P.s.'Aurea' I have never grown, but have a friend down the road with a 10ft one. IMO, Aurea is a poor choice for the winter yellow, as, at least to me, the normal yellow for the cultivar is rather sickly, and not solid yellow. Gold Coin, on the other hand., is superb. I grew it from a (probably) 3 year graft for about 7 years before I was force to transplant it in the spring. Every bit of soil fell off the root system and it subsequently died.

I never noticed that either of them got more yellow in the early early spring, but they didn't reach their potential until, say, mid-Jan.

Looking out my window at this very moment, I could swear that my Pinus strobus 'Wintergold' was more yellow earlier this winter.