Growing the Black American Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The Black American Arborvitae is a selected form of the white cedar or eastern arborvitae, and it grows at a moderate rate into a slender pyramidal tree rising 20 feet or more into the air and spreading only 5 to 10 feet wide. It will be about 6 feet tall within 10 years. Regular trimming will keep it much smaller, if you need that, and you can maintain it as a hedge as short as 5 or 6 feet for many years. The tiny leaves are like green scales, clinging tightly to the thin stems in flattened sprays, which grow off the thicker branches. These sprays of lush green live for several years, until hidden by new growth and dropping to the ground inside the tree, forming a natural mulch. Older trees may produce clusters of small, pea-shaped cones that are green and then turn brown in winter. Trimmed plants rarely produce cones. The branches remain green to the ground for many years, but untrimmed plants will eventually become more tree-like, with a strong central trunk covered with an attractive, red-brown, peeling bark.

Using the Black American Arborvitae in Your Garden

For a wall of rich dark green, this arborvitae is unbeatable. Plant it as a hedge or screen that will always be rich and lush. Grow it as a specimen on a lawn – alone or in a cluster of 3 or 5 plants – for a striking, bold effect. Grow it in the space between windows around your home or plant a pair to frame a door or gateway. Use it as an accent among shrubs in your borders, or to add height and emphasis to a planting of mixed evergreens. It also looks great in planters and large tubs, as specimens on a terrace, or to give a little privacy in a city garden.

Hardiness

The Black American Arborvitae is amazingly hardy, growing well in zone 3, with winter lows of minus 40. It also grows well in all the warm zones, but not in hot zones 8 and 9, where there are other evergreens that are more suitable. It will survive outdoors in above-ground pots and planters in zone 4.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Black American Arborvitae grows well in full sun, and unlike many other conifer evergreens it also tolerates a little partial shade, as long as it has sun for most of the day. Afternoon shade can be beneficial in hotter areas, but too much will cause weak, open growth. This easy-care plant grows in almost all garden soils, acid or alkaline, and in clays too. It should not be planted in dry sands, unless there is regular watering available. This plant is one of the few conifer evergreens that grows well in wet soil, so it is ideal for low-lying and damp spots, and for planting alongside streams, ponds and lakes. It even tolerates periodic flooding.

Maintenance and Pruning

Pests and diseases are rare, and mostly caused by growing in very dry conditions. Water new plants regularly until they are well-established. Fertilize with an evergreen fertilizer in spring and again in early summer, especially if you are trimming your plants frequently. Trim as needed from late spring to early fall – the more you trim the denser and more solid your plants will be. Always trim so that the bottom of the bush or hedge is a little wider than the top, to keep the branches green right to the ground. Do not cut back to bare stems, which cannot re-sprout – there must be some green leaves left for regrowth to be possible. For trimmed hedges, space plants 3 feet apart in a row. For untrimmed screening, space 5 to 8 feet apart, depending on how dense you want it to be. For attractive natural clusters in the corners of your yard, or as features, use an uneven number of plants, and space irregularly, between 5 and 8 feet apart to preserve the individual identity of each tree.

History and Origin of the Black American Arborvitae

The eastern arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, is also called American arborvitae and white cedar. It was called ‘arbor-vitae’, which means ‘tree of Life’, after the French explorer Jacques Cartier saw men on his expedition saved from scurvy with a tea given them by native Americans. He took plants back from what was then called New France for the King’s gardens. The foliage of arborvitae has more vitamin C than oranges. This tree grows wild in eastern and central Canada, and down into Illinois, Ohio, New York and in mountain areas to North Carolina. It is often found near water and in swamps and wet-lands. The Black American Arborvitae is a variety called ‘Nigra’, an older, well-established selection of this tree. We don’t know exactly where it came from, but it was first mentioned in a book on conifers written in 1933 by the American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey, so it probably originated in an American nursery, most likely as a unique seedling tree.

Buying the Black American Arborvitae at The Tree Center

There are many cheap plants of arborvitae available, but they are usually grown from seed, which produces mixed plants with uncertain characteristics. They certainly won’t be the rich, reliable color of the Black American Arborvitae, so why settle for second-rate? This reliable variety is always in high demand, and our stock will soon be gone. Order now and put the days of yellowing plants behind you.

