Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget'
Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget' · Cupressaceae
A slow, dense globe of rich green, fan-shaped sprays that bronzes a little in winter and never needs clipping.
- Size
- 3 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
- Anchor
A bed built around arborvitae 'Hetz Midget'
The planner designed this bed around arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' 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 'Hetz Midget' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' × 1, green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 8, pink
- 3 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 5, pink
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Wild geranium × 3, pink
- 7 Red spider lily × 12, red
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does Gray's sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants 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 Gray's sedge (2½ 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 13 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: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' and false sunflower 'Summer Nights' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 47 to 53, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. 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 'Hetz Midget' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
One of the smallest arborvitaes: a ready-made green ball for foundations, formal beds and winter structure among perennials.
- An evergreen globe
- Foundation planting
- Formal accents
What to plant with arborvitae 'Hetz Midget'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- 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.
- Coral bells: low enough (12 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about arborvitae 'Hetz Midget'
Does arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' need sun or shade?
Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' 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 'Hetz Midget' 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 'Hetz Midget' be planted?
3 ft (90 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 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' 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 'Hetz Midget'?
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 'Hetz Midget' look like in winter?
Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' keeps its 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 'Hetz Midget' good for bees and butterflies?
Arborvitae 'Hetz Midget' 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 'Degroot's Spire' Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire'
- Arborvitae 'Emerald Green' Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
- 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
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Rounded, 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.