Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNutly with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Gosh, evergreens that we use for holiday day decorations have confusing common names. White cedar, a native tree to eastern north America, has scale-like mature foliage (prickly needles when juvenile) and unlike most conifers grows well in moist sites. The scientific name is Thuja occidentalis, occidentalis meaning western and there is also Thuja orientalis. Eastern white cedar once flourished across eastern north America but as wet lands were drained for agriculture, it’s native range diminished. It looks almost identical to Eastern Red Cedar (juniperus virginiana) but tolerates wet soils and has small cones instead of the berry-like fruit on eastern red cedar so beloved by cedar waxwings. This conifer is more tolerant of alkaline, higher pH, soils and there are many cultivars for home landscapes. It goes by the common name Arborvitae and is found in old cemetaries – arvorvitae is latin for tree of life.
Evergreens for the Holidays
