I think there is a fine line between bright green and yellow.
In order to get something that remains light/bright green in winter I would think you would need to focus on yellow conifers. The brightest greenish conifers I can think of are typically yellow conifers in shade or yellow conifers in winter. Something like Pinus densiflora 'Golden Ghost' or Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone' or Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Lemon Twist'

Most conifers are quite drab green around here already

==>>> and that would be ... WHERE????

are we talking bright green in snow????

ken

Ic, I think you are looking for "garden conifers" but if not, 'Hetz Wintergreen' arb, as the name suggests, holds a pretty good green through winter. Certain races of common conifers have this tendency as well, but there you'd have to somehow be getting those genes. Here I'm talking certain white pine, etc, that stay greener than some others.

+oM

sc77: Great point. I thought about that. It is a very fine line. For example, here in central Iowa we have tons of pinus strobus which get kind of lime green during the winter. The vast majority look sickly. I have been considering for now to use a skylands and place it in shade, or maybe the exotic picea orientalis 'aurea' which is supposed to remain lime green throughout the year (coniferjoy hopefully might chime in on this). I also have a pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 'pine grove gold' which is supposed to be a very light green in late summer and might keep that color throughout winter.

ken: here is central Iowa. I am talking about bright green in winter, either in snow or not.

tom: I'll look up hetz wintergreen. Arbs don't do superwell around here and I am not a fan of the species, but it might be the color I am looking for. Thanks!

all: I just would like something with the color and the shine of grass (I am the opposite of a turf fanatic, but I would love to expand the winter palette into the bright light green) but in winter.
In case light green is too problematic I would be happy with an emerald type of green as long as it is shiny and not drab like most conifers around here (mostly picea abies, abies concolors, picea glaucas, and picea pungens). Can maybe some fir qualify? We have one specimen of abies homolepis on campus which is stunning but I think it is very dark green right now. Sciadopitys verticillata 'wintergreen' is a nice green but I don't think I have ever seen a pic of the cultivar in winter.
The other option was to go for something like what sc suggested. An OD pine that is somewhat muted (e.g., pinus koraiensis 'oculus draconis').

In summary, your experience with conifers is legendary: if you think of your visits to arboreta in winter (or to your own gardens :-)) which is the conifer that stood out the most to you for being bright green?

I really appreciate the advice. I am learning new stuff every day in this forums thanks to you all.

L

i was out on the porch.. i dont see any grass colored conifers out in the collection ...

do you have any labeled collections nearby ... one of the beauties of conifers.. is that you can look at them all winter long .... so go look at some... and find out how they look.. NEAR YOU ....

i will keep an eye out.. if i walk the property any time soon.. by which time.. i wont recall the name of this post.. lol ...

ken

In my experience, sub-freezing temperatures tend to turn all evergreen leaves and needles a fairly dark green. Some brighten up briefly on warm winter days while others keep darkening up to maroon or brown.

Winter sun definitely promotes the colouring of leaves & needles....my broadleaf evergreens in the shade stay a bright green while those in sun starting going brown-maroon.

i was trying to focus 300 feet across the yard ...

my thunderhead appears grass green right now .. ask me again in a month ...

many plants have a glaucous coating .. the wax on the surface of the needle... which reflects whatever color the sky is ...

unfortunately.. in my MI winter.. that is usually a dull grey ... lol .. it sometimes amazes me.. that for days on end ... the conifers look drab in winter ...

and then one glorious sunny day ... they look great ... with the snow cover and all ...

but for the usually total sun blindness that ensues... lol ...

ken

I am going through the guide to firs of the arnold arboretum.
The following species are labeled for their shiny foliage
abies alba - shiny green
abies borisii-regis - very shiny dark green
abies x bornmuelleriana - shiny green
abies cephalonica - shiny dark green
abies fargesii - shiny dark green
abies firma - shiny green
abies grandis - shiny dark green
abies nordmanniana - glossy
abies recurvata - shiny pale green - stomatas green too
abies sachalinensis - shiny green
abies sibirica - shiny green
abies veitchii - shiny green

I have looked through my library of pictures for each of these and they look ok but nothing overwhelming. From my pictures veitchii seems the best dark shiny foliage, while abies alba seems to have the nicest bright green foliage... my pictures of abies grandis show relatively light green foliage even though the arnold's guide claim it is dark green... On the other hand almost all my pictures are from summer conditions or spring.

the challenge thickens... :-)

whats the name of that arb in IA????

ken

Bickelhaupt? too far for me
Brenton?
Iowa Arboretum?