How-to Guide
How to Grow Arborvitae
The short answer
Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis, also called white cedar) is the classic privacy-hedge evergreen: columnar cultivars mature around 20-30 feet tall with a 5-10 foot spread depending on variety, and it is one of the few evergreens that tolerates clay soil and partial sun. Plant in spring or early fall with the root ball at grade, mulch, and keep soil consistently moist through establishment.
Spacing depends on the hedge you want: for a formal, sheared hedge, Iowa State Extension recommends setting plants as close as 1 to 2.5 feet apart, while an informal, unsheared screen should be spaced according to the cultivar's mature spread. The two recurring arborvitae problems, winter burn and deer browsing, are both mostly preventable with fall watering, mulch, and protection in exposed sites.
What arborvitae is and where it grows
Arborvitae carries flat, fan-like sprays of scale foliage and naturally grows as a dense pyramid or column, which is why it dominates privacy plantings. Popular cultivars range from compact 'Emerald Green' types to fast, large 'Green Giant' (a Thuja hybrid). Native Thuja occidentalis is very cold-hardy and grows well across northern climates.
Unlike most conifers, arborvitae tolerates heavier clay soils and will grow in partial sun, though the densest, fullest plants come with more light and decent drainage.
Planting and spacing a hedge
- 1Match the cultivar to the space — Check mature height and spread first. Columnar cultivars reaching 20-30 feet tall and 5-10 feet wide are more in scale with residential lots than full-size trees.
- 2Set spacing by hedge style — Formal sheared hedge: about 1 to 2.5 feet apart for dense growth. Informal screen: space plants at roughly their mature spread so each plant keeps foliage to the ground.
- 3Plant at grade — Plant in spring or early fall. Set the top of the root ball level with surrounding soil, backfill, water thoroughly, and mulch the root zone.
- 4Water through establishment — Keep soil consistently moist (not waterlogged) for the first growing seasons. Deep, occasional watering beats frequent sprinkles.
Winter browning: what is normal, what is not
Two very different things get called 'browning.' Every autumn, arborvitae naturally sheds older interior foliage: inner needles yellow, brown, and drop in their second year. That pattern, inner and oldest foliage only, is normal and needs no action.
Winter burn is different: browning concentrated on the outer foliage of exposed sides after winter, caused by foliage losing moisture to sun and wind while roots are frozen. Prevention is about water reserves: keep watering deeply through fall right up until the ground freezes, and mulch the root zone to hold soil moisture. Burlap screening on the windward side helps young plants in exposed sites.
⚠ Deer are very fond of arborvitae and can strip a hedge to browse height in one winter. In deer country, fence or net young hedges, or consider less palatable evergreens.
Pruning arborvitae
Arborvitae needs little pruning beyond light shearing to keep a formal hedge crisp. Like junipers, it resprouts poorly from old bare wood, so keep shearing shallow, within the green foliage layer, and never cut a hedge back dramatically into leafless interior wood expecting regrowth.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Iowa State University Extension — Selecting and Planting Hedges — Formal sheared hedges are spaced about 1 to 2.5 feet apart; informal hedges are spaced according to the plants' mature size
- University of Minnesota Extension — Choosing Evergreens for Your Landscape — Arborvitae tolerates clay soil and partial sun; columnar arborvitae matures 20-30 ft tall with 5-10 ft spread depending on variety; deer feed heavily on arborvitae
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticulture Extension — Winter Burn — Winter burn on evergreens and its prevention, including fall watering until the ground freezes and mulching
- University of Minnesota Extension — What's Wrong With My Plant? Arborvitae — Second-year interior needles browning and dropping in autumn is a normal part of arborvitae's growth cycle