It's a Dutch selection found as a yellow branch mutation on a Thuja plicata 'Martin'.
The founder is Dries Luijten who's living about 50 kilometres from my nursery.
The colour is completely yellow so it's not variegated.
In full sun it can burn a little bit.

I have a cutting. Looks like I must change the name
from 4ever Goldie to 4ever Gold.

Dax

Dax, the true name is Thuja plicata '4 Ever'®
'Goldy' is a protected name for this conifer, it's a second cultivar name for the same plant.

"The new cultivar was discovered in 2002 in a cultivated area of Steensel, The Netherlands. `4EVER` was discovered as a single plant growing within a population of plants of Thuja plicata `Martin` (not patented). The exact parents are unknown"

Here is a link that might be useful: United States Patent: PP19267

Thanks for the correction. It is very yellow, I should know better.

I was looking for graft lines on them and did not find any. The patent link explains it.

"Propagation: Softwood cuttings. Time to initiate roots (summer and winter): Approximately 56 days to produce roots on an initial cutting."

I typically place Thujas in bad spots in my yard for some reason. I have a snowkist arborviate actually growing in what the last couple wet years have turned into a swampy area. I have two snow tips doing ok in shade. I rather like the effect to be honest. Slow growth and more open habit, do loose the snow effect though on the one in more shade. Wonder how the yellow fella here would do there.

How does the western species do there?

"The new cultivar was discovered in 2002 in a cultivated area of Steensel, The Netherlands. `4EVER` was discovered as a single plant growing within a population of plants of Thuja plicata `Martin` (not patented). The exact parents are unknown"

This discription of origin of this cultivar isn't correct.
In nr. 26 of the Dutch Conifer Society journal wrote Dries Luijten the following:
About 1895 a golden yellow branch mutation was found in a Thuja plicata 'Martin'.
Most of the green part of the motherplant was cut away so in 1998 the first 130 cuttings were made and in the next year 125 were rooted and these were the first liners.

Because it's a branch mutation of 'Martin' the parent is known.
I don't understund that the other discription mentioned that "the exact parents are unknow'", again, it's a branch mutation and not a cross between 2 differend conifers.

This is the one at my Pinetum
Thuja plicata '4ever'

"How does the western species do there?"

Seems to grow well for me. All three of mine (1 sunkist, 2 snow tips) are Oregon natives ordered from Forest Farm.

If only I could think of a place for this yellow fella. Bet it bronzes over in winter and looks dead like the zosia.

As I remember it 'Sunkist' belongs to Thuja occidentalis.

bboy, the internet probably agrees with you.

Thuja occidentalis trees (Sunkist and Snow Tip apparently) are eastern red cedar.

Zooming in on my picture it looks like 4ever is a Thuja plicata.

Oops. That is the Western species. My bad.

I saw '4EVER' at Lowe's this year, did not notice it being an example of the western species.

Did notice some changing to partly green foliage, near the plant bases, in the manner of older introductions like 'Zebrina Extra Gold'.

Presumably the "Zabrina Gold" used in the patent application description at the above link is a mistake for 'Zebrina Extra Gold'.

The 'Zabrina Extra Gold' in the patent aplication must be 'Zebrina Extra Gold' indeed.
I know this for sure because Dries Luijten asked me to deliver some yellow Thuja plicata cultivars for comparisation at the Plant Patent Research Station.
One of these was 'Zebrina Extra Gold'.
Others I deliverd were:
-'Aurea'
-'Aurescens'
-'Collyer's Gold'
-'December Gold'
-'Zebrina'

In my opinion the 'Aurea' come's closer to the '4ever' because both are completely yellow, while 'Zebrina Extra Gold' is a variegated cultivar.

"Plant Patent Research Station"?

Yep, in Europe we have a Plant Patent Research Stations.
It will decide by comparing with quite simular cultivars and other things if a new introduced plant will become a patent yes or no.
Normaly spoken this proces takes 3 or 4 years.

Patent and patent description referred to up that point in thread US Plant Patent, it appeared you were trying to make a connection with that.

