Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball'
Thuja occidentalis 'Bobozam' (Mr. Bowling Ball) · Cupressaceae
A perfect, compact sphere of fine, lacy, sage-green foliage, soft in texture and never in need of shearing.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ 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
- Drift
A bed built around arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball'
The planner designed this bed around arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' 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 'Mr. Bowling Ball' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' × 1, grey-green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 7, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 22, blue
- 4 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 6 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
- 7 Giant snowdrop × 7, white
- 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.
- 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
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over leadwort (10 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to eastern bee balm (20 in) and foxglove beardtongue (3½ 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 10 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: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 54 to 46, left to right. Leadwort repeats along the bed to tie it together.
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 'Mr. Bowling Ball' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Finer and softer than other globe arborvitaes. Use it in a row as a low, informal hedge or as repeated green dots through a perennial bed.
- Soft green globes
- Low, unclipped hedges
- Winter structure in a perennial bed
What to plant with arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Coral bells: low enough (12 in) 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.
Questions about arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball'
Does arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' need sun or shade?
Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' 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 'Mr. Bowling Ball' 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 'Mr. Bowling Ball' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' 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 'Mr. Bowling Ball'?
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 'Mr. Bowling Ball' look like in winter?
Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' keeps its grey-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. It is grown for winter structure in a perennial bed as well.
Is arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' good for bees and butterflies?
Arborvitae 'Mr. Bowling Ball' 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 'Hetz Midget' Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Midget'
- 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
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; grey-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.