Plantfinder
Sunkist Arborvitae
Thuja occidentalis 'Sunkist'
Height: 7 feet
Spread: 5 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 3b
Other Names: Eastern White Cedar
Description:
A brilliant evergreen shrub for home landscapes, maintains a dense, compact pyramid shape without pruning, features bright golden foliage all year long, makes a great color accent; hardy and adaptable, best with adequate sun, protect from drying winds
Ornamental Features
Sunkist Arborvitae is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its distinctively pyramidal habit of growth. It has chartreuse evergreen foliage which emerges yellow in spring. The scale-like sprays of foliage turn harvest gold in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Sunkist Arborvitae is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Sunkist Arborvitae is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Vertical Accent
- Mass Planting
- Hedges/Screening
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Sunkist Arborvitae will grow to be about 7 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.
