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Excelsa Arborvitae is a refined, fast-growing evergreen that delivers the privacy and resilience you want in a living screen—without the overwhelming size of larger varieties. With its softer, finer foliage and naturally dense branching, the Excelsa creates a lush, uninterrupted wall of green that looks just as good in January as it does in July.
Reaching 20–30 feet tall and 8–10 feet wide at maturity, the Excelsa is ideal for medium- to large-scale landscapes where full coverage is essential but towering height isn’t necessary. Hardy, low-maintenance, and adaptable to a variety of soils, it’s a smart choice for both residential and commercial plantings.
| Scientific Name: | Thuja plicata ‘Excelsa’ |
| Shape: | Conical/Pyramidal |
| Growth Rate: | Up to 2–3 ft per year |
| Shipping Size: | 8–14 ft balled & burlapped |
| Mature Size: | 20–30 ft tall, 8–10 ft wide |
| Planting Spacing: | 4–6 ft apart in rows |
| Leaf Type/Arrangement: | Flat sprays with scale-like opposite needles (softer and more compact than Green Giant) |
| Fragrance: | Pine/Juniper |
| Color: | Rich green foliage with reddish-brown bark |
| Soil pH: | Acidic (<6.0) or neutral (6.0-8.0) |
| Soil Type: | Well-drained, tolerates a range of soils with good organic matter |
| Sunlight Preference: | Full sun to partial shade |
| Hardiness Zones: | 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a |
| Uses: | Shade, Privacy, Hedge, Windbreak, Decorative (more compact spaces than Green Giant) |
| Deer Resistant: | Not preferred by most browsing pests - Especially Deer Resistant |
| Blocks Noise: | Full growth habit diffuses sound waves year-round |
| Low Maintenance: | Hardy, tolerates range of moisture conditions |
🏷️ With over 145k trees in production, we are always in stock!
Excelsa Arborvitae grows quickly like the Green Giant but with a denser, softer texture that gives it a more refined look. It matures smaller than a Green Giant yet offers fuller coverage than a Junior Giant, making it a smart alternative for homeowners who want lasting privacy without the overwhelming size. On top of its practical advantages, Excelsa is also more affordable than many other varieties, giving you a dependable evergreen screen at a lower cost.
Options and Sizing
The Excelsa’s size, shape, and growth habit make it especially well-suited for:
If you know our Green Giant Arborvitae, you already understand the value of a hardy, fast-growing privacy tree. The Excelsa offers much of the same performance in a slightly smaller, denser package:
If you want Green Giant-level privacy but with a more space-conscious footprint, the Excelsa is an excellent alternative.
Many homeowners consider the Junior Giant when they want a smaller option than the Green Giant. While both trees grow quickly and provide year-round privacy, the Excelsa often makes the better choice:
If you’re drawn to Junior Giant for its smaller size, Excelsa provides a denser, softer, and often more budget-friendly alternative - without sacrificing the fast growth and privacy you expect.
The journey from here to privacy on your property is simple and easy.
Just call fill out a form and we'll call you back to take care of the details.
We deliver all over the Mid-Atlantic and beyond!
As much as we enjoy sending our trees off to their new lives hundreds of miles away, our passion is for the land here near home, and it does us great pleasure to be able to personally plant our trees on your property. We offer comprehensive installation services, including irrigation, and consulting on spacing and drainage to nearby customers. Give us a call and let's make a plan!
Rolling Fields has been in the Corrin Family since 1974. Ever since, we have taken great pride in the special care and attention we bring not only to raising our trees, but to the relationships we build with customers.
We are proud to serve Delaware, Maryland, and Southeastern Pennsylvania, and have grown further to become the Mid-Atlantic's largest supplier of our flagship Green Giants, as well as options for every yard!
