Arborvitae, Oriental
Thuja (Platycladus) orientalis
Cupressaceae - Cypress

Description

See Northern White-Cedar.

Leaves: Bright yellowish or medium green in summer, but can turn brown during winter; scales triangular, in pairs, bluntly pointed, grooved on back side, small (1/16" to 1/8" long); branchlets almost vertical, somewhat flattened; resinous smell when crushed; evergreen.

Twigs/buds: Twigs arranged in vertically flattened sprays.

Flowers/fruit: Monoecious; fruit a cone; 1/3" to 1" long; upright; 6 to 8 scales, thicker than above.

Bark: Grayish-brown, orange, or reddish-brown; thin, shredding, fibrous, and stringy; it is often separated into long strips.

Wood: Information unavailable.

General: Native to Korea, Manchuria, and northern China. Medium to slow growth. Prefers abundant water, but may survive on drier sites.

Landscape Use: Planted in Utah, but generally not very cold hardy and will winter burn. Not as desirable as Thuja occidentalis. Zones 6-9.

Cultivars: 'Aurea Nana', 'Baker', 'Beverleyensis', 'Blue Cone', 'Bonita', 'Compacta', 'Conspicua', 'Elegantissima', 'Filiformis Aurea', 'Filiformis Erecta', 'Fruitlandii', 'Golden Ball', 'Green Cone', 'Juniperoides', 'Meldensis', 'Minima', 'Pyramidalis', 'Sieboldii', 'Westmont'.

Characteristics

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