PLANT OF THE MONTH
December, 2006
Plant of the Month Feature
by Jeff Iles
Arboretum Board Member
Professor and Chair
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University
Thuja occidentalis
'Hetz Wintergreen'
(Eastern Arborvitae)
Have you ever heard the phrase, "good fences make good neighbors?" It's kind of a cynical way of looking at the world, but think back to some of your former neighbors and you'll probably have to admit, fences have their place especially if you live "in town." And while fences are good at keeping your dog "in" and your neighbors' dog "out," they aren't very good at screening objectionable views. But many conifers are, and one of my favorites is the Eastern arborvitae cultivar 'Hetz Wintergreen'.
Perhaps in the past you've been "burned" by arborvitae that have discolored during the winter months, become gangly, open, and unattractive in old age, or grown so slowly that you've simply decided to remove them from the landscape. But 'Hetz Wintergreen' arborvitae is different. Its handsome medium to dark green foliage stays that way even during the most severe winter. It grows fast (12"/year) and tall (8' x 3' after 10 years), and develops a strong central leader and sturdy, evenly spaced branches, earning it the reputation for being a good "snow-bearing" plant. 'Hetz Wintergreen' isn't as dense or rigid-looking as say, 'Emerald' or 'Degroot's Spire' but its slightly more open, relaxed appearance is perfect if you're trying to create an informal screen or backdrop for a spring bulb display, white-flowering crabapple, or that special lilac.
You might be interested to know the famous French explorer Jacques Cartier, along with many of his men, owe their lives to the arborvitae trees they encountered during the winter of 1535-36 as they traversed up the St. Lawrence River looking for the fabled Northwest Passage to China. As the story goes, Cartier and his men became snow and ice bound near a small fort (later to become Quebec City). Without sufficient quantities of fruits and vegetables in their diet, scurvy (an affliction caused by a vitamin C deficiency), befell this band of ill-prepared explorers. Fortunately for Cartier and his men, the native Huron Indians showed them how to prepare a curative tea made from the bark and foliage of arborvitae trees. And the result was immediate and miraculous. Wishing to share this plant and its amazing properties with the folks back home, Cartier brought live specimens back to France at which time the King proclaimed it "l'arbor de vie" or "tree of life."
Getting back to 'Hetz Wintergreen' I actually plan on using it in the landscape of a home my wife and I are building. Yes, we will have a fence (we have two unruly dogs) but the plan is to plant 'Hetz Wintergreen' in an irregularly spaced, and irregularly alternating line (on each side of the fence) to disguise at least a portion of the fence. It might look a little odd at first, but our hope is that when the entire planting is corralled into the same irregularly outlined mulched bed, a sense of unity will come over the landscape. I'll let you know how it turns out.
About the author: Dr. Jeffery Iles presently serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He holds advanced degrees from Penn State University and Iowa State University. Among many awards and honors, Dr. Iles is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty journal articles in such journals as HortTechnology, Journal of Environmental Horticulture, Journal of Arboriculture, and HortScience. Research projects Dr. Iles is currently involved in include Landscape Plant Evaluation, Invasive Landscape Plants, and Landscape Plant Usage. The Bickelhaupt Arboretum is fortunate to have Dr. Iles on its Board of Directors.