Arborvitae vs. Spruce vs. Juniper: The Best Privacy Evergreen for Minnesota
On exposed Twin Cities sites — open property lines, boulevards, and yards backing onto woods or parks — columnar juniper is the better privacy evergreen. It is not browsed, it takes wind, drought, and road salt, and it keeps its lower branches. Arborvitae still wins inside a fenced yard with no rabbit or deer pressure: it fills faster and costs less per plant. Spruce is the pick only when you have 10 or more feet of width.
That is a real recommendation, not a hedge. Nearly every Minnesota garden center and landscaping blog names arborvitae as the privacy plant, and for a sheltered yard they are right. We plant and replace privacy screens across the metro for a living, and the pattern in our callback list is not subtle: arborvitae is the plant we replace, and rabbits and deer are why.
This is the head-to-head. What each of the three actually is, how they compare on the eight variables that decide a screen, what a 50-foot run of each costs installed in 2026, where junipers genuinely lose, and a plain recommendation by site type at the end.
The short answer, by site type
| Your site | Plant this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fenced yard, no rabbit runs, no deer | Arborvitae | Fastest fill, lowest cost per plant, densest screen |
| Open property line, visible rabbit runs, deer traffic | Columnar juniper | Not browsed; keeps its lower skirt permanently |
| Boulevard or salted driveway edge | Juniper or Black Hills Spruce | Both take salt far better than arborvitae |
| Windswept west or southwest exposure | Juniper or Black Hills Spruce | Arborvitae winter-burns most years here |
| Low, wet, poorly drained clay | None of the three | All three rot. Fix drainage or change the plan |
| Bed narrower than 6 ft | Columnar juniper | Narrowest mature width of the three |
| 10+ ft of width and no hurry | Black Hills Spruce | Longest-lived, toughest, but slow and wide |
The three contenders, defined
Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is a dense, scale-leaved evergreen in the cypress family, native to Minnesota, sold in narrow to broad pyramidal cultivars including Techny, American Pillar, and Emerald Green. It is the fastest and cheapest way to build a solid green wall in zone 4b–5a.
Columnar juniper is the upright, narrow-growing group of Juniperus — Taylor (J. virginiana 'Taylor'), Sky Rocket (J. scopulorum 'Skyrocket'), and Star Power — with resinous, prickly foliage that deer and rabbits leave alone and a deep root system built for dry, exposed ground. Note that spreading junipers like Grey Owl are groundcovers, not screens.
Black Hills Spruce (Picea glauca var. densata) is the naturally compact, slow-growing form of white spruce from the northern Great Plains — the toughest and longest-lived of the three, and by far the widest. University of Minnesota Extension names it among the species to use on windy, exposed Minnesota sites.
Head to head
| Factor | Arborvitae | Columnar juniper | Black Hills Spruce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mature height | 12–20 ft (Techny 12–15, American Pillar 20–30) | 15–30 ft | 25–40 ft |
| Mature width | 3–10 ft by cultivar | 2–4 ft (Star Power 7–9 ft) | 15–25 ft |
| Growth rate here | Techny ~1 ft/yr; American Pillar ~1.5–2 ft/yr | Slower than arborvitae — 6–12 in/yr, all cultivars | ~6–12 in/yr |
| Hedge spacing | 3–4 ft on center | 3 ft on center (Star Power 5 ft) | 10–12 ft on center |
| Plants per 50 ft | 13–17 | 17 | 5–6 |
| Deer rating (Rutgers) | Frequently Severely Damaged — worst category | Seldom Severely Damaged to Rarely Damaged | Seldom Severely Damaged |
| Rabbit damage | Severe — stripped and girdled at the snow line | Rare | Rare |
| Wind and winter sun | Poor — burns on exposed sites | Excellent | Excellent |
| Road salt | Poor | Good | Good |
| Wet soil | Poor | Worst of the three — hates wet feet | Poor |
| Main disease risk | Leaf blight, tip blight, root rot | Phomopsis and Kabatina tip blight; cedar-apple rust | Fewer issues than Colorado blue spruce |
| Snow-load risk | Multiple leaders can splay or break | Sky Rocket splays; Taylor holds form | Low |
| Recovers from bare wood? | No | No | No |
Browse is the factor that decides most Twin Cities sites
If you only weigh one variable, weigh this one. Everything else on the table is a preference. Browse damage on arborvitae is permanent.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension's "Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance" — the standard four-tier rating landscapers have used for decades — puts Thuja occidentalis in its worst tier, Frequently Severely Damaged. Juniperus virginiana and Juniperus chinensis rate Seldom Severely Damaged, and Juniperus scopulorum selections rate as high as Rarely Damaged. The Minnesota DNR's woodland habitat guidance lists white cedar — landscape arborvitae — among deer's preferred winter foods. The Chicago Botanic Garden's own note on junipers is blunter: the deer leave them alone.
