Other Names:  Giant Arborvitae, Western Red Cedar

Description:

A neat and uniformly rounded evergreen garden shrub with attractive bluish-green foliage which turns bronze in fall, doesn't require pruning to maintain its form; a fine choice for the home garden for its shape, does best in more humid environments

Ornamental Features

Hillier Arborvitae is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn coppery-bronze in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Hillier Arborvitae is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hillier Arborvitae is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Hillier Arborvitae will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.