Dwarf arborvitae ‘Holmstrup’

* Common name: Dwarf arborvitae ‘Holmstrup’

* Botanical name: Thuja occidentalis ‘Holmstrup’

* What it is: A compact, slow-growing, upright, soft-needled green evergreen with a pyramidal habit. ‘Holmstrup’ is a variety of a U.S. native evergreen.

* Size: 8-10 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide in 15 years.

* Where to use: Makes a slow-growing, upright specimen by a front door, next to a patio, at a house corner, in a rock garden or backdropping the falls of a water garden. Can be grown in large pots, too. Best in full sun but also grows well in part-day shade.

* Care: Virtually none after watering enough to establish roots over first season. Once it reaches the size you like, lightly trim each year between end of March and end of July to maintain that size. A scattering of an acidifying, organic, granular fertilizer is helpful each spring but not absolutely necessary.

* Great partner: Ring with gold or yellow perennials, such as dwarf goldenrod, coreopsis, dwarf daylilies, mums or black-eyed susans. Or underplant with golden creeping sedum ‘Angelina.’