American Arborvitae Thuja occidentalis
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called American Arborvitae:
- Phonetic Spelling
- THU-ya ock-sih-den-TAH-liss
- Description
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Thuja occidentalis is a slender evergreen tree native to eastern North America. It is a low maintenance plant that tolerates clay soil, wet sites, black walnut, and air pollution. It grows best in moist, neutral to alkaline, well-drained loams. It does not tolerate dry sites, and exposed windy sites should be avoided. Also avoid full shade, or foliage will thin out dramatically. Cultivars are typically globular, pyramidal, columnar to conical in growth form. These trees are utilized as specimens, accents, hedges, or foundation plants,
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: There are no serious insect or disease problems. Leaf miners may damage leaf tips. Bagworms, mealybug, scales and spider mites are occasional visitors. Canker can occasionally be a problem. It does not perform well in overly shady, dry, or windy sites. It is susceptible to damage including stem breakage in winter from ice and snow accumulations. The foliage can become winter burned (yellow-brown) in dry, exposed sites.
Quick ID
- Evergreen gymnosperm
- Branch sprays in flat planes
- Leaves scale-like with blister-like, pustular gland
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Courtyard Garden Michael McCarthy Memorial Garden, All Saints Episcopal, Concord Storage Cottage
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Aurea Nana'
- 'DeGroots Spire'
- 'Emerald Green'
- 'Europe Gold'
- 'Filiformis'
- 'Golden Ball'
- 'Hetz's Winter Green'
- 'Linesville'
- 'Nigra'
- 'Pumilia Sudworth'
- 'Pyramidalis Compacta'
- 'Smaragd'
- 'Smart Guard'
- 'Spudwellii'
- 'Techny'
Dwarf conifer, scale-like foliage is arranged in dense flat layered sprays
Narrow pyramidal form with scale-like leaves in dense horizontal sprays that hold its color well through winter
A dwarf, dense, flattened, broad-globular cultivar that typically matures to only 3' tall
Golden-yellow juvenile foliage in summer; winter brings out a strong coppery color
Lemon-yellow foliage in the spring; winter the foliage will become more orange-yellow - 'Aurea Nana'
- 'Aurea Nana', 'DeGroots Spire', 'Emerald Green', 'Europe Gold', 'Filiformis', 'Golden Ball', 'Hetz's Midget', 'Hetz's Winter Green', 'Holmstrup', 'Linesville', 'Little Gem', 'Nigra', 'Pumilia Sudworth', 'Pyramidalis Compacta', 'Rheingold', 'Smaragd', 'Smart Guard', 'Spudwellii' , 'Sunkist', 'Techny'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Aurea Nana'
- 'DeGroots Spire'
- 'Emerald Green'
- 'Europe Gold'
- 'Filiformis'
- 'Golden Ball'
- 'Hetz's Winter Green'
- 'Linesville'
- 'Nigra'
- 'Pumilia Sudworth'
- 'Pyramidalis Compacta'
- 'Smaragd'
- 'Smart Guard'
- 'Spudwellii'
- 'Techny'
Dwarf conifer, scale-like foliage is arranged in dense flat layered sprays
Narrow pyramidal form with scale-like leaves in dense horizontal sprays that hold its color well through winter
A dwarf, dense, flattened, broad-globular cultivar that typically matures to only 3' tall
Golden-yellow juvenile foliage in summer; winter brings out a strong coppery color
Lemon-yellow foliage in the spring; winter the foliage will become more orange-yellow - 'Aurea Nana'
- 'Aurea Nana', 'DeGroots Spire', 'Emerald Green', 'Europe Gold', 'Filiformis', 'Golden Ball', 'Hetz's Midget', 'Hetz's Winter Green', 'Holmstrup', 'Linesville', 'Little Gem', 'Nigra', 'Pumilia Sudworth', 'Pyramidalis Compacta', 'Rheingold', 'Smaragd', 'Smart Guard', 'Spudwellii' , 'Sunkist', 'Techny'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Thuja
- Species:
- occidentalis
- Family:
- Cupressaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The essential oils from this plant have been used in cleaners, insecticides, soaps, room sprays and hair care products. The young, inner bark of the new stems is known to have been used to make soup by the Ojibwa tribe. The wood is used in fencing and posts, cabin logs, lumber, poles, shingles, paneling, piling, lagging, pails, potato barrels, tubs, ties, boats, tanks, woodenware. Twigs have been used in some teas for relief of constipation and headache.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central & E. Canada to N. Central and Eastern North America
- Distribution:
- SC west to TN north through IL, IO, Minnesota and Manitoba east to Nova Scotia.
- Wildlife Value:
- Northern white cedar provides nesting sites for songbirds, as well as cover, especially in the winter, for white-tailed deer, which both feed on the branches and use them for shelter from the cold.
- Play Value:
- Fragrance
- Screening
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Nesting
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Tolerates clay soil, wet sites, black walnut and air pollution.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 40 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Broad
- Conical
- Pyramidal
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 24-60 feet
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 2a, 2b, 3b, 3a, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7b, 7a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Description:
- Does not produce fruits; has brown cones. Displays from April to May.
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Flowers:
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- Conifer, non-flowering. Blooms from March to April
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Slippery
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are scale-like in adults, ovate, obtuse to bluntly acute, yellowish-green to gray-green below bearing a pustular gland near apex, appressed to branchlets in opposite pairs, each pair overlapping the adjacent pair above.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Light Brown
- Light Gray
- Red/Burgundy
- Surface/Attachment:
- Exfoliating
- Bark Description:
- Attractive red-brown bark exfoliates on mature branches and trunks.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Specimen
- Attracts:
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Black Walnut
- Pollution
- Wet Soil
