Thuja Plicata Pleached Tree

These Thuja Plicata Pleached Trees are a pleached tree-on-stilts version of thuja plicata, the western red cedar tree that's often used for hedging. It’s an evergreen, fast-growing conifer that’s popularly grown as a handsome specimen tree. Our pleached version is designed to create a tall privacy screen that leaves room beneath its high crown.

Thuja Plicata is native to northern American states where it grows in well-drained areas from sea level to 1,100 metres elevation. Whilst it’s known as the western red-cedar, it’s actually a conifer. Thuja trees have grey-brown trunks with vertical bands on mature species. Its evergreen leaves are sprays of flat, scale-like foliage that release an aromatic scent when they’re crushed. Brown cones appear later in the year. Because it’s trained on a bamboo frame, this pleached thuja tree makes a top-notch privacy screen above a fence line and because it only needs a yearly trim to stay tidy it’s particularly low maintenance too.

Height and Spread of Thuja Plicata Pleached
Thuja plicata can reach a height of 10-15 metres and spread several metres in width. You can easily maintain the Pleached Tree shape with an annual trim. 

How Hardy Is Thuja Plicata Pleached
Thuja plicata is a hardy conifer that copes with minus temperatures and exposed spots if its roots are well drained. It’s drought tolerant once established and pests are rarely a problem.

How To Use Thuja Plicata Pleached
Thuja plicata is very popular as a hedging tree, but this pleached thuja tree has a raised crown and a slender clear trunk that’s ideal for above-fence line screening in compact gardens or small spaces because it leaves the lower area clear of foliage.
Individual pleached thuja trees are also a great way to disguise an ugly feature and because they’re evergreen they block the view for 12 months of the year.

How To Care For Thuja Plicata Pleached
Thuja trees require little care once it’s established and they’re easy to grow.
Pleached thuja trees prefers well-drained moisture retentive positions in full sun or partial shade, but they’re not fussy about soil type.
Over time, the crown will fill out into a box shape and it will require a yearly trim to keep it neat. There’s no need to remove the bamboo frame as it can be used as guide to tie in branches and trim wayward sections.
Mulch pleached thuja trees well with rotted organic matter in spring and water them regularly until they’re established. The number one killer of newly planted trees is lack of water.