In Britain they also have one in commerce that came to be named 'Irish Gold'. Here yellow branch sports on western redcedar are seen comparatively often, relative to how often these are seen on other native conifers. There may have been multiple introductions made under names already in use for older clones. There is also the erroneous use of the old species name of the typical plant (Thuja lobbii) for 'Zebrina' or a similar form; after not seeing this for decades I encountered stock so labeled during a recent spring. Prior to that a family with a retail nursery having its own growing fields that I worked in during the 1980s was calling a 'Zebrina' type there Thuja "lobe-eye". Eventually I realized this must have been a misapplication of Thuja lobbii.

Thuja plicata 'Irish Gold' and 'Zebrina Extra Gold' are in my opinion 2 names for the same plant.
I have both in my collection and they're completely the same.
Both were found as a brighter yellow mutation on 'Zebrina' but maybe from a differend origin...

>I have both in my collectionAlways keep in mind that when you acquire a plant under a name it may not represent the full extent of material that has been grown under that name. This becomes important when making comparisons or descriptive comments. The '-----' you got from ----- may not be the same as the original or even fit the contemporary concept of that variety. Old, Latin name cultivars from the 19th century are often not possible to link with certainty to plants being grown today under the name. Multiple different clones may be in circulation when a name has been used a long time.

I read the account of 'Irish Gold' when the name was founded, don't remember how 'Zebrina Extra Gold' came into it. It is possible 'Irish Gold' was supposed to replace 'Zebrina Extra Gold' as a name for the same cultivar.

Around 1994, when I went to England a nursery there sold me separate forms under the two names, which I grew for a short time and then discarded. As I remember it the 'Irish Gold' - of that supplier - had reddish or bronze tinting of the new growth that was not so apparent in the form provided as 'Zebrina Extra Gold'.

One of similar appearance to 'Zebrina Extra Gold' may have been sold here as 'Canadian Gold'. Or that name may have been used for something else, perhaps a form of Thuja occidentalis. Or both usages of the name may have occurred. I think the last time I saw plants under the name they appeared to belong to the eastern species.

Bboy, you're telling the same story as did, only in differend words...
I also have the Thuja plicata 'Canadian Gold' in my collection which does look far from the same as 'Zebrina Extra Gold'/'Irish Gold' because it's completely bright golden yellow and not variegated.
This cultivar has nothing to do with Thuja occidentalis.
I add a link with a photo of this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thuja plicata 'Canadian Gold'

Like I said, there may be more than one form sold under the name - as is often the case. Getting one selection one time under a name is not necessarily the beginning and end of it.

Especially when a cultivar was founded a long time ago. The 'Nana' or 'Pygmaea' you get in 2010 may have nothing to do with the one put on the market 100 years earlier. I never assume I have the only plant that has been sold under the name unless there are specific reasons to think so in that particular instance.

Not to hijack the thread, but since it's been awhile since the last post, I hope you'll forgive me. You all seem to be very knowledgeable about yellow arborvitae cultivars and I'm perplexed by one that I found and am smitten with, but can't seem to figure out exactly what it is so that I can purchase one.

I'm trying, rather unsuccessfully, to propagate it from seeds I obtained from the tree, but the one seed that sprouted so far isn't making it and is shriveling up and there's nothing to say for sure that it would be true to its parentage anyway. None of the other seeds have sprouted, so it's seeming rather hopeless.

I've been running on the idea that it's a "4Ever Goldy", but I have seen pictures of Sunkist, Zebrina, and George Peabody that make compelling look-alikes. Can anyone help shed some light on this?

p.s. Sorry for the dog in the foreground. I'd submit a different picture, but this is only one I have handy to show the full tree.

Since I don't readily have access to the tree, I can't double-check, but I'm willing to consider the possibility that maybe I misidentified it as an arborvitae and maybe it's a cedar/false cedar? Thoughts? I managed to scrape up a closer picture of the foliage if it helps...

It's an Hinoki cypress... that's correct (Chamaecyparis obtusa.) I don't grow them and I don't know the cultivars. To get a copy/clone - you'd have to root it. Nothing wrong with venturing from seed... but you're going to be likely to get green seedlings as a majority.

Dax