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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American Arborvitae is a dense pyramidal-shaped evergreen tree in the Cupressaceae (cypress) family that is native to eastern and central Canada and the eastern and north central portions of the United States. A distinctive feature of this tree is its dominant trunk. The leaves are scale-like and appear dark green on the upper surface and paler below. In the winter month, the leaves appear bronze colored. The bark is grayish brown to reddish-brown with shallow furrows. Small oblong cones appear in the spring, mature to a brown color in the summer, and may be persistent.
The genus name, Thuja, is the Greek name for a kind of juniper. The species epithet, occidentalsis, means from the Western world.
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. This tree does best in areas with high atmospheric moisture and in soil with high moisture content.
Cultivars are typically globular, pyramidal, columnar to conical in growth form.
These trees are utilized as specimens, accents, hedges, foundation plants, and for a windbreak. They are easily transplanted.
Seasons of Interest:
Bark: Year-round Foliage: Year-round Fruit: Summer to Year-round
Quick ID Hints:
- dominate trunk, exfoliating grayish brown to reddish brown with shallow furrows
- dense, pyramidal habit
- evergreen gymnosperm
- branch sprays in flat planes
- leaves scale-like with blister-like, pustular gland, darker green on the upper surface and paler beneath
- leaves bronze in winter
- small light brown cones that are yellow when immature
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Damage from deer browsing can be a serious problem. 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.
VIDEO created by Grant L. Thompson for “Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines for Landscaping” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Courtyard Garden Foundation Planting- West Side of House Courtyard Garden Michael McCarthy Memorial Garden, All Saints Episcopal, Concord Mountain Ridge Top Garden - North Woods Storage Cottage
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Aurea Nana'
- 'DeGroots Spire'
narrow, columnar - 'Emerald Green'
narrow, columnar - 'Europe Gold'
- 'Filiformis'
- 'Golden Ball'
- 'Golden Globe'
- 'Hetz's Winter Green'
- 'Linesville'
- 'Nigra'
dark green foliage in winter months, narrow, columnar - 'Pendula'
weeping habit - 'Pumilia Sudworth'
- 'Pyramidalis Compacta'
- Sienna Sunset™
- 'Smaragd'
- 'Smart Guard'
- 'Spudwellii'
- 'Techny'
pyramidal, dark green
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', 'Golden Globe', 'Hetz's Midget', 'Hetz's Winter Green', 'Holmstrup', 'Linesville', 'Little Gem', 'Nigra', 'Pendula', 'Pumilia Sudworth', 'Pyramidalis Compacta', 'Rheingold', Sienna Sunset™, 'Smaragd', 'Smart Guard', 'Spudwellii' , 'Sunkist', 'Techny'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Aurea Nana'
- 'DeGroots Spire'
narrow, columnar - 'Emerald Green'
narrow, columnar - 'Europe Gold'
- 'Filiformis'
- 'Golden Ball'
- 'Golden Globe'
- 'Hetz's Winter Green'
- 'Linesville'
- 'Nigra'
dark green foliage in winter months, narrow, columnar - 'Pendula'
weeping habit - 'Pumilia Sudworth'
- 'Pyramidalis Compacta'
- Sienna Sunset™
- 'Smaragd'
- 'Smart Guard'
- 'Spudwellii'
- 'Techny'
pyramidal, dark green
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', 'Golden Globe', 'Hetz's Midget', 'Hetz's Winter Green', 'Holmstrup', 'Linesville', 'Little Gem', 'Nigra', 'Pendula', 'Pumilia Sudworth', 'Pyramidalis Compacta', 'Rheingold', Sienna Sunset™, 'Smaragd', 'Smart Guard', 'Spudwellii' , 'Sunkist', 'Techny'
- Tags:
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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
- Wind Break
- 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:
- Dense
- Pyramidal
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- 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:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is an oblong light brown cone that measures 1/3 to 1/2 inches long that appears yellow when young.
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- Conifer, non-flowering.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Slippery
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are scale-like in adults, ovate, obtuse to bluntly acute, yellowish green to grayish green below bearing a pustular gland near the apex, appressed to branchlets in opposite pairs, each pair overlapping the adjacent pair above. The scale-like leaves are darker green on the upper surface and paler below, and they appear bronze colored during the winter months.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Light Brown
- Light Gray
- Red/Burgundy
- Surface/Attachment:
- Exfoliating
- Furrowed
- Bark Description:
- The attractive grayish brown to reddish-brown bark has shallow furrows. On mature trees, the bark exfoliates on the branches and trunks. A distinctive feature of this tree is its dominant trunk.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- The stems are thin and green to brown. They are resistant to breakage.
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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
