Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to the Northeast United States and southeasern Canada, but widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. Makes a great screen and tolerates wet conditions.
Common names include white cedar (in the United Kingdom), Northern White Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Eastern White Cedar, Swamp cedar, American Arborvitae or just Arborvitae). The name arborvitae is particularly used in the horticultural trade in the United States. The name 'Arbor vitae', is Latin for "tree of life" - due to the supposed medicinal properties of the sap, bark and twigs. Despite its common names it does not belong to the cedar genus, nor is it related to the Australian White cedar, Melia azedarach. The species was first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, and the binomial name remains current
We are currently carrying the 'elegantissima' variety, a very hardy and graceful plant with golden yellow new foliage. It makes a beautiful statement in the garden, or an elegant privacy or wind screen. We also have a number of Thuja occidentalis "douglasii", a fragrant, columnar variety that is extremely hardy and often referred to as "pyramidalis", though I don't know why - it's more conical/columnar than pyramidal. These varieties are also deer resistant.