val189 wrote:
A friend in New England was not home when a bad freeze hit
recently. She say sit's dead. �

Arborvitae is an extremely hardy cold climate plant, I seriously doubt
it froze to death in New England. I have two American arborvitae,
they are very exposed to the elements and show no suffering even
though temperatures here in NY regularly dive into the minus twenties
and the wind can be horrendous. As with most all evergreens it's
important to protect them from heavy snow buildup or branches will
break (of the many methods I prefer to take a broom to them). Deer
and rabbits love dining on arborvitae so it's a good idea to keep them
fenced. Arborvitae is susceptible to certain diseases but cold winter
weather is not one.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/tree/arborvitae.htm