Growing the Tom Thumb Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The Tom Thumb Arborvitae is a dense, rounded evergreen shrub that has many compact branches rising from the base, naturally making a ball-shaped plant that will grow no more than 2 or 3 feet tall and wide. The foliage is arranged in compact fans of slender branches, covered with tiny green leaves like flat scales, that cling to the stems, making them look completely green. These fans of green live for several years, and only die when they have become hidden by new growth, so you see green all year round. Other arborvitae shrubs can turn bronze or brown in winter, but the Tom Thumb Arborvitae stays green and fresh, even during the coldest winters. These fans of foliage lie on top of each other, keeping this plant naturally-dense and lush. You won’t have to worry about seeing an open, brown center on your evergreens – its natural density keeps it solid, with no gaps or unsightly holes. You get all-year solid green with this little guy – what a relief.

Using the Tom Thumb Arborvitae in Your Garden

When organizing the plants in your beds it is best to have a range of heights from front to back. Use the Tom Thumb Arborvitae to create a foreground to the foundation planting around your home, scaling down the plants from large to small – it’s what gives your beds that ‘designer look’. Use it at the corners of beds in particular – at every corner for a formal look, just at some for a more relaxed garden feel. Grow it alone in the smallest gardens – it never grows too big – or cluster it in groups of 3 or 5 for perfect effect. In smaller beds you can use it among other evergreens or with flowering shrubs, it never looks out of place. It is also perfect for planters and pots, especially where you want that ‘globe look’, but where other globe plants like boxwood won’t grow because of winter cold.

Hardiness

Despite its small size, the Tom Thumb Arborvitae is incredibly hardy, growing easily, without winter burn, in zone 4, and all the way to zone 8 or even zone 9 if your summers are not too hot and humid. For plants in pots we suggest a limit of zone 5 to 6.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun will keep the Tom Thumb Arborvitae compact and green, but it will also grow well with a couple of hours of shade each day. Don’t plant in lots of shade, or it will become thin and more open. It grows easily in just about any soil, including wetter soils, alkaline soils and urban conditions. Don’t plant in very sandy, dry soils, as this plant is not particularly drought tolerant, although once established it can handle a bit of dryness in summer.

Maintenance and Pruning

We don’t usually see any pests or diseases on this plant, but deer do like to eat it. It doesn’t need trimming, but if you love super-neat, go ahead and trim it into the densest and most precise green globe you have seen – it looks great. Trim from late spring, once the new growth has toughened up a bit, until early fall. Late trimming can push new growth that then burns in winter. Remember to soak the ground shortly before freeze-up, to protect from winter burn.

History and Origin of the Tom Thumb Arborvitae

The variety called ‘Tom Thumb’ is a selected form of the eastern arborvitae or white cedar, Thuja occidentalis. This native tree grows naturally throughout the northeast and up into Canada, usually around the edges of forests, in low-lying areas and around wetlands. We don’t know the origin of this variety, which is similar to, but more compact, than several other forms that grow into round balls, rather than upright bushes.

Buying the Tom Thumb Arborvitae at the Tree Center

If you are looking for round and compact green, here it is. These top-quality plants stay neat and round, but they don’t stay around the farm. Order now – the demand is high but the supply is low.

Growing the Amber Gold Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The Amber Gold Arborvitae is a slender, upright evergreen with very dense branches arranged in vertical fans. It grows 9 to 12 inches a year, becoming 10 to 15 feet tall within 10 years, and staying about 3 feet wide. As it continues to grow it could reach 20 feet, and add a foot or two in width, if not trimmed. The tiny leaves are flat scales that cling to the smaller branches, covering them entirely. Those small branches are arranged in dense, spreading fans, which are held mostly vertically. This keeps the growth dense and compact, and also completely hides the interior branches of the plant, right to ground level. It develops a slender conical form, wider at the base. The leaves in spring are bright golden yellow, making a bold garden statement. Over summer and into fall the color slowly darkens, becoming more dusky orange through the winter – a true amber gold. New growth in spring brings back the vibrant yellow tones.

Using the Amber Gold Arborvitae in Your Garden

Golden evergreens make wonderful accent specimens in the garden, in shrub beds, as part of your foundation planting, mixed with other colorful conifers, or in a planter. Use this beautiful bush alone or in clusters of 3 or 5, or make a colorful hedge by spacing them 3 feet apart. Plant a pair either side of your door, or to frame a gate.

