Arborvitae are all the rage for adding a luxurious living fenceline to your landscaping. But what are the care requirements, and how easy or difficult are they to grow? Gardening expert Kelli Klein walks you through the steps to provide optimal growing conditions for your arborvitae hedge.
Arborvitae is a coniferous tree or shrub in the Cyprus family. This North American native tree has quickly gained popularity as an ornamental. It is commonly used to create a living privacy screen, fence, or windbreak in the landscape. It grows in a wide range of environments throughout North America within USDA growing zones two through eight.
This tree is adaptable to a variety of soil conditions provided that they are well-drained and that it receives full sun. It is also a long-lived perennial and can survive for anywhere between 25 and 150 years! This means it will be a long-lasting presence in your garden.
Also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, and the shorthand slang “arbs.” Other common names include swamp cedar, American arborvitae, and eastern arborvitae. The name arborvitae is Latin for “tree of life.” They are perennial evergreen shrubs or trees in the genus Thuja that are widely used in ornamental landscaping today.
French botanists brought this evergreen back to Paris in 1536, making it the first North American tree species to be brought to Europe. It was quickly adopted as an ornamental plant. Because of its rot-resistant wood, these trees were used by Native Americans to build canoes.
These trees are native to North America, specifically eastern Canada and north-central and northeastern United States. In Canada, its range reaches the Arctic tree line and the southern tip of the Hudson Bay. It prefers to grow in places with cooler summers and a shorter growing season. Connecticut is on the southern edge of its native range.
Arborvitae are upright trees with feathery sprays of flat, dark green, scaly needles that resemble juniper foliage. The trunk has red-brown bark, and they produce seed cones that start slender and yellow-green and turn brown as they mature. It tends to grow in a pyramid-like shape which can be exaggerated through pruning. Many varieties are available, which can range in size and foliage color.
Nowadays, it is used as an ornamental. Historically, the bark and foliage has been brewed into a vitamin-C-rich tea used to treat scurvy. The rot-resistant wood is also used for fencing and log cabins.
An oil can be extracted from the boughs and is used in cleansers, soaps, and perfumes, which smells like cedar. As an ornamental in the landscape, is it used to create a living privacy fence, a windbreak, or to add a pop of evergreen color to the landscape year-round.
Arborvitae plants are widely available at big box stores, online retailers, and local nurseries. Searching online retailers will give you the biggest range of varieties available.
On the other hand, shopping at a local nursery will likely result in picking up a variety that is well-suited to your area, not to mention the in-person information that you can receive at a local nursery. If you have a friend growing arborvitae, then you might be able to get your hands on some cuttings. More on that later!
The best time to plant is in early spring before they are actively growing. Planting in early spring will ensure that roots can establish before the first frost and successfully survive over winter. To plant your tree, dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and just deep enough so that it matches the depth of its original container. Backfill with a mixture of the soil that was dug out of the planting site and compost. Water it in well. Space trees at least three to four feet apart to give them space to fill in.