Frequently Asked Questions

We offer a list of retailers here. Your local garden center may be able to order them for you from their supplier, if they do not regularly stock them.

Price varies according to the size, and each retailer is free to set their own pricing. Please see individual websites for more information.

We recommend at least four hours of sun – or filtered light all day – for the best looking plants. While they probably won’t die in more shade, the plant will grow with a sparse, open habit that doesn’t provide maximum privacy or coverage.

Yes, it’s true – deer do devour arborvitae, especially Eastern arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis. As a hybrid selection, Full Speed A Hedge ‘American Pillar’ does have better deer resistance than other arborvitae, but if deer are frequent visitors to your yard, plants should be protected with fence, netting, or a repellent, particularly when they are young and in winter and early spring when other food sources are scarce.

Arborvitae can be extremely long-lived plants. In an average residential setting with good care (water during hot, dry periods, occasional fertilizing), they should live at least 40-50 years.

This is possible, though if you wish to attempt it, you’ll find it turns this normally low-maintenance plant into one that needs quite a bit more attention. It is imperative to avoid letting the plant create any wood that’s thicker than an average pinky finger; cutting into stems much thicker than that will risk leaving unsightly holes in the hedge. Plants will need to be monitored closely and trimmed as needed, not on a particular schedule.

Bagworms are the larvae of a moth that create their own protective shelter made of leaves and twigs as they feed on the plant. Many conifers are susceptible to bagworm. Note that bagworms are opportunistic and far more likely to proliferate on plants that are stressed and unhealthy, so the best defense is keeping your plant healthy and growing vigorously. Here’s an article where you can learn more about bagworms.

Our chart comparing the most popular arborvitae varieties will help you understand how they are similar and how they differ.