| Description | Yellow Ribbon Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is a pyramidal Arborvitae with yellow foliage throughout the entire year. The foliage color is brighter in the spring and fall. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (thu-ya)(ok-si-den-TA-lis) |
| Plant Type | Shrubs Coniferous |
| Hardiness Zone | 3-8 |
| Sunlight | full to partial shade |
| Moisture | average to moist |
| Soil & Site | average to moist |
| Temperature | Cooler temperatures during the fall and spring bring out the brightest colors of the foliage |
| Flowers | not of ornamental value |
| Fruit | Small woody cones to 1/2" long mature in autumn to reddish-brown. |
| Leaves | Scale-like foliage in flat sprays emerges yellowish in spring, but matures to medium green with yellow during the summer. |
| Stems | Usually single-trunked. Red-brown to brown bark on trunks. |
| Dimensions | Reported to get only 10-12 feet tall. The ones I planted in my yard are over 20 feet tall. |
| Maintenance | A light shearing may be needed to maintain size. Heavy snow can cause the plants to split and open up. I have tied them together to bring them back into shape. Like most Arborvitae it will accumulate a good amount of dead foliage in the center. I like to tap the plant with the flat side of a leaf rake to knock lose the brown foliage. All Arborvitae are among the easiest of the evergreen shrubs to transplant. |
| Propagation | cuttings |
| Native Site | Native to eastern and central Canada and the eastern and north-central portions of the United States |
| Cultivar Origin | Introduced in 1983 by the Ruizendal and Son nursery in the Netherlands. It is a cross-bred plant made by growers. It is not found wild in nature. |
| Misc Facts | The species epithet (species) occidentalis means "from the Western world." |
| Author's Notes | I have three large Yellow Ribbon Arborvitae in my yard, and they have become twice as large as listed. It seems that the bright yellow of the foliage isn't as bright as the plants get older. |
| Notes & Reference | #01-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr), #144-Missouri Botanical Gardens website (www.missouribotanicalgarden.org), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of Golden Ribbon Arborvitae |
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