Hardiness

This is certainly one of the most cold-resistant golden evergreens, growing easily in zone 4, and all the way into zone 8. In cold zones, soak the root-zone deeply before the ground freezes for winter, and mulch around it, avoiding the foliage.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is best for the Amber Gold Arborvitae, but it will take a little shade if necessary. Too much shade will turn it greener, and make the growth more open and loose. It grows well in all soils, both acid and alkaline, preferring richer, moist soils, so add plenty of organic material when planting, and use it as mulch too. Once established it is moderately drought tolerant.

Maintenance and Pruning

Pests and diseases are rare in this plant, but deer will eat it if they can. It grows so densely it doesn’t need trimming to look good, but if you want you can trim between late spring and early fall.

History and Origin of the Amber Gold Arborvitae

The tree that botanists call Thuja occidentalis is known as white cedar or American arborvitae. That name comes from the Latin arbor vitae, meaning ‘Tree of Life’. It got this unusual name because Native Americans showed early French explorers in Canada how to make a tea from it we now know is full of Vitamin C, saving the explorers from fatal attacks of scurvy. It was taken back to France as a miracle plant, and grown in the King’s gardens. This tree grows wild through eastern Canada and the northeastern states, and it is widely used in cold zones for hedges and specimens. Back in 1950 at a nursery in Denmark called D.T. Poulsen, an unusual seedling was spotted, that stayed green all winter. It was named ‘Smaragd’, and, when it arrived in America, given the name Emerald Green, which is what Smaragd means. This is by far the best hedging and specimen evergreen for colder zones, with moderate growth.

In 2000 Jacub Jablonski was working in his nursery in Lysomice, Poland, growing some plants of ‘Smaragd’. He spotted one branch that had bright yellow foliage – a ‘branch sport’ as these novel growths are called. He took pieces and grew new plants, which besides their color also had unusually-dense growth. These plants were grown for several years to evaluate their worth, and then Jacub and the Dutch group Breederplants Inc., of Reeuwijk, patented it with the name ‘Jantar’. That means ‘Amber’ in Polish, so when the conifer specialists Iseli Nursery, in Boring, Oregon, introduced it in America it was given the name Amber Gold Arborvitae.

Buying the Amber Gold Arborvitae at the Tree Center

We love this great new plant, which fills an important need for lovers of golden evergreens who live in colder zones – it’s perfect for them. Even in warmer places the unique winter coloring makes this plant a winner, so order now, because it won’t be available for long.

Growing the Dark Green Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The Dark Green Arborvitae is a selected form of the white cedar or eastern arborvitae, and it grows at a moderate rate into a slender pyramidal tree rising 20 to 30 feet into the air and spreading only 5 to 10 feet wide. Regular trimming will keep it much smaller, if you need that, and you can maintain it as a hedge as short as 5 or 6 feet for many years. The tiny leaves are like green scales, clinging tightly to the thin stems in flattened sprays, which grow off the thicker branches. These sprays of lush green live for several years, until hidden by new growth and dropping to the ground inside the tree, forming a natural mulch. Older trees may produce clusters of small, pea-shaped cones that are green and then turn brown in winter. Trimmed plants rarely produce cones. The branches remain green to the ground for many years, but untrimmed plants will eventually become more tree-like, with a strong central trunk covered with an attractive, red-brown, peeling bark.

Using the Dark Green Arborvitae in Your Garden

For a wall of rich dark green, this arborvitae is unbeatable. Plant it as a hedge or screen that will always be rich and lush. Grow it as a specimen on a lawn – alone or in a cluster of 3 or 5 plants – for a striking, bold effect. Grow it in the space between windows around your home or plant a pair to frame a door or gateway. Use it as an accent among shrubs in your borders, or to add height and emphasis to a planting of mixed evergreens. It also looks great in planters and large tubs, as specimens on a terrace, or to give a little privacy in a city garden.

Hardiness

The Dark Green Arborvitae is amazingly hardy, growing well in zone 3, with winter lows of minus 40. It also grows well in all the warm zones, but not in hot zones 8 and 9, where there are other evergreens that are more suitable. It will survive outdoors in above-ground pots and planters in zone 4.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Dark Green Arborvitae grows well in full sun, and unlike many other conifer evergreens it also tolerates a little partial shade, as long as it has sun for most of the day. Afternoon shade can be beneficial in hotter areas, but too much will cause weak, open growth. This easy-care plant grows in almost all garden soils, acid or alkaline, and in clays too. It should not be planted in dry sands, unless there is regular watering available. This plant is one of the few conifer evergreens that grows well in wet soil, so it is ideal for low-lying and damp spots, and for planting alongside streams, ponds and lakes. It even tolerates periodic flooding.

