Thuja 'Steeplechase' (Arborvitae)

Thuja 'Steeplechase' (Arborvitae) is a Arborvitae / Western Red Cedar cultivar, 'Steeplechase', valued for its sculptural form and refined evergreen texture in the landscape.

Arborvitae offer some of the fastest, densest evergreen screening available, with soft scale-like foliage in flat fans and a tidy upright habit that needs almost no shaping. Flat, fan-shaped sprays of scale-like foliage; aromatic when crushed.

Full sun to part shade suits this species best. Plant in moist, well-drained; tolerates a range soil. Hardy USDA Zone 3 to 8. Heavily browsed by deer in winter where pressure is high; protect young plants. Watch for bagworm and spider mites; avoid prolonged drought, which causes interior dieback.

For a Pacific Northwest native conifer of similar character, consider Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir), the iconic PNW timber tree, or Tsuga heterophylla (Western Hemlock) for shaded sites. For coastal exposure, Picea sitchensis (Sitka Spruce) thrives where salt wind defeats most evergreens.