Rabbits do the damage that ends hedges. They feed from the packed snow surface upward, stripping foliage and gnawing bark from the lower two to three feet all winter, and a complete ring of chewed bark girdles and kills the plant outright. Arborvitae regrows only from living green foliage, never from bare wood, so a rabbit-stripped skirt never fills back in. You end up maintaining a screen with a permanent gap at exactly the height you wanted privacy.
Juniper foliage is resinous and prickly, and that is a genuine deterrent rather than a marketing claim. We do not see junipers stripped at the snow line, in any suburb, in any winter. Deer pressure in the metro is heaviest west and southwest of I-494 — Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Chanhassen — but rabbit pressure is everywhere, including inner-ring Edina and Roseville.
If your hedge is already browning and you are not sure whether browse or winter burn is the cause, work through the arborvitae browning diagnostic. If you want to keep the arborvitae you have, the protection schedule is in rabbit-resistant plants for Minnesota yards — hardware cloth cylinders 18 to 24 inches above the anticipated snow line, a 6 to 8 foot deer fence, and repellents reapplied every four to six weeks from October through April.
Speed and cost: where arborvitae wins
We are not going to pretend junipers are faster or cheaper, because they are neither.
American Pillar arborvitae is the fastest privacy evergreen we sell at roughly 1.5 to 2 feet a year, and a 50-foot run at 3 feet on center reaches a solid screen in about five to seven years. Techny runs about a foot a year. Columnar junipers are slower than either — 6 to 12 inches a year, and that applies to Taylor, Sky Rocket and Star Power alike — and Black Hills Spruce is slowest at roughly 6 to 12 inches a year on a much bigger plant. Full numbers are in how fast privacy trees actually grow in Minnesota.
Cost follows the same pattern. Twin Cities 2026 pricing, 50-foot run, including our per-plant installation fee:
| Plant | Spacing | Plants | #5 installed | #10 installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Techny Arborvitae | 4 ft | 13 | ~$880 | ~$2,050 |
| American Pillar Arborvitae | 3 ft | 17 | ~$1,290 | ~$2,690 |
| Sky Rocket Juniper | 3 ft | 17 | ~$1,380 | ~$2,990 |
| Taylor Juniper | 3 ft | 17 | ~$1,480 | ~$3,890 |
| Black Hills Spruce | 10 ft | 6 | ~$490 | ~$1,230 |
So a juniper screen runs roughly 10 to 45 percent more than arborvitae at the same container size, mostly because the plants cost more and you need tighter spacing. Black Hills Spruce looks cheapest per 50 feet only because you plant six instead of seventeen — and six spruce do not screen anything for a decade.
Here is how we frame that for customers: the juniper premium is roughly the cost of one arborvitae replacement round. If you would rather spend a few hundred dollars more now than replant a chewed hedge in year six, junipers pay for themselves. If your yard is fenced and browse-free, that premium buys you nothing.
Exposure, wind, salt, and drainage
UMN Extension's guidance on choosing evergreens for windy, exposed Minnesota sites names Black Hills spruce, Rocky Mountain juniper, savin juniper, and eastern red cedar among the species to use. Arborvitae is not on that list, and that matches what we see. Arborvitae browns on the south and southwest sides in most winters on an open lot line, because winter sun and wind pull water from its foliage faster than frozen roots can resupply it.