Maintenance and Pruning

Pests and diseases are rare, and mostly caused by growing in very dry conditions. Water new plants regularly until they are well-established. Fertilize with an evergreen fertilizer in spring and again in early summer, especially if you are trimming your plants frequently. Trim as needed from late spring to early fall – the more you trim the denser and more solid your plants will be. Always trim so that the bottom of the bush or hedge is a little wider than the top, to keep the branches green right to the ground. Do not cut back to bare stems, which cannot re-sprout – there must be some green leaves left for regrowth to be possible. For trimmed hedges, space plants 3 feet apart in a row. For untrimmed screening, space 5 to 8 feet apart, depending on how dense you want it to be. For attractive natural clusters in the corners of your yard, or as features, use an uneven number of plants, and space irregularly, between 5 and 8 feet apart to preserve the individual identity of each tree.

History and Origin of the Dark Green Arborvitae

The eastern arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, is also called American arborvitae and white cedar. It was called ‘arbor-vitae’, which means ‘tree of Life’, after the French explorer Jacques Cartier saw men on his expedition saved from scurvy with a tea given them by native Americans. He took plants back from what was then called New France for the King’s gardens. The foliage of arborvitae has more vitamin C than oranges. This tree grows wild in eastern and central Canada, and down into Illinois, Ohio, New York and in mountain areas to North Carolina. It is often found near water and in swamps and wet-lands. The variety called ‘Nigra’ is an older, well-established selection of this tree. We don’t know exactly where it came from, but it was first mentioned in a book on conifers written in 1933 by the American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey, so it probably originated in an American nursery, most likely as a unique seedling tree.

Buying the Dark Green Arborvitae at The Tree Center

There are many cheap plants of arborvitae available, but they are usually grown from seed, which produces mixed plants with uncertain characteristics. They certainly won’t be the rich, reliable color of the Dark Green Arborvitae, so why settle for second-rate? This reliable variety is always in high demand, and our stock will soon be gone. Order now and put the days of yellowing plants behind you.

So you can perhaps see why, when introducing you to the Excelsa Arborvitae, a selected form of western red cedar, we are torn between recommending this fast-growing tree for the excellent hedges you can build with it, and recommending it as an outstanding and graceful specimen tree for your lawn and garden – so we will do both. If you are looking for a fast-growing hedge that will be rich, deep green all year round, then this is the tree. If you want a tall, slender specimen evergreen, with horizontal branches creating a splendid and majestic outline, then this is also the tree you should plant.

Growing the Excelsa Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The Excelsa Arborvitae is an upright evergreen tree with a narrow pyramidal habit. It grows 2 feet or more each year when young, reaching 20 feet within a decade or so, and ultimately growing 35 feet or more in height. It is relatively narrow, growing no more than 10 to 15 feet wide. It has a single central trunk, with side branches growing out almost horizontally, turning up at the tips, but with the smaller branchlets drooping in a graceful fashion. The lower branches remain alive and growing for many years, keeping the pyramidal form right to the ground, unless crowded by other plants.

The foliage consists of many very tiny leaves that cling like scales to clusters of thin branches that are spread out in a flat spray. These sprays last several years, before eventually dropping in early summer, after the first flush of new growth for the year. The leaf color is exceptionally dark – a lovely rich, deep green – that holds its color well through winter, with little or no yellowing. The foliage, when crushed, has a beautiful aroma, resembling pineapple.

Using the Excelsa Arborvitae in Your Garden

Grow this lovely tree as a specimen on a lawn, alone, in a group of 3, or as a row along a boundary. It will give good screening, and the trees can be spaced out at wider intervals (10 – 12 feet) to show each tree as an individual or spaced closer (about 6 feet) for a denser look. This screen can be grown naturally or clipped once or twice a year. For a hedge, space the plants 3 or 4 feet apart, evenly, in a row.

