American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Lutea’)

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.

‘Lutea’ is a more compact, narrow, upright cultivar that typically matures to 25-30’ tall and 15’ wide. Plants will add a foot or more of new growth per year, with 10-year height typically being in the 10-12’ tall range. As the cultivar name suggests, ‘Lutea’ is noted for its bright golden foliage which holds well in winter. Foliage is scale-like and appears in flat, fan-shaped clusters. Urn-shaped cones to 1/2” long mature to reddish brown. Synonymous with and sometimes still sold as Thuja occidentalis ‘George Peabody’.