Salt is the same story. Extension recommends keeping plantings at least 3 feet from drives and walks and 7 feet from roadways, and notes no species is fully salt-tolerant — but arborvitae is the first of the three to show tip browning on the road side.
Drainage flips the ranking. Junipers are the least tolerant of the three of wet feet. Do not put a juniper in a low spot, at a downspout outlet, or at the base of a slope where water sits. All three species rot in saturated clay, but junipers go first. Test any run by digging a 12-inch hole, filling it twice, and walking away — if water is still standing 12 hours after the second fill, none of these plants belong there.
Where junipers genuinely lose
The recommendation is only worth something if the trade-offs come with it.
- They fill in more slowly. Columnar junipers grow 6 to 12 inches a year, slower than any arborvitae we sell, which is why a juniper screen is an eight-to-twelve-year plan rather than a five-to-seven-year one. No cultivar is an exception.
- They need tighter spacing. At 2 to 4 feet of mature width, you plant 17 junipers where 13 Techny would do — more plants, more cost, more holes.
- Sky Rocket splays under snow. Its narrow branch angles bend and split under heavy wet Minnesota snow. Taylor, with a strong central leader, holds a tighter form. If you never want to think about it, plant Taylor.
- Tip blight. Phomopsis and Kabatina blights kill 2-to-6-inch branch ends, turning them brown then gray with small black fruiting bodies. Airflow and no overhead watering are the management.
- Cedar-apple rust. Junipers are the alternate host. Woody galls up to two inches form on twigs and push out orange gelatinous horns in wet spring weather. UMN Extension is clear that the galls do little harm to the juniper itself, but the fungus damages nearby apples, crabapples, and hawthorns, and Extension advises against planting junipers within a few hundred yards of susceptible trees.
- They hate wet feet. Worth saying twice.
The other evergreens people ask about
Four more come up in almost every consultation, and none of them changes the recommendation.
- Emerald Green and Holmstrup arborvitae. Narrow, tidy, and slow at roughly 8 to 12 inches a year. They suit tight beds, but they are the same species as Techny and get browsed exactly the same way. Choosing a narrower arborvitae does not solve a rabbit problem.
- Spartan Juniper. A dense, dark green columnar Chinese juniper and a legitimate alternative to Taylor where you want a tighter, more formal column. Same browse resistance, same drainage requirement, same tip-blight risk.
- Colorado Blue Spruce. We stock it and we will sell it to you, but not without the caveat: Picea pungens in the Upper Midwest has ongoing serious trouble with Rhizosphaera needlecast and cytospora canker, and full-size specimens are increasingly short-lived in the metro. Black Hills Spruce is the more reliable long-term choice. Dwarf cultivars in open, well-ventilated sites hold up best.
- Yew and hemlock. Taunton Spreading Yew is the best evergreen we have for real shade, but Rutgers rates Taxus in the same worst tier as arborvitae — deer eat yew as readily as they eat cedar. Canadian Hemlock is beautiful in a sheltered north or northeast exposure and burns badly anywhere else; UMN Extension groups it with yew and arborvitae as the species most prone to winter burn.
The recommendation
Plant columnar juniper on any open property line, boulevard, or lot backing onto woods, park, or open field, and anywhere you can see rabbit runs in the snow or deer tracks in the yard. Taylor is the default because it holds its form. Sky Rocket costs less and is a fine choice if you will brush snow off it. Star Power grows at the same 6-to-12-inch rate as the other two and brings gold new growth to the run, but at 7 to 9 feet wide it needs a deep bed rather than a narrow strip.
Plant arborvitae in a fenced backyard with no browse pressure, in a sheltered spot out of west wind, away from salt. American Pillar for speed, Techny for density. It will fill faster and cost less, and there is no reason to over-engineer a site that does not have the problem.
Plant Black Hills Spruce when you have 10 or more feet of width and a long time horizon — a corner, a lot line on an acreage, the end anchor of a mixed screen. It outlives both of the others.
