How to Use arborvitae in a Sentence

arborvitae

noun
  • Fresh arborvitae branches last about 2 to 4 weeks in a vase.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Dec. 2025
  • Cut arborvitae branches with pruners and use them in wreaths and more around the holidays.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Bagworms show up on junipers and arborvitae.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 May 2026
  • This is especially true of conifers like pines, cedars, and arborvitae.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026
  • At least the arborvitae don't seem to mind the occasional swipe from a side mirror.
    — Daniel Pund, Car and Driver, 30 May 2020
  • The heavy rain followed by the recent spell of hot and dry weather has increased the stress on your arborvitae.
    — Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 3 July 2017
  • For a more natural look, use hedges, arborvitae, or tall grasses as a living screen.
    — Sheila Kim, The Spruce, 15 June 2026
  • Reducing the height of a tall arborvitae will stunt the top growth and give it a permanent gap or flat-looking top.
    — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 11 July 2024
  • Evergreens with an upright habit, such as arborvitae, don’t handle snow well.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Most of those shrubs are of just a few kinds — standard varieties of yew, boxwood, juniper and arborvitae.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026
  • For instance, deer will generally eat yews and arborvitae, and leave boxwood alone.
    — Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 17 Apr. 2018
  • The best evergreens to prune in mid- to late-summer are yews, arborvitae, hemlocks, and junipers.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 10 Jan. 2026
  • In addition, some arborvitae will be planted along the chain link fence for an additional buffer.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Here are some questions asked by other gardeners, including whether to top a tree, how to fight stink bugs and how to help a struggling arborvitae.
    — OregonLive.com, 4 Nov. 2017
  • There is a very large arborvitae hedge on the property line (easily 35-40 feet tall.
    — oregonlive, 7 Nov. 2021
  • Evergreens like pines, spruce, yews, arborvitae and junipers shed their older inner needles.
    — Melinda Myers, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 Dec. 2017
  • High-resin woods, like spruce, pine, arborvitae and juniper, take longer to break down in the compost pile, as do oak and cottonwood tree leaves, which are high in tannin.
    — Betty Cahill, The Denver Post, 16 June 2017
  • Evergreens with scale-like foliage, such as arborvitae and juniper, may also suffer damage.
    — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Bell strongly suggests dealing with drainage problems before planting your arborvitae.
    — oregonlive, 22 Nov. 2021
  • To control the size of an individual arborvitae or a hedge, prune it regularly and always within the green area.
    — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 21 Feb. 2021
  • Plant hardy arborvitae in zones 2 through 8, placing containers in areas with dappled sunlight, full sun, or partial shade.
    — Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 23 June 2026
  • Several 25-foot arborvitae trees and a new fence create a sense of tranquility and privacy for the home.
    — Karen A. Avitabile, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Some other suitable plants include arborvitae, hemlock, holly and rosemary.
    — Washington Post, 30 July 2019
  • Bob decided to stop at the cemetery where four generations of his family are buried, a little grouping of graves next to a white church in a stand of arborvitae trees.
    — The Washington Post, Twin Cities, 12 Aug. 2019
  • Along the driveway there are balloon flowers, lilies, a large arborvitae, roses, honeysuckle, and climbing silver lace vine.
    — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 July 2019
  • Bagworms have been devouring needles of junipers, cedars, cypresses and arborvitae.
    — Neil Sperry, star-telegram, 6 July 2018
  • Shake heavy snow off shrubs and trees to keep branches from breaking or bending, especially frail structures such as arborvitae, boxwoods, young rhododendrons and azaleas.
    — Samantha Swindler, OregonLive.com, 19 Feb. 2018
  • Plenty of plants were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, of course, especially highly flammable shrubs like tall, skinny arborvitae.
    — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
  • While arborvitae does make an excellent privacy screen, there are smaller versions of this feathery evergreen available today.
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 1 May 2026
  • There was no landscaping yet — no Rose of Sharon hedge, no arborvitae screen, no butterfly garden, but the cargo on that flatbed trailer was more special than all of that.
    — By Susan Vollenweider, kansascity.com, 3 May 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arborvitae.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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