Arborvitae Trees: The Complete Guide to Growing and Care

Arborvitae trees stand as silent sentinels in landscapes across North America, offering year-round greenery, privacy, and architectural interest with minimal maintenance requirements. These versatile evergreens from the genus Thuja have earned their place as essential components in both residential gardens and commercial landscapes, providing reliable structure and dense foliage that serves numerous practical and aesthetic purposes.

About Arborvitae Trees

Arborvitae, whose name translates to “tree of life,” belong to the cypress family (Cupressaceae) and include several species widely used in landscaping. These coniferous evergreens are native to North America and parts of Asia, featuring distinctive scale-like foliage arranged in flat sprays and a naturally symmetrical growth habit that requires little pruning to maintain an attractive form.

The most commonly cultivated species include Thuja occidentalis (Eastern Arborvitae or Northern White Cedar), Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar), and various hybrids developed for specific landscape applications. What makes these trees particularly valuable is their adaptability to different growing conditions and their relatively fast growth rate, with many varieties adding 1-2 feet annually during their establishment phase.

Popular Arborvitae Varieties

The diversity of arborvitae cultivars available allows gardeners to select specimens perfectly suited to their specific landscape needs and aesthetic preferences. From towering privacy screens to compact foundation plantings, there’s an arborvitae for virtually every garden situation.

American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)

The American Arborvitae offers numerous cultivars with varying heights, widths, and colors:

• Emerald Green (Smaragd): Perhaps the most popular arborvitae variety, prized for its vibrant emerald-green foliage that retains its color throughout winter. This cultivar grows in a tight, columnar form reaching 12-14 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide, making it ideal for privacy screens in narrower spaces.
• North Pole: Selected for superior cold hardiness, this variety maintains a slender columnar shape with dark green foliage year-round. Reaching 10-15 feet tall but only 4-5 feet wide, it’s excellent for smaller properties requiring vertical accent.
• Degroot’s Spire: Distinguished by its extremely narrow, columnar habit and twisted, spiraling foliage, this slow-growing cultivar reaches 8-10 feet tall while staying just 2 feet wide. Perfect for adding vertical interest in tight spaces.
• Golden Globe: A compact, rounded cultivar with bright golden foliage that adds a cheerful spot of color to the landscape. Maturing at just 3-4 feet in height and width, it works beautifully in foundation plantings and mixed borders.

Giant Arborvitae Varieties

For larger properties and situations requiring substantial screening or windbreaks:

• Green Giant (Thuja standishii × plicata): A remarkable hybrid known for its extraordinarily rapid growth rate of up to 3 feet per year once established. Reaching heights of 40-60 feet with a 12-20 foot spread, Green Giant creates an impressive living wall with minimal maintenance.
• Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata): Native to the Pacific Northwest, this majestic species can reach 50-70 feet in height with a broad pyramidal habit. Its scale-like foliage has a pleasant, aromatic quality when crushed.

Dwarf and Specialty Cultivars

For smaller spaces and specialized landscape applications:

• Hetz Midget: A true dwarf variety forming a perfect globe of dense, green foliage. Maturing at just 3-4 feet tall and wide, it requires no pruning to maintain its shape.
• Fire Chief: A relatively new introduction valued for its striking gold-to-red foliage that intensifies in winter. Growing to just 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, it adds dramatic year-round color.
• Techny: Appreciated for its deep green foliage that resists winter bronzing, this medium-sized cultivar reaches 10-15 feet tall with a 6-8 foot spread.

Growing Requirements

Successfully growing arborvitae depends on providing the right conditions from the start. While generally adaptable, these evergreens have specific preferences that help them develop into healthy, attractive specimens.

Light Requirements

Most arborvitae varieties perform best in full sun exposure, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. While they can tolerate partial shade, insufficient light often results in sparse foliage, particularly on the shaded side, and may reduce the density that makes these plants so valuable for screening purposes.

Some golden-foliaged cultivars may benefit from afternoon shade in hotter regions to prevent scorching, while maintaining enough morning sun to develop their characteristic coloration.

Soil Preferences

Arborvitae thrive in well-drained, loamy soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.0-7.5). While adaptable to various soil types, they perform poorly in extremely dry or perpetually soggy conditions. When planting in heavy clay soils, incorporating organic matter and creating a slight mound can improve drainage and prevent root rot issues.

Climate Adaptation

Different arborvitae species and cultivars offer varying levels of cold hardiness and heat tolerance:

Planting Arborvitae

Early spring is generally considered the optimal time for planting arborvitae, allowing root systems to establish before the stress of summer heat or winter cold. In milder climates, fall planting can also be successful.

Site Selection

When selecting a planting location, consider not only current garden conditions but the mature size of your chosen variety. Many landscape disappointments result from placing these trees too close to structures, walkways, or other plants without accounting for their ultimate spread.

For privacy hedges, space plants according to their mature width—generally 3-4 feet apart for narrower varieties and 5-8 feet for broader types. Planting too closely may create an immediate screen but often leads to poor air circulation and increased disease susceptibility as plants mature.

