How Tall Is Emerald Green Thuja?

Emerald Green Thuja

• The evergreen Thuja, or Thuja occidentalis, is a type of cypress. It is also known as an arborvitae, American arborvitae, eastern arborvitae or white cedar. The cultivar known as Smaragd, Emerald or Emerald Green is a bright-green shrub. It has dense foliage in the typical flat spray that you see in arborvitaes. The Emerald Green cultivar grows in a column or tapers slightly to create a pyramidal form. It is very winter hardy and doesn't suffer from windburn as some forms of arborvitae do.

Height

• Emerald Green arborvitae is a moderately sized shrub growing 12 to 15 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Shorter forms of arborvitae include the cultivars Hertz Midget, which grows to 3 feet in all directions, Rheingold, a copper colored arborvitae that grows 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide and Peabody, a gold form that grows to 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Taller cultivars include Nigra, a dark green arborvitae that grows to 20 feet tall and 4 feet wide and Pyramidalis, which grows to 15 feet tall and 4 feet wide. All cultivars are slow growing.

Planting Location

• Arborvitae prefers full sun to partial shade in a well-drained soil. It is very tolerant of the conditions found around most homes where construction has stripped away the topsoil and compacted clay soil remains. In addition, it tolerates a wide range of pH, allowing it to flourish in the alkaline conditions found near foundations and basements. These features make it a good shrub for planting at the back of an entrance garden as long as it's situated a few feet away from the side of the house, to prevent rubbing and allow for growth, and not placed directly in front of windows.

Upkeep

• One drawback to arborvitaes is that heavy loads of winter ice and snow permanently bend the branches because they have soft wood. This bending will ruin the pyramidal quality of the shrub. One way to handle this is to prevent it from happening by brushing away excess snow and ice immediately. Another is to trim a split branch completely away and hope that the other branches expand to cover the spot. It is helpful to water all evergreens deeply late in the fall. Very few pests or diseases bother the arborvitae, making it a low maintenance shrub.