Hardiness

The Excelsa Arborvitae is hardy and grows best in zones 5, 6 and 7. It will also grow well in zone 8 if it has rich, moist soil and is not exposed to extended drought conditions. For colder zones choose a variety of the eastern arborvitae, also known as white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, which is hardy even in zone 2.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Excelsa Arborvitae in full sun for the best growth and development. Too much shade will lead to the lower branches dying prematurely. The soil should be rich and deep, and this tree grows best with a steady supply of water, although a well-established tree will tolerate some summer drought in cooler zones. It will also grow in ordinary garden soils and conditions. This tree will enjoy wetter soils too, but not completely saturated, boggy ground.

Maintenance and Pruning

When growing this tree as a specimen it is important to maintain a single central stem growing upwards, not multiple stems. To encourage this, trim back all the stems but the strongest, making a difference of at least 12 inches between the first and the other stems. In a few years one stem will take a clear lead, usually for the life of the tree, but watch for any future dividing into two leaders, and remove one. Trees with multiple leaders will be less attractive and prone to splitting.

For hedges or clipped trees, begin clipping as soon as new growth develops. Don’t wait until it reaches the final height you intend it to be. Clip in late spring, after the first flush of new growth is well developed, and don’t clip after early fall. Use an evergreen fertilizer in spring and early summer to maximize growth. Pests and diseases are rare, and deer usually leave this tree alone.

History and Origin of the Excelsa Arborvitae

Western red cedar, Thuja plicata, is a majestic forest tree that can reach nearly 200 feet tall in time. It is long-lived, and trees over 1,000 years old are known, with the oldest being almost 1,500 years old. It grows naturally in the north-west, including British Columbia in Canada, forming large forests from Alaska to northern California. This tree plays a central part in the life and culture of the indigenous Americans of the Pacific Northwest, providing everything from fuel to shelter, clothing and medicines.

The variety called ‘Excelsa’ was found in 1904 growing in a cemetery in Berlin. The tree nursery of J. Timm and Co. Elmshorn, Germany, propagated it and released it into the nursery industry. At some point plants were brought to America.

Buying the Excelsa Arborvitae at The Tree Center

The Excelsa Arborvitae is a wonderful large specimen tree for a large lawn, and you are going to love having this majestic tree on your property. It also makes a great hedge if that is what you need – a top choice either way. Our stock of these lovely trees is limited, and this variety is always in high demand and short supply. Order now.

Gardeners living in USDA planting zone 3 will not have to worry about this shrub handling their extreme winter lows, as Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae is winter resistant and stands up to what Old Man Winter throws at it like a true champ. Of course, if your location has a tendency to receive strong winter winds, you might want to plant this evergreen in a location with a bit of protection. You also can add a layer of mulch around the roots to help keep them warm and insulated during winter’s rough patches. Locations warmer that what is found in USDA planting zone 7 are generally too warm for this shrub to thrive properly.

Growing Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae

Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae reaches its mature height and width at a slow rate of speed, so it will not grow out of control overnight. In addition, this shrub will grow just as well planted in the city as it will in more rural locations. If tending to fussy plants is not your thing, then Filips Magic Moment is the choice for you as its maintenance requirements are very low, when grown in preferred conditions. In fact, it requires very little to no pruning as it keeps its shape.

However, if you do want to do a bit of shaping, it is best to do that chore during early summer. The only major maintenance you’ll have to do to keep your Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae thriving is to fertilize in springtime with a blend made for trees. Other than that, it should grace your landscape with its eye-catching and colorful beauty for years to come.

Uses on Your Property

Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae’s durability, smaller size and colorful foliage have it fulfilling a variety of needs in the garden. If you have an area that loses its greenery and turns dull during fall and winter, then this shrub is the perfect addition to brighten the area with its golden yellow foliage. It also adds texture and appeal added to mixed gardens where most of the plants offer only green foliage.

Spruce up an entranceway by planting one of these upright conifers on each side, giving a colorful and welcoming appeal to the area. Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae’s tight columnar habit makes it a great addition used as a screening plant or specimen in gardens that are narrow. It also works well used as a maintenance-free hedge.

Another attribute is Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae performs well when grown in large containers, adding interest and appeal to patios or an entranceway. Just be sure to use a container large enough to handle the shrub and has bottom drain holes so you avoid problems with rot due to soil conditions that are too wet. Wherever you decide to use this Arborvitae in your garden or landscape, you are sure to bring a bright, cheery and long-lasting appeal to the area.