Planting Process

1. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball but no deeper than the container depth.
2. Gently remove the plant from its container, loosening the roots if pot-bound.
3. Position in the hole with the top of the root ball level with or slightly above the surrounding soil.
4. Backfill with the original soil, firming gently to eliminate air pockets.
5. Create a shallow basin around the plant to help direct water to the root zone.
6. Apply 2-3 inches of organic mulch around the base, keeping it several inches away from the trunk.
7. Water thoroughly immediately after planting, and maintain consistent moisture during the establishment period.

Arborvitae Care and Maintenance

One of the primary appeals of arborvitae is their relatively low maintenance nature once established. However, proper care, especially during the first few years after planting, contributes significantly to their long-term health and appearance.

Watering Requirements

Newly planted arborvitae require consistent moisture during their first growing season, with deep watering once or twice weekly in the absence of significant rainfall. Established plants are moderately drought-tolerant but benefit from supplemental irrigation during extended dry periods.

Winter watering is particularly important in regions with dry winters, as arborvitae can suffer from desiccation when soil moisture is unavailable due to freezing. A deep watering during winter thaws can help prevent winter burn.

Fertilization

Arborvitae generally don’t require heavy fertilization. In fact, excessive nitrogen can promote rapid, weak growth susceptible to winter damage. A light application of balanced, slow-release fertilizer in early spring is usually sufficient for healthy growth.

Pruning Practices

Unlike many landscape plants, arborvitae require minimal pruning to maintain their natural form. Light shaping can be performed in late spring through mid-summer, avoiding pruning in fall which may stimulate vulnerable new growth before winter.

When pruning is necessary:

• Never cut back to bare branches, as arborvitae typically won’t regenerate foliage from bare wood.
• Maintain the natural pyramidal or columnar shape, avoiding flat-topping that can lead to structural damage from snow and ice.
• Remove dead or damaged branches promptly to prevent disease entry points.

Problem Solving

While generally robust, arborvitae can experience several common issues that affect their appearance and health.

Browning Foliage

Browning foliage on arborvitae can have multiple causes:

• Winter Burn: Caused by drying winter winds when soil is frozen. Preventable with burlap wind barriers and anti-desiccant sprays.
• Drought Stress: Results in browning from the inside out. Address with deep, infrequent watering rather than frequent shallow irrigation.
• Bagworms: These pests create distinctive cone-shaped bags while consuming foliage. Manual removal and biological controls are effective for management.

Wildlife Damage

Deer browsing represents one of the most significant challenges for arborvitae in many regions. During winter food scarcity, deer may heavily browse these evergreens, causing significant damage or even death. Prevention methods include:

• Physical barriers like deer fencing or burlap wrapping
• Commercial repellent products applied according to label directions
• Motion-activated deterrents
• Selecting more resistant varieties like ‘Green Giant’ when deer pressure is known to be high

Landscape Uses

The versatility of arborvitae makes them valuable for numerous landscape applications:

Privacy Screens and Hedges

The dense foliage and columnar growth habit of many arborvitae varieties make them ideal for creating living privacy screens and formal hedges. Taller varieties like ‘Green Giant’ and ‘Emerald Green’ create effective visual barriers while occupying minimal ground space.

Foundation Plantings

Smaller cultivars provide year-round structure around building foundations, with their neat habits requiring minimal maintenance to keep windows and walkways clear.

Accent Plants

The distinctive forms and textures of arborvitae make them excellent accent plants, particularly when used to provide vertical elements in the landscape. Golden and unusual forms add visual interest throughout the seasons.

Windbreaks

Larger arborvitae varieties planted in strategic locations can significantly reduce wind velocity, creating more comfortable outdoor living spaces and potentially reducing heating costs during winter months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How fast do arborvitae trees grow?

A: Growth rates vary by variety, but most arborvitae grow between 1-2 feet per year during their establishment phase. Some varieties like ‘Green Giant’ can add up to 3 feet annually under optimal conditions.

Q: Can I plant arborvitae in containers?

A: Dwarf varieties like ‘Hetz Midget’ and ‘Little Giant’ can thrive in containers for several years with proper care. Ensure containers have adequate drainage, use quality potting mix, and provide consistent moisture.

Q: Will arborvitae recover if deer eat them?

A: Recovery depends on damage severity. Light browsing of branch tips often regrows over time, but extensive damage to inner branches may leave permanent gaps, as arborvitae typically don’t regenerate from bare wood.

Q: How long do arborvitae trees live?

A: In favorable conditions, arborvitae can live 50-150 years in landscape settings. Proper site selection, planting, and maintenance significantly impact their longevity.

Q: Can brown arborvitae foliage turn green again?

A: Once foliage turns brown, it will not revert to green. However, if the branch itself remains alive, new green growth may eventually emerge from the branch tips during the growing season.

Author

medha deb

 

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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