Northern White-cedar
Thuja occidentalis
Also known as: American Arborvitae
Aromatic flat-spray evergreen foliage; the species behind countless landscape arborvitae cultivars. Tolerates wet soils most evergreens won't. Heavily browsed by deer where populations are high — protect or site carefully. The inner bark and sweet young shoot pith have served as famine food, and the foliage brews into a traditional vitamin C tea — but only a light one; the essential oil is genuinely toxic in quantity, and pregnant women should avoid it.
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 20–40 ft
- Spacing
- 10–15 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April
- Bloom colors
- yellow, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~50 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen, rain garden
- Native states
- CT, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, RI, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV