Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’

‘Emerald Green’ is the arborvitae everyone pictures: a tight, glossy green column that holds its color through winter and never needs shearing to stay narrow. It matures around 12–15 feet tall but only 3–4 feet wide, so it screens without swallowing the yard.

Plant it in full to mostly-full sun in well-drained soil, spacing plants about 3 feet apart for a solid screen. Water deeply and regularly through the first two summers — established plants are far more forgiving. Ideal along property lines, flanking gates, or as living architecture in formal beds.