Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire'
Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' · Cupressaceae
A very narrow, tight column with twisted, spiralling sprays of rich green foliage, no wider than a doorway after many years.
- Size
- 11½ ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire'
The planner designed this bed around arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 7, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 22, pink
- 4 Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' × 3, yellow
- 5 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 6 Golden Alexanders × 3, yellow
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Hyacinth × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 11½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them. The flowers run from mid April to early October: 26 weeks in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 8 in at the front, 18 in in the middle and 4½ ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 3 ft and 11½ ft, and no two neighbours are the same height. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' goes in a border
At 11½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
The narrowest arborvitae. It fits where nothing else upright will: beside a door, between windows, or as an accent at the back of a small bed.
- A narrow evergreen accent
- Tight spaces beside buildings
- Formal pairs and rows
What to plant with arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Boxwood 'Green Velvet': low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': adds the flowers, early June to early October; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Daylily: adds the flowers, late June to early August; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire'
Does arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' need sun or shade?
Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' be planted?
2½ ft (80 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 11½ ft (350 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 5 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' look like in winter?
Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' good for bees and butterflies?
Arborvitae 'Degroot's Spire' is visited by songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Thuja
- Arborvitae 'Emerald Green' Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
- Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget'
- Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' Thuja occidentalis 'Bobozam' (Mr. Bowling Ball)
- Arborvitae 'Rheingold' Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold'
- Globe arborvitae 'Danica' Thuja occidentalis 'Danica'
- Globe arborvitae 'Little Giant' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Giant'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 11½ ft (350 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (80 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- Central & E. Canada to N. Central and Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Wet soil, black walnut, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.