Arborvitae Design Ideas

Fences

• Many people enjoy living fences because they fill the landscape with color rather than surrounding the property with dull brown wood. Tall, pyramidal arborvitaes, such as the Thuja occidentalis cultivars "Pyramidalis," "Nigra" and "Techny," are ideal for natural fences because they can reach heights between 15 and 25 feet. Arborvitae has very dense growth and when planted 2 to 3 feet apart can form a screen without gaps. This type of fence also provides wind protection, which can be especially advantageous for breaking the cold and preventing drifts in winter. The location of an arborvitae fence should receive full or partial sun, but young plants may need shading in winter to help prevent winter burn.

Pools

• Tall arborvitae cultivars work well as privacy screens around pools. Thuja occidentalis "Wareana," which grows up to 8 feet tall, or 6-foot-tall "Little Gem" cultivars may fulfill the privacy need without shading the area too much. As an evergreen, arborvitae never loses its leaves, so there's no extra pool maintenance like there would be if deciduous trees were used. Many may argue that arborvitae is not a particularly beautiful plant, but the pool can be surrounded by other plants, as well. Use the green arborvitae as a backdrop for other plants of various colors and descending heights; you can even include bright tropical plants.

Foundations

• Arborvitae is not widely regarded as a suitable plant for house foundations, perhaps because the taller cultivars can obstruct views. While it's true that it doesn't work well in all cases, arborvitae does have a place in foundation landscape design. Globular and ovate, dwarf arborvitae, such as "Aurea" and "Hetz Midget," only grow to about 3 feet tall, so they can be planted under windows without growing to obstruct the view; the dense growth also conceals an exposed foundation. Pyramidal arborvitae can be used on the corners of house foundations to frame the house and draw the eyes upward, but look best if cultivars are chosen to match the scale of the house. The maximum height for a one-story house should be about 15 feet, while cultivars such as "Lutea," which can exceed 30 feet, are more proportionate to two-story homes.

Topiaries

• Topiary is the practice of trimming and training plants into various shapes; the term also refers to the sculpted plant itself. Arborvitae's dense, evergreen growth makes it the ideal shrub for topiary art. Topiaries may be simple designs, such as trimming to enhance the pyramidal or globular shape of an arborvitae. More complex designs include spirals and animal shapes. Some topiaries take many years to form because the shrub must grow to the proper size and the plant must be trimmed in small stages so it isn't killed. Homeowners can develop this skill with practice by trial and error, but there are also topiary kits that come with frames to use as guides for trimming.