other arborvitae, Whipcord western red cedars grow as a compact, rounded shrub. Thuja occidentalis, commonly known as arborvitae, is familiar in many landscapes. If you notice you've created a shape that's too straight top-to-bottom, trim a bit more off the top branches. Due to their slow-growing nature and unusual appearance, Whipcord ‘Whipcord’ arborvitae (Thuja plicata ‘Whipcord’) is a cool, quirky dwarf conifer that has been on my wishlist for quite some time.Instead of the usual flattened sprays of foliage, this lovable mutant form of our native western arborvitae, or western red cedar, sports a mop top of long, skinny, green rat tails. When cutting shoots, never cut them all the way back to old wood. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. make excellent specimen plants for landscapes and rock Oregon, is credited with the discovery of the Whipcord cultivar in 1986. This article was co-authored by Lauren Kurtz. Arborvitae are evergreens that do well with enough pruning to help them maintain their natural shape. Powered by Mtn Sites. Shear in early spring. western red cedar trees lack the conical shape so often associated with other