And where there is room, mix them. A single-species wall fails all at once; a mixed screen loses one plant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best privacy evergreen for Minnesota? It depends on browse pressure. On exposed sites, open property lines, or anywhere with rabbits or deer, columnar juniper is the best choice — it is not browsed and it handles wind and salt. In a fenced yard with no browse pressure, arborvitae is better: it fills faster and costs less per plant. Black Hills Spruce is best where you have 10+ feet of width.
Do deer eat arborvitae or juniper? Arborvitae, heavily. Rutgers Cooperative Extension rates Thuja occidentalis "Frequently Severely Damaged," its worst tier, while Juniperus species rate "Seldom Severely Damaged" or "Rarely Damaged." The Minnesota DNR lists white cedar among deer's preferred winter foods. Juniper's resinous, prickly foliage is a genuine deterrent, though deer-resistant never means deer-proof.
Is juniper or arborvitae faster growing? Arborvitae, clearly. American Pillar runs about 1.5 to 2 feet a year in the Twin Cities and Techny about a foot; columnar junipers run 6 to 12 inches a year, slower than both. Expect a juniper screen to take roughly eight to twelve years to close versus five to seven for American Pillar at 3 feet on center. Speed is arborvitae's real advantage.
How much does a 50-foot privacy hedge cost in the Twin Cities? Roughly $880 to $1,500 installed in #5 container stock, depending on species, and about $2,000 to $3,900 in #10. Techny arborvitae at 4 feet on center is the least expensive at about $880 for 13 plants in #5; Taylor Juniper at 3 feet on center runs about $1,480 for 17. Larger balled-and-burlapped stock costs several times that.
Is Black Hills Spruce good for privacy? Yes, but only if you have space and patience. It matures 25 to 40 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide, grows roughly 6 to 12 inches a year, and needs 10 to 12 feet between plants — so six plants cover 50 feet and take a decade to screen anything. It is the toughest and longest-lived of the three and the best salt and wind performer.
Which columnar juniper is best for a Minnesota privacy screen? Taylor Juniper for most sites. It is a narrow selection of native eastern red cedar, released by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, hardy well past zone 4, and its strong central leader holds form under snow. Sky Rocket is less expensive and equally narrow but splays under heavy wet snow. Star Power grows at the same 6 to 12 inches a year and matures 7 to 9 feet wide, so it needs a deeper bed — choose it for the gold foliage, not for speed.
Do junipers get diseases in Minnesota? Two worth knowing. Phomopsis and Kabatina tip blights kill short branch ends, turning them brown then gray, and are managed with airflow and by avoiding overhead watering. Junipers are also the alternate host for cedar-apple rust; UMN Extension says the woody galls do little harm to the juniper itself but advises against planting near apples, crabapples, or hawthorns.
Can I plant arborvitae or juniper in wet clay? Neither, and juniper is the worse choice of the two. Junipers are the least tolerant of wet feet among common privacy evergreens. Arborvitae also declines from root rot in saturated clay. Test the spot by digging a 12-inch hole and filling it twice; if water still stands 12 hours after the second fill, raise the bed or change plants.
How far apart should I plant a privacy hedge? Techny arborvitae 4 feet on center, American Pillar 3 feet, columnar junipers 3 feet, Star Power Juniper 5 feet, and Black Hills Spruce 10 to 12 feet. That is 13 to 17 plants per 50 feet for arborvitae and juniper, and only five or six for spruce. Tighter spacing closes faster but crowds the row permanently.
Should I replace my arborvitae hedge with juniper? If the arborvitae keeps getting stripped at the snow line or browsed to a line by deer, yes. Arborvitae cannot regrow from bare wood, so a chewed skirt is permanent and no amount of care fixes it. If the hedge is healthy and your yard is fenced and sheltered, there is no reason to change.
Ready to pick the right screen?
Three Timbers Minnesota grows all three across the Twin Cities metro — Techny and American Pillar Arborvitae, Taylor and Sky Rocket Juniper, and Black Hills Spruce. Browse the privacy hedge collection, or go deeper on the two we recommend most: the Techny arborvitae guide and juniper privacy screens for Minnesota. Free delivery over $200, two to four business days, no minimum job on planting — call or text 612-214-1955.