yellow Cupressus macrocarpa cultivars. They will eventually get too large for my garden, but sure do make a statement.

Cupressus macrocarpa 'Saligna Aurea' or 'Coneybearii Aurea', depending on which reference you read. This one received a shapely trim after the photo was taken:

can skylands and berrima gold take - eventually - full sun in the midwest?

Metasequoia 'Ogon' seems to do well in sun here. Last year was especially hot and dry and my skylands toasted. Little bugger is coming back nicely though.

Nate,
I guess the burning problems of conifer leaves are not yet well detected. Some remarks about it.

The golden colour of conifers is usually goes back to genetical, soil or other purposes. This is simply chemistry, but not enough clear. Its sure, that the molecule of chlorophil needs an iron Ferrum to be perfect green. If this misses in any percent, leaves will be more yellow. If you have some chalk in the soil, it may cause problems for the plants to built in ferrum. If you have too much magnesium in the soil, your plant will be also yellow, but otherwise.
Thats why usually told, that yellow plants are sick. Its not so simple. The usual thinking says you: too much chalk - high pH - yellowship - sick plants. This formular is by my opinion is not enough.

By genetical causes maybe a plant yellow anyhow without soil problems. Usually we want these plants, which are naturally yellow. Light yellows are the best, they are possibly natural selections - Pseudotsuga menziesii Uwe's Golden. Its enough for summer heats, will never die.
A yellow Abies will less problems with burning, as it has deep roots, water gets enough summer and winter. I think, that your burned pine had not enough water for their needles to survive.
The other group may live in a really bad soil, which may get problems, if any other causes are coming - less water, too much calcium or magnesium, which kill the chlorphil molecules. These are not "healthy" yellow. My friend used to say as I bring him a yellow one - oh, you were in the cemetery again? Crazy idea - chalk from a cemetery in 2 meters deep are not diffusing higher...

Some word of burning. My Metasequoia Ogon is following the sun. In full sun we look more yellow as before the evening. My Pinus ponderosas burn every year in the winter sun. Its sometimes more killerish like summer heat. The soil is frozen, no water comes high, and leaves "burn", better told cant produce enough chlorophils.

A new friend of us, Johnny Withrow reported us of bright yellow rigida and pungens pines in a place, where earlier there was a forest fire. Something happened there. But his replanted seedlings are also bright gold. Did anything happened with the seeds and cones in the fire? I mean genetic changes, of course. As I remember an earlier mail of Dax, as Rich Eyrie with a friend found a small yellow forest. They grafted them, but in the nursery all grafts were green. As they planted the grafts in the garden, they became yellow again. I guess, these are genetic yellow selections.

I made a nice seedbed in 1987 after Chernobyl of Pinus wallichiana. Hundreds of seedlings were rising in total white. No one survived without chlorophil.

Well, more and more new questions.

Zsolt

Nate, the length of winter burned many of my yellows in March.

The soil remained rock solid through early April and the intensity of the sun increased in March. The results were remarkably consistent with many different genus and species.

Zsolt, thanks for taking the time to write that. Interesting about Chernobyl.

Did I recal a rumor metasequoia 'Ogon' was created in Japan from a batch of irradiated seed? Perhaps it was just an attempt at humor.

Thanks all. Barbara, that Cupressus macrocarpa is fantastic!

My damn Skylands I shaded all summer looked good until it burned in late March.

Cones look good though!

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