American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Yellow Ribbon’)

Features and Characteristics

Thuja occidentalis, commonly known as American arborvitae, Eastern arborvitae, Eastern white cedar or Northern white cedar, is a dense, conical to narrow-pyramidal (sometimes maturing to broad-pyramidal), often single-trunked, evergreen tree that is native to eastern and central Canada south to northern Illinois, Ohio and New York with scattered populations further south in the Appalachians to North Carolina. Mature trees may reach 40-60′ tall in the wild over time, but in cultivation typically grow much smaller to 20-30′ tall. Scale-like, aromatic, yellow-green to green foliage appears in flattened sprays. Red-brown bark will exfoliate on mature branches and trunks.

Genus name is the Greek name for a kind of juniper (Juniperus.)

Specific epithet means from the Western (Occidental) world.

The common name of arborvitae (tree of life) comes from early French settlers to North America who learned from Native Americans that the tree’s foliage could be used to treat scurvy.

‘Yellow Ribbon’ is a semi-dwarf, slow-growing cultivar with an upright, pyramidal habit. Scale-like foliage in flat sprays emerges yellowish-orange in spring, but matures to medium green. Urn-shaped cones to 1/2″ long mature in autumn to reddish-brown. Most often seen at maturity as an 8-10′ tall shrub with a spread of 2-3′.