Dark Green Arborvitae
Thuja occidentalis 'Nigra'
Height: 20 feet
Spread: 7 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 3a
Other Names: Eastern White Cedar
Description:
A popular upright columnar evergreen for general home landscape use featuring dense dark green foliage; will grow quite tall, makes an excellent vertical accent, hardy and adaptable, takes pruning well; best with some sun, protect from drying winds
Ornamental Features
Dark Green Arborvitae is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage remain dark green throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Dark Green Arborvitae is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Dark Green Arborvitae is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Vertical Accent
- Hedges/Screening
Planting & Growing
Dark Green Arborvitae will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.
