States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Northern White Cedar

Thuja occidentalis

Found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; swamps; ponds, lakes and their shores; mountain bogs and fens. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

56
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
40–60 feet
Spread
10–15 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 12.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
March to April
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Recorded in 35 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop
Rock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record. Faithful JPEG display decode of embedded JP2; no AI or color enhancement. Phone derivative resized proportionally.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 122 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

40CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Thuja

  • Acleris varianaEastern Blackheaded Budworm
  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Argyrotaenia pinatubanaPine Tube Moth
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Callophrys gryneusOlive Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak, Nelson's Hairstreak
  • Campaea perlataPale Beauty, Fringed Looper
  • Caripeta divisataGray Spruce Looper Moth
  • Choristoneura fumiferanaSpruce Budworm Moth
  • Cladara limitariaMottled Gray Carpet, Yellow-Lined Conifer Looper, Yellow-Lined Forest Looper, Black-Angled Wave
Show all 40
  • Dasychira plagiataNorthern Conifer Tussock Moth
  • Dichomeris setosellaHairy Dichomeris
  • Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Elaphria versicolorVariegated Midget
  • Epinotia radicanaRed-Striped Needleworm Moth
  • Eupithecia palpataSmall Pine Looper, Palpata Pug
  • Feralia jocosaJocose Sallow, The Joker
  • Hydriomena renunciataRenounced Hydriomena
  • Hypagyrtis piniataPine Measuringworm Moth, Pine Variant
  • Idia aemulaCommon Idia
  • Lambdina fiscellariaHemlock Looper, Western Oak Looper
  • Lithophane lemmeriLemmer's Pinion
  • Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
  • Nepytia canosariaFalse Hemlock Looper Moth, Evergreen Span Worm
  • Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Patalene olyzonariaJuniper Geometer
  • Pero morrisonariaMorrison's Pero
  • Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
  • Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
  • Protoboarmia porcelariaPorcelain Gray, Dashedlined Looper
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Sparganothis tristriataThree-Streaked Sparganothis
  • Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
  • Syngrapha aliasSpruce Looper, Hooked Silver Y
  • Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Xestia elimataSouthern Variable Dart, Southern Pine Dart
  • Zanclognatha cruralisEarly Zanclognatha, Early Fan-Foot
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Thuja

  • Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
  • Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cupressaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–7b
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “March to April” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “40–60 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
  • Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Soil pH · “Neutral to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “10–15 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

American Arbor Vitae; White Cedar

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources