A globe without clipping
Many closely spaced upright sprays close naturally into a low, dense dome.
Thuja 'Danica' 17cm — Care & Tips
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Tired of plants that keep spreading? This ball stays a ball ⚽
Family: Cupressaceae · Pot diameter: 17cm · Height: 30cm
Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’ is a small evergreen sculpture that holds its rounded outline naturally and brings instant order to a planting. Dense, fine sprays create a soft green globe with rich texture, while slow growth keeps the effect calm and composed. Used alone in a pot or repeated along a border, it adds clear rhythm and a polished character through every season.
Fresh green may deepen or take on a restrained bronze cast in winter cold, without losing the characteristic globe. The texture remains fine and dense, giving the plant a steady presence among more transient flowers.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’ holds a current RHS Award of Garden Merit, awarded in 1993.
Its strength lies in self-made geometry: dense, rounded and steady without constant intervention.
Many closely spaced upright sprays close naturally into a low, dense dome.
Tiny scale-like leaves make a calm, compact surface throughout the year.
Cold weather may warm the green towards bronze, adding seasonal change without leaf fall.
Why you will love it: it provides ready-made geometry on a small scale and stays handsome when surrounding flowering plants are resting.
Use at an entrance, in a rock garden, at the front of a border or in a broad pot, in sun to light shade. Allow roughly 1–1.2m between centres to keep mature globes visually distinct.
The enclosed green geometry reads most clearly beside fine foliage, low flowers and relaxed curves.
Sun to light shade; good light keeps the globe dense.
Water deeply and consistently during establishment and hot weather, without keeping the base permanently wet.
Very cold hardy, RHS H7; protect chiefly from hot drying wind and prolonged thirst.
Harmful if eaten and a potential skin allergen; wear gloves when trimming and keep it away from children or animals that may chew it.
Sun to light shade; good light keeps the globe dense.
Water deeply and consistently during establishment and hot weather, without keeping the base permanently wet.
Moist but well-drained, moderately fertile soil that does not dry abruptly.
A small spring feed is sufficient; excess growth loosens the compact texture.
Very cold hardy, RHS H7; protect chiefly from hot drying wind and prolonged thirst.
Remove only dry tips or an untidy green shoot; never cut deeply into bare old wood.
Harmful if eaten and a potential skin allergen; wear gloves when trimming and keep it away from children or animals that may chew it.
Brown interior foliage is often normal renewal, while browning on the outer foliage calls for a check of water, wind and sun exposure.
The first sprays close low around the base.
New tips fill every side evenly and gradually close the centre.
Slow accumulation of growth builds a compact dome with a clear outline.
At maturity, Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’ forms a naturally dense globe, deep green with a subtle winter bronze cast. It acts as a steady low anchor among perennials that change through the seasons.
The two studies show the dense upright sprays that form the naturally globose crown.
What to expect after planting: The young globe thickens slowly and evenly from many small tips. Its characteristic geometry is visible early, then gains fullness gradually without shaping by shears.
In 1948 in Denmark, A. R. Jensen singled out an unusually dwarf Thuja occidentalis among plants raised from seed. The seedling formed a dense, almost globose crown, with extremely slow growth, fine foliage and upright branchlets—features markedly different from the species’ usual tree-like habit. Its exact parents and the circumstances of pollination were not recorded.
The selection entered cultivation as Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’. Pépinières Minier records introducing it to the French market in 1970.
In 1993, the Royal Horticultural Society granted it the Award of Garden Merit, which it still holds.
In the plant’s dense fans, the scales form opposite pairs in four rows. The lateral scales are folded like tiny boats and partly overlap the flatter scales on the two faces of each branchlet.
The adult foliage is not made of needles: tiny scales cover flattened branchlets and create the characteristic fine sprays.
Six specific answers covering position, water, soil, space and correct seasonal care.
Sun to light shade; good light keeps the globe dense.
Water deeply and consistently during establishment and hot weather, without keeping the base permanently wet.
Moist but well-drained, moderately fertile soil that does not dry abruptly.
An established plant commonly reaches about 50–80cm high and 50–100cm across, with natural variation between sites.
No. Thuja occidentalis ‘Danica’ forms its globe naturally and needs only selective tidying.
Cold may temporarily alter the green colour. The usual shade returns with spring growth.