Gold Mound Duranta

Gold Mound Duranta is a compact, mounding form of golden dewdrop, Duranta erecta 'Gold Mound', grown for its foliage. New growth emerges bright chartreuse to golden yellow and stays brightest in full sun, so it reads as a low band of light along walks, borders, and clipped hedges. Full sun keeps that color strongest, since leaves turn greener in shade. It takes most well drained soils, wants steady water while establishing, and tolerates drought once rooted, but it cannot handle salt. Hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11, it can freeze back in zone 9. The species reaches 15 feet or more, but this selection stays a mound of about 2 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide, with loose sprays of lavender blue flowers in summer and fall. Fruit and leaves are poisonous if eaten, and UF/IFAS rates the species a high invasion risk in Florida.