Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 34 ecoregions — 26 climate-resilient through 2070 · 8 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

Water

Consistent moisture

Spacing

60"

Habit

Dense conical to narrow-pyramidal single-trunked evergreen tree

Care tips

•

Keep the root zone evenly moist — arborvitae is intolerant of drought and browns quickly in dry soil.

•

Site out of harsh wind and avoid full shade; both thin the foliage and cause winter burn.

•

In deer country, protect young plants — arborvitae foliage is heavily browsed in winter.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in spring or fall in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, neutral to alkaline, well-drained loams; tolerates clay, wet soil, black walnut, and urban conditions. Avoid exposed, windy sites and full shade, where foliage density decreases.

Transplanting

Move young balled-and-burlapped or container plants while dormant in early spring or fall; keep the rootball intact and water deeply through establishment.

Early growth

Keep evenly moist for the first one to two seasons — the species is intolerant of dry conditions and will brown in drought. In hot-summer climates a little light afternoon shade helps. Protect from deer, which browse the foliage heavily in winter.

Maturity

Cultivated trees typically reach 20-30 feet tall (40-60 feet in the wild) and 10-15 feet wide. Mature trunks develop red-brown exfoliating bark. Foliage may show winter burn (yellow-brown) on exposed sites, and heavy ice or snow can break or splay the stems.

Propagation

Propagated from seed or from semi-hardwood cuttings; named cultivars are grown from cuttings to stay true to type.

Pollination

Wind-pollinated

A wind-pollinated conifer (gymnosperm) — Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists it as "Non-flowering," with separate pollen and seed cones rather than insect-pollinated flowers, so it offers no nectar or pollen reward for bees or butterflies. Its wildlife value is structural: dense evergreen cover and small seed cones that feed and shelter birds.

Plants don't grow alone

Shelter / habitat

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents American arborvitae as providing food and cover for birds; its dense, ground-to-crown evergreen foliage is valued as nesting habitat and winter shelter, and the small seed cones provide seed.

For people

Not eaten by humans

Grown as an ornamental screening, hedging, and foundation evergreen, not as a food plant. Historically the foliage was brewed by Native Americans and early French settlers as a vitamin-C source to treat scurvy (the source of the name arborvitae, "tree of life"), but the foliage and the essential oil (thujone) are toxic in quantity and it is not eaten as food.

Native range

Native across 22 US states + 7 CA provinces.

AHS heat range

1-9

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 16 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

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Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests

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Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests

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Mississippi lowland forests

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Northeastern Coastal Forests

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Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Thuja occidentalis for USDA zones 2 to 7 in full sun to part shade with medium water and low maintenance, native to eastern North America; it grows in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soils, prefers moist neutral-to-alkaline loams, and is intolerant of dry conditions.

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists it as tolerant of clay soil, wet soil, black walnut, and urban conditions; it appreciates light afternoon shade in hot-summer climates and is susceptible to winter burn and ice/snow stem breakage on exposed sites.

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents it native across the northeastern and upper-midwestern US and eastern Canada, in swampy areas, lake margins, and open rocky hillsides, and notes it provides food and cover for birds.

In the designer

Growth over time

240-480" tall · 120-180" spread

Mature cultivated specimen near 20-40 feet with red-brown exfoliating bark.

Design roles: Structure · Focal point · Border

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

American arborvitae

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations