Arborvitae ‘Whipcord’

* Common name: Arborvitae ‘Whipcord’

* Botanical name: Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’

* What it is: This soft-needled, compact evergreen is unusual for its long, narrow, shaggy foliage that grows in a mop-like habit. It’s a slow grower, tolerant of heat, and a type of arborvitae that’s not a favorite of deer.

* Size: Grows four to five feet tall and about five feet wide in 15-20 years.

* Where to use: Best used as a specimen in a sunny or mostly sunny spot, including front house-foundation beds, flanking gates or doorways, or gracing a rock garden. Just avoid wet spots.

* Care: Keep damp the first season or two until the roots establish, then water is needed only in extended hot, dry spells.

   Scatter an acidifying granular fertilizer formulated for evergreens around the base of the plant in March.

   Pruning not needed unless ‘Whipcord’ outgrows the allotted space or if you want to keep it smaller. In that case, it’s best to shorten each branch individually with hand pruners as opposed to shearing. The best time to prune is spring through early summer.

* Great partner: Warm-colored perennials, such as mums, coreopsis, dwarf black-eyed susans, or daylilies, make good perennial partners. Golden creeping sedum ‘Angelina’ is a colorful groundcover underneath. Pair with golden daffodils for early-spring color.