Arborvitae
Thuja occidentalis
Also called white cedar, arbor vitae and eastern white cedar
Arborvitae is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Arborvitae
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 20 ft tall and 4.9 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years.
When to plant Arborvitae
Plant Arborvitae in spring once the soil is workable, or by very early fall at the latest: an evergreen needs its roots down well before the ground freezes. For the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8 range, that is April to June, or August on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 5 in April.
Comes in 9 varieties
Same plant, same care - pick the variety you are growing.
Good to know about Arborvitae
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Foliage and oil hold thujone, a convulsant neurotoxin. Small culinary or homeopathic amounts are safe, but concentrated oil or large ingestions can cause convulsions and liver and kidney toxicity. per Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Worth knowing
The narrow, upright form that makes arborvitae a tidy privacy screen is the same trait that lets heavy wet snow splay the stems apart and bend or break them. per NC State
Is arborvitae deer-resistant?
Eastern white-cedar, the species you buy here, is deer candy. Western 'Green Giant' hybrids are largely ignored, so retailer 'deer-resistant arborvitae' usually means Green Giant, not this one. per Michigan State
Winter browning, four causes
Browning can be harmless seasonal bronzing, winter burn, leafminer mines, or spider-mite bronzing. Each has a different fix, so diagnose the cause before you treat or spray. per NC State and Wisconsin
Wet-soil paradox
It grows wild in swamps yet rots in a poorly drained bed. The difference is drainage: wetland soil moves water and oxygen, a waterlogged bed invites Phytophthora root rot. per NC State and Penn State
Bagworms can kill it
Bagworm caterpillars build spindle-shaped silk bags often mistaken for cones, and can defoliate and kill a plant. Eggs overwinter in the bag and hatch late spring to early summer. per University of Kentucky
What pairs well with Arborvitae
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Ninebark
Shares full sun and moderate water; shorter at 6.6 ft, an understory layer; both are native plants.
Garden Phlox
Shares full sun and moderate water; shorter at 3.3 ft, an understory layer; both are native plants.
Obedient Plant
Shares full sun and moderate water; shorter at 3.3 ft, an understory layer; both are native plants.
Bee Balm
Shares full sun and moderate water; low at 3 ft, to carpet the ground beneath it; both are native plants.
Witch Hazel
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; shorter at 9.8 ft, an understory layer; both are native plants.
Winterberry
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; shorter at 6.6 ft, an understory layer; both are native plants.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.