Emerald Squeeze™ Arborvitae

Dense Evergreen Privacy With a Compact Footprint

Emerald Squeeze™ Arborvitae is narrow and easier to grow than the popular Emerald Green variety

• Space Saving: With a natural columnar-pyramidal shape, Emerald Squeeze is perfect for dense privacy along fence lines and driveways
• Evergreen Year Round: Dense foliage stays green all year long through every season, maintains your landscape structure while other plants are dormant
• Cold Hardy Privacy: Thrives in grow zones 4-8 and resists winter burn even in tough zone 4 weather
• Low Maintenance: A slow-growing, strong central leader with a neat growth habit that tops out at a mature height of 8.5 feet after 20 years
• Versatile Planting: A prime landscape option for privacy, specimen planting, and formal hedges flanking walkways. Grows to a mature

Emerald Squeeze™ Arborvitae was introduced by Star Roses and Plants under their Bloomables® collection as an answer to landscapers who wanted one simple thing: the dense evergreen privacy of Emerald Green Arborvitae, but with less footprint. Emerald Squeeze solves that problem and is quickly becoming the go-to every privacy arborvitae tree for homeowners with smaller yards or who need to border paths and entryways. 

What Sets the Emerald Squeeze™ Arborvitae Apart

Thuja occidentalis 'Lilshreckthu' boasts a strong, central leader up the center of the tree. This means less trimming and no staking for you and a more uniform, symettrical look to your entire privacy hedge. Emerald Squeeze grows slowly but consistently in a thin columnar-pyramidal form that lends itself well to not only privacy and wind screens, but also borders where space is at a premium. Their cleaner column habit stills looks sharp years into their lifespan. We see the difference in our own growing blocks, where these hold their form beautifully without our team having to fuss over pruning and shape maintenance.

Growth Rate and Size

This tree the perfect choice as a supplemental screen or as a stand alone fence replacement thanks to its mature size. Emerald Squeeze gets to a mature size of between 8.5 feet tall at maturity, which is a few feet taller than the typical wood privacy fence at fractions of the cost. A slower, denser grower puts on tight, well-branched foliage instead of loose whips, which is what gives you a solid screen you can actually see through less of.

• Spacing: Space your trees roughly 3-4 feet apart on center to create a dense but cost-effective privacy screen. Spacing closer than 3 feet can be a great look as well, though, it will just show less of the tree's natural shape as it grows.
• Container Growing: Because Emerald Squeeze Arborvitae are compact and slow growing, they are great ornamental options for patio containers! We see homeowners planting them in beautiful containers that flank their front door for a truly unique front porch aesthetic.

Emerald Squeeze Thuja Care

This Thuja cultivar will largely take care of itself if you hit a few key points for it to thrive. Full sun, well-draining yet consistently moist soil is all it really takes for this tree to thrive! 

• Sunlight: Full sunlight is best for these trees. Aim for a location that receives 6-8 hours of direct sun per day for rich color.
• Planting Soil: Slightly acidic, well-draining soil will give you the densest growth. It adapts to many soil conditions as long as water is not stagnant around its root ball.
• Watering: Regular watering for the first year will help Emerald Squeeze adjust to its new planting location and roots to establish. Once established, water only during droughts and intense heat of summer.
• Pruning: Rarely needed due to its neat growth habit! However, if you do want to give it a trim, do so in October-November and be sure to not cut the central leader.
• Mulch: After planting in the ground or in containers, adding a 2-3 inch layer of mulch will help retain moisture and protect the roots in the hot weather of summer.

What is the Perfect Plants Nursery Difference?

We are true growers and have been farming plants on our North Florida farm since 1980. Unlike a lot of online plant sellers that are just drop shippers, we hand pick and pack every Emerald Squeeze Arborvitae tree we sell to our customers. That means you're guaranteed to get a rooted, healthy, and happy Thuja Lilshreckthu. If you're unhappy with your order, simply reach out to our team and we'll make it right. Buy Emerald Squeeze Arborvitae today from Perfect Plants Nursery for a evergreen privacy tree that actually fits your space.