Planting and Initial Care

When considering an appropriate location to plant your Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae, select an area that receives full to partial sun throughout the day. If your environment has a tendency to become hot and dry during summer, the shrub will appreciate a location receiving partial sun during the hottest portions of the afternoon. Although the Arborvitae grows well in a variety of soils (provided they drain well), you’ll get the best performance planting in well-drained, fertile soils that are deep and do not remain soggy. You can amend the site’s soil by working in well-rotten manure or compost before planting. In container plantings, use a rich potting mix that drains well.

Once established, Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae is relatively tolerant to drought, but for the best growth, water regularly during the first season of growth. Depending on your local weather conditions, this might call for watering several times each week and containers typically dry out faster than plants grown in the landscape. In addition, if you are planting multiple Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae to create a hedge or screen, consider their mature width when spacing. Allow enough space between multiple plants so they receive a proper amount of air circulation, which cuts down on potential disease problems.

History and Origins of Filips Magic Moment Arborvitae

In 2000, Edwin Johannes Arnoldes Smits of the Netherlands discovered Filips Magic Moment as a naturally occurring branch mutation on a Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’. It received its registered plant (USPP 21,974) in June 2011, which means asexual reproduction of plants protected by the Plant Patent Act is prohibited during the life of the patent. Our Filips Magic Moment Arborvitaes have been raised their entire life being carefully cared for in a nursery environment. This means you are receiving healthy shrubs that will thrive in your landscape for many years.

Growing Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae

Those living in areas of the country where winter lows reach down to -20°F to -30°F won’t have any problems with Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae taking the cold temperatures. One of its best attributes is the miniature shrub’s resistance to winter burn. In fact, this is the perfect evergreen for those living in temperate areas of the country located no warmer than conditions found in USDA planting zone 7. Anna’s Magic Ball® adds its warm, golden color to even the coldest and bleakest landscapes during winter.

Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae has a moderate rate of growth, so once planted in a preferred site you won’t have to wait eons for it to achieve its mature height and width. If you consider yourself a lazy gardener or one who kills everything they touch, then this tough little conifer is a spot-on choice for you. When grown in preferred conditions, Anna’s Magic Ball® is known for its hardiness and low-maintenance requirements.

In fact, with its tight, compact form, you do not even have to worry about pruning the shrub for shaping purposes. Other than regular watering, your only chore is to feed it each spring with most formulas meant for trees. An annual spring feeding should keep your Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae thriving with healthy and attractive growth for years to come.

Uses on Your Property

When it comes to its usefulness in the garden, Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae is one little workhorse. It brings its cheery yellow, evergreen color to a variety of situations and even performs very well grown in containers or raised planter boxes. When used in containers or planter boxes, its dramatically colored foliage dresses up an entranceway or patio.

Do you desire some color but don’t have much room? Then Anna’s Magic Ball® is the perfect solution to those small, hard to fill spaces. Its diminutive and compact habit, bright and breezy foliage is sure to add interest to even the tiniest garden gaps where greenery is needed. In addition, it is a great choice for fall and winter gardens, as the yellow foliage takes on a more golden hue, bringing color and form to even the dreariest areas.

With Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae’s low-maintenance requirements and ease of growth, it grows well used as an addition to Zen or rock gardens. The small shrub is suitable to be used as a low-growing groundcover, used in mass groupings, lining borders or walkways or foundation planting. Its small size makes it a good addition to miniature and fairy gardens. As long as you plant in a location where all its growing requirements are met, Anna’s Magic Ball’s uses are almost endless.

Planting Location

When planted and grown in its preferred location, Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae should give you years of healthy and problem-free growth. If you decide to plant in containers, just make sure to use one that has bottom drainage to prevent problems with rot. Use a rich, well-drained potting mix to grow the shrub and use a container that is one size larger than the Arborvitae’s present one.

When planting out in the landscape, make sure to choose a location that receives full to partial sun throughout the day. Although Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae tolerates growing in a wide range of well-drained soils, it performs best when planted in deep, fertile soil that drains well. If preferred, you can amend the planting site with well-rotted compost or manure before planting.

During the first season of growth, be sure to water your Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae several times each week while its root system establishes itself into the new site. Although relatively drought-tolerant once established, you want to get it off to the best start during its first year and especially if your conditions are hot and dry. If growing in containers, water when the top couple of inches feel dry to the touch.