Excelsa Arborvitae is a fast-growing evergreen prized for its refined look, dense branching, and compact, upright growth habit. Its softer, finer-textured foliage holds a rich green color all year long, creating a privacy screen that looks just as good in winter as in summer. Maturing at 20–30 feet tall and 8–10 feet wide, Excelsa delivers full coverage without the towering height of larger varieties, making it a smart choice for properties where space is more limited.
Excelsa grows up to 2–3 feet per year in the right conditions, matching the growth rate of our flagship Green Giant during its early years. The difference comes at maturity—Excelsa stays smaller and more compact, offering dense coverage at a more manageable height. Whether you start with younger, budget-friendly trees or larger specimens for immediate impact, you can expect a thick, reliable privacy wall in just a few seasons.
A traditional fence can block views but often needs extra landscaping to soften its appearance. An Excelsa hedge does both at once—providing a living, evergreen wall that’s attractive, wildlife-friendly, and effective year-round. Its tight branching and upright form allow it to be planted in straight rows for a formal look or in staggered groupings for a more natural screen.
Excelsa’s fine, rich green foliage stays vibrant through every season, keeping your property private and visually appealing even in the depths of winter. Its dense branching provides excellent close-range coverage, making it ideal for smaller yards or locations where you want the most foliage in the least amount of space.
Once established, Excelsa is as hardy and low-maintenance as it is beautiful. It thrives in a variety of soil types, resists damage from most pests and browsing deer, and handles snow, wind, and summer drought with ease. Occasional watering during dry spells and minimal pruning are all that’s needed to keep it looking its best.
Choose Excelsa when you want the performance and durability of a Green Giant but in a more compact, space-conscious package. Its slightly lower price point and dense, refined appearance make it a go-to for medium-scale landscapes, suburban backyards, and formal hedges where a smaller footprint is key.
If creating a dense, attractive privacy screen is your goal, Excelsa Arborvitae delivers excellent results. Its naturally upright, compact growth habit allows for close planting in a single row, where branches fill in to form a solid wall of green.
For a more relaxed look and improved sound buffering, staggered rows work especially well. This arrangement enhances coverage while adding depth to your planting—ideal for medium to large spaces where you want a softer, more layered screen.
Beyond their role as privacy trees, Excelsas add elegance and structure to any landscape. Their rich green foliage and refined texture pair beautifully with flowering trees, ornamental grasses, and lighter green evergreens. Whether planted in a continuous hedge, grouped as a backdrop, or showcased as a formal accent, Excelsas bring year-round beauty and a sense of permanence to your garden design.
Dig a hole about 3x the width of the root ball and just as deep. Keep the top of the root ball slightly above ground level, and mound soil or mulch up to cover it. This prevents water from pooling around the roots as the tree settles. Excelsa roots do not tolerate soggy soil, so ensure proper drainage. After planting, thoroughly soak the root zone and surrounding soil.
Watering Schedule (Balled & Burlapped Trees):
Fertilizer is generally not necessary, but a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring and fall can provide a boost if desired.
Rolling Fields Tree Farm has been growing strong for over 13 years, earning a reputation as the Mid-Atlantic’s premier supplier of privacy evergreens. We’re best known for our Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja ‘Green Giant’)—the fastest-growing, most reliable privacy tree in the industry—but our nursery now offers additional varieties to meet a wider range of needs.
Alongside our flagship Green Giants, we now grow Excelsa Arborvitae, a slightly smaller, denser variety ideal for mid-sized properties, and American Pillar Arborvitae, a tall, narrow evergreen perfect for tight spaces or formal hedges. This expanded selection allows us to match the right tree to your space, style, and budget while maintaining the same high standards for quality and service.
Every tree we sell is propagated and grown on site, giving us complete control over quality from root to tip. We personally handle planting for local customers and offer competitive pricing backed by decades of combined expertise. Whether you need a towering screen, a compact hedge, or a precise fit for a challenging space, our team will help you choose and install the perfect trees for lasting results.
Ken Corrin
Rolling Fields Tree Farm
Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Phone: (443) 566-2887
