Thuja occidentalis Pancake Concesarini - Canadian Arborvitae

The  Thuja occidentalis Pancake 'Concesarini' is a dwarf coniferous plant with fine evergreen foliage, initially soft green, turning blue with the freshness of autumn and winter evenings. The name Pancake refers to its compact and spreading habit that forms a flattened ball over time. Very hardy, it is particularly suitable for rockeries, container planting, and small gardens. Easy to maintain, it even tolerates scorching sun if watered during hot and windy periods.

The Thuja occidentalis, the Canadian Arborvitae or Eastern White Cedar, is sometimes called the Canadian White Cedar or Broom. It is an evergreen conifer of the cypress family native to northeastern North America. It is distributed over a wide geographic area that perfectly reflects the plasticity of its living conditions. In nature, it reaches a height of 15 to 20 m (49 to 66ft), adopting a beautiful conical habit and a trunk covered with a highly decorative reddish-brown bark. It is a perfectly hardy species, well adapted to temperate climates and poor, wet, or occasionally dry soils. Its almost rot-resistant wood, light, and cedar-scented, is easily flammable and lends itself to many uses. Introduced to Europe around 1536, it is one of the first trees to come from the New World. Since then, it has become a classic staple in our gardens, giving rise to more than 300 cultivars. Its lifespan is 300 years. In Central Europe, it replaces Italian cypresses in cemeteries, having become, like them, a symbol of immortality.

The Pancake™ 'Concesarini' variety has particularly graceful and fine foliage, with elongated twigs whose soft green imbricate scales turn icy blue with the colder temperatures of late season. When mature, it reaches 30 cm (12in) in height and 70 cm (28in) in width.

The Pancake Western Cedar will find its place in a small garden, in a rockery, or grouped together to form a carpet-like mass whose appearance is punctuated by the changing temperatures of the seasons. It can also be planted in a nice container on the terrace or balcony to enjoy this spectacle of colors. It pairs well with more disorderly shrubs, large stones, geometric lines of swimming pools or buildings, and masonry works. It can be associated with complementary grasses or different types of dwarf conifers, such as prostrate (Blue Chip Juniperus horizontalis), globose (Little Gem Norway Spruce), creeping (Siberian Carpet Cypress), or pyramidal (Picea glauca Conica). The true graphic qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes, and textures over the dance of flowers. These plants with their reassuring permanence structurally shape a bed, mark the paths, border the terrace, easily replacing the strong presence of trimmed boxwood or holly. The key is to play with volumes and colors.