Green rules when it comes to plant foliage. The vast majority of plants sport leaves in some shade of green. So when plants with foliage in any other color come along, gardeners tend to sit up and take notice. And the rich glow of gold-foliaged plants is particularly alluring.
There are gold-foliaged cultivars of just about every plant -- from ground covers to trees. But there are a few things you should know about growing and placing these golden gems.
Sun tolerance
Most gold-foliaged plants start out as genetic boo-boos. They're short on chlorophyll, the green pigment essential for photosynthesis. Gold plants have enough chlorophyll to get by, but their bright leaf color appears thanks to yellow pigments that would normally be masked by loads of green chlorophyll.
This lack of green raises a tricky question for growing gold-foliaged plants: How much sun do they need?
Too little sun and many may look dull yellow-green rather than bright gold. Too much sun and the leaves of many gold plants sunburn, bleaching out and developing dead brown spots. Sun-tolerance among gold-foliaged cultivars can vary even within a species. Within hostas, for example, some gold-leafed cultivars tolerate full sun much better than others.
A good rule-of-thumb for most gold plants is to place them where they'll get morning sun and filtered shade during midday.
Gold accents