History and Origins of Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae

Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae or Thuja occidentalis ‘Anna van Vloten’ is a miniature cultivar from its parent Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis. It is a registered plant (USPP 25,868), which means asexual reproduction of plants protected by the Plant Patent Act is prohibited during the life of the patent. Rest assured, when you receive one of our Anna’s Magic Ball® Arborvitae you are receiving a healthy plant that has been grown and cared for its entire life in a nursery environment. It is sure to grace your landscape with its colorful beauty for many years.

Growing the North Pole® Arborvitae

Size and Appearance

The North Pole Arborvitae is a coniferous evergreen, with a straight central trunk and numerous ascending branches, which grows into an upright, vertical bush. It grows between 12 and 18 inches a year, so within 10 years it will be about 15 feet tall. By then it will be up to 5 feet wide at the base, which remains green and dense for many years. It tapers rapidly into a much more slender form, creating a tall, narrow pyramidal or spire-like tree, with a slender tip. In time it will grow taller, because like all evergreens it continues to add a few inches each year as long as it lives. The base will widen a little more too, but it will retain its graceful pyramidal form.

The foliage is carried densely all along the height of the tree, from top to bottom, clothing it completely is a rich, bright green color. The foliage consists of very small scale-like leaves that cling to the young branches. These grow in spreading, slightly curved but flattened fans, giving a shell-like and graceful form to the foliage. Each spray lasts for several years, keeping the bush lush and green all year round. In time, as new growth replaces them, these sprays drop neatly into the inside of the bush. The foliage color is a strong, rich green, and it stays that way 365 days of the year, with none of the winter bronzing or burning that other forms of this tree can have.

Using the North Pole® Arborvitae in Your Garden

Striking vertical specimens are an essential feature in every garden. Without them your yard looks dull and graceless – just a collection of round shapes. These verticals catch the eye and draw it upwards, lingering on the beauty and calm ‘greenness’ of the tree. When you want a single accent, or a group of 3, 5, or 7 (odd numbers always look best), then this tree is the ideal and perfect choice. It has a particularly satisfying and graceful pyramidal form – much better than a fat, lumpy column – and its green foliage is reliable all year round. Plant a pair flanking a doorway or entrance. Line a driveway with an elegant row on one or both sides. Scatter them at the back of larger beds or in the corners of your yard. Place them on lawns for height without taking up lots of width. When planting in groups space at least 5 feet apart, to keep them as individuals. Vary the spacing to give an eye-catching and more natural effect. Planted more closely, on 2 or 3-foot centers, you can also use the North Pole Arborvitae in a row for screening anywhere in the garden, clipped or unclipped.

Hardiness

The North Pole Arborvitae is hardy in zone 3, and all warmer zones except for zone 9. It can be grown almost everywhere.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant the North Pole Arborvitae in full sun or partial shade – it thrives in most locations except for very shady ones. It grows in most soils, including damper ones, but not so well in very hot, dry locations. Once established it will tolerate normal summer periods of dryness in cooler zones.

Maintenance and Pruning

The North Pole Arborvitae keeps its elegant, narrow pyramidal shape naturally, without trimming. If you want an even tighter shape, it can be trimmed at any time from late spring, after the new growth emerges, to early fall, allowing enough time for new growth to mature before winter comes.

This tree is normally free of pests or diseases. Some evergreen fertilizer in spring will give you the maximum annual growth and keep the foliage lush and green.

History and Origin of the North Pole® Arborvitae

The Eastern arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, grows all through the north-east and up into Canada. There are numerous selected garden forms, and an older one is called ‘Hetz Wintergreen’. It was developed in the 1940s in Pennsylvania, and it is very fast-growing, with a narrow, columnar form. In 1998, Arthur Boe, owner of the Northstar Nursery in Faribault, Minnesota, collected seeds from a tree of ‘Hetz Wintergreen’ and grew the seedlings for a while. In 2001 he selected one plant that did not burn or brown in winter, and that had good foliage color and a very narrow form. After further trials it was named ‘Art Boe’ and patented in 2011 by Spring Meadow Nursery, of Grand Haven, Michigan. They have released it with the trademark name of North Pole®.

Buying the North Pole® Arborvitae at The Tree Center

This is an exciting newer plant, with much better form than Emerald Green, or other fast-growing arborvitae. These plants will soon be shipped to clients, so order now, while they are still available.