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Conifer, evergreen tree,
narrow, pyramidal, buttressed base. Usually
maintains lower branches. Branches horizontal
or drooping but turning upward at the end,
especially the lower branches. Leaves,
scale-like, opposite, in 4 rows, 1.5-3 mm long,
shiny dark green, usually with white markings
("butterfly" pattern) on the underside. Cones
elliptical, only 12 mm long, clustered and
upright, sharp-pointed cone scales.
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Sun to partial shade. Prefers
moist, well-drained, fertile soils, pH
adaptable. In the wild found in moist flats,
slopes, and banks of rivers. Can be maintained
in a hedge.
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Hardy to USDA Zone 5. Native
range from Alaska to northern California, east
to Montana.
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Western Red Cedar has been
called the "cornerstone of northwest coast
Indian culture". Its wood is easily split and
rot resistant and was used to make important
cultural items including, dugout canoes,
paddles, house planks, baskets, spears, arrow
shafts, and many other implements. The bark was
stripped from trees in the spring, hung up to
dry, and then beaten until it separated into
layers ready for making baskets, ropes, and
mates. Red Cedar was considered an excellent
fuel, especially for drying fish, because it
burns with little smoke (Pojar and MacKinnon,
1994).
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Some of the available cultivars
of Thuja plicata include:
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‘Atrovirens’ - typical
habit, foliage bright green throughout the
year; originated in Worcester, England about
1874.
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‘Excelsa’ - narrow habit,
branches strongly ascending, dense, foliage
dark green even in winter; found in a Berlin
cemetery in 1904.
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‘Fastigiata’ - narrow
columnar habit, originated in France 1867,
apparently rare in North America.
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‘Hogan’ - compact, dense
narrow habit, common in Washington and
Oregon. Named after Hogan Road of
Gresham, Oregon.
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‘Sunshine’ - foliage
bright gold on the side facing the sun, may
have an unattractive bronze color in
winter. Apparently similar or the same as
‘Canadian Gold’.
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‘Virescens’ - slightly
narrower habit than species, foliage bright
green all year.
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‘Zabrian’ - foliage has
bands of green and golden-yellow, broadly
pyramidal habit.
(1)
Nordic Spire™ Arborvitae
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The Genus Thuja contains
five species of coniferous evergreen trees, of small
to medium size, and a few shrubs, usually
dense. Bark is scaly. Branches usually horizontal
or also ascending, developing a conical
crown. Twigs more or less flattened. Leaves
opposite, scale-like, appressed, lateral leaves
partly overlap facial leaves. Cones small, ovate or
oblong. Native to North America or eastern
Asia. Many cultivars of different size, form and
color are available. The foliage of several types
discolor in winter, reducing their
acceptability. Some tend to thin out with age and
attain an unkempt appearance. Arborvitae are
especially popular in the midwest and eastern U.S.
There is general consensus that one species,
Thuja orientalis, does not belong in this genus
and has been transferred to the genus
Platycladus, hence Platycladus orientalis. However,
most horticultural nurseries and retail outlets
continue to use the older designation.
(1)
References:
1.
Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture |
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