Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’
Overview
Uses: Foundation plantings, mixed borders, specimen plantings, and formal gardens.
Benefits: A slow-growing arborvitae with soft, golden-orange foliage that deepens to coppery bronze in winter. Its dense, broad form needs little shearing and adds warm color to foundation beds and borders all year.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–7
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Coniferous Shrub
Growth Habit: Rounded, Pyramidal — broad, dense cone.
Foliage Color: Golden-Orange, deepening to Coppery-Bronze in winter
Mature Height: 3–5 feet
Mature Width: 3–4 feet
Growth Rate: Slow
Summary
Warm gold and copper color on a compact evergreen that keeps its shape.
Most arborvitae are grown for green screening. Rheingold is grown for color. Its soft, feathery foliage is a warm golden orange through the growing season, glowing brightest on new growth, and it deepens to a coppery bronze as temperatures drop in fall and winter.
It is a dwarf selection that grows slowly into a dense, broad cone about three to five feet tall and three to four feet wide. That size and shape suit a foundation bed, the corner of a border, or a formal planting where a small evergreen needs to hold its form year after year.
Rheingold is at its best with contrast. Set it beside blue junipers, dark green boxwood or yews, or burgundy-leaved shrubs, and its color carries the bed through the months when flowering plants are bare.
Care
Rheingold Arborvitae Care
Plant in full sun for the richest gold and copper tones. It tolerates partial shade, though the foliage turns greener and the plant grows looser with less light.
Arborvitae prefers moist, well-drained soil and adapts to clay and to slightly alkaline ground. Avoid sites that stay waterlogged or that bake dry against a south-facing wall.
Water deeply once or twice a week through the first growing season while roots establish. Arborvitae roots are shallow, so keep watering during dry spells in later years as well, and give plants a deep soak in late fall before the ground freezes. A layer of mulch over the root zone helps hold moisture.
Feed once in early spring with a slow release fertilizer. Plants in good soil often need nothing more.
Pruning is rarely needed. If you want to tidy the shape, give it a light trim in spring or early summer, staying within the green foliage. Like most conifers, arborvitae does not regrow from bare interior wood. Brush heavy wet snow off the branches in winter to keep them from splaying open.
Size
What Size is the Rheingold Arborvitae for Sale Online?
Our Rheingold Arborvitae ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. Plants shipped in late fall or winter may show their coppery winter color, which is normal and brightens again in spring. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Rheingold Arborvitae Grow?
Expect about 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide at maturity, in a broad, dense cone. Growth is slow, so it takes several years to reach that size. Space plants about 3 to 4 feet apart in a row.
Additional Information
What are some common names for this plant?
- Eastern arborvitae
- Northern white cedar
- American arborvitae
Is Rheingold Arborvitae a native plant?
It is a selection of Thuja occidentalis, which is native to the northeastern United States, the Great Lakes region, and eastern Canada. Selections like this one are often called nativars: they keep the adaptability of the native species while adding ornamental traits such as golden color and a compact size. Browse more Native Plants of North America.
Why does the color change in winter?
The shift from golden orange to coppery bronze is a natural response to cold, not a sign of damage. The foliage brightens again when new growth starts in spring. Browning that appears in patches, rather than an even bronze tone, usually points to drought stress or winter wind burn instead.
How is it different from other golden arborvitae?
Many golden arborvitae are yellow. Rheingold leans orange and copper, and its foliage is softer and more feathery in texture. It also grows as a broad cone rather than a tight ball like Golden Globe. For more shapes and sizes, browse our Arborvitaes.
Will deer eat it?
Deer browse arborvitae, particularly in winter when other food is scarce. In areas with heavy deer pressure, protect plants with netting or a repellent from late fall through early spring. For evergreens deer tend to avoid, see our Deer-Resistant Shrubs and Evergreens.
