I have lots of thuja occidentalis in the back yard (planted by previous owner). It's a very common tree in these parts for screening and hedging, so that's an indication of its adaptability. They seem to have handled moist-to-dry shade rather well, although I've noticed that the trees in full sun grow faster and fuller.

As far as aesthetics go, I have to say I prefer something like Eastern hemlock (tsuga canadensis), but that doesn't provide as dense a screen.

Watcha got? Atlantic white cedar (actually a cypress, Chamaecyparis thyoides), or Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis).

Northern white cedar is very common and adaptable to many conditions. It's probably what you bought and makes a good screen. There are loads of different cultivars in the hort trade.

Atlantic is less common and needs more exacting site requirements, swamp/moist soil, coastal plain, they are very slow growing. I live in a place where there used to be lots of cedar swamps and only a few very old stands remain. Even though they probably didn't exist on my property historically I grow a few.

It's Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), so it sounds like it does need a wetter spot. Any other tips for growing? How much sun do they need? I think of cedar swamps as rather dark. Thanks for your help!

I guess mine are actually "out of place" in well drained relatively sandy soil. I'm on top of what was once a sandy bluff on the north shore of Long Island. When I planted I amended the soil with plain old topsoil, lots of peat and mulch, set up a soaker hose but now that they are established I don't use it. I mulch them every spring with an inch or two(?) of shredded cedar mulch to keep weeds down. They get about five hours of direct sun the rest dappled or indirect. They started out very slow but as they got established they now grow maybe 10" or a foot a year?

I put 5 pretty close together in a group at the back of my property and they probably range between 10' and 15' now after seven years. I would like to eventually lay one down and let the branches become trees as I've seen "in the wild". I think what they really like is open conditions and full sun, moist well drained or aerated soil. They are shallow rooted.

I worked at a nature center (long ago) and I remember ordering and planting some that were grafted on some other rootstock so they would be more forgiving in our less than ideal conditions.

I'm not sure they're what you want to screen your neighbor's thoughtful placement of the garage (my condolences, losing a view is no fun), but I love them, they are very cool trees and the atlantic cedar swamp ecological community fascinates me. Good luck w/ them!

Cedar Swamps may be shady at ground level, but I think that the cedars are often growing largely in sunshine - it is the cedars that create the shad. So I don't think too much sun will be a problem. Too little water might, I don't know, but a lot of wetland plants grow quite well in average moisture conditions. Many wetland plants are found in wetlands because that is where they compete best with other vegetation, but they may actually grow better in well drained but moist soils. However, in well drained soils other plants grow still better, so the wetland plants are crowded out and end up being found, in the wild, mostly in wetlands. Examples of wetland plants growing outside wetlands in my garden include Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Winterberry Holly, and Swamp Milkweed.