Thuja planting and care outdoors in siberia

Evergreen coniferous crops are very popular due to their high decorativeness and undemandingness. Among such plants are thuja, planting and care in the open field for which even beginners can do it. In nature, thuja, the closest relatives to junipers and cypresses, are in the form of shrubs or tall trees with a dense crown and soft scaly needles.

The cultivated varieties of the plant are more compact than the wild ones, they can have a golden or silvery-gray crown, while the thuja are not capricious, they are not afraid of polluted air and they winter well on the territory of Russia.

When and how to plant an evergreen shrub? How to care for a thuja in the country, and how does caring for a plant differ in different regions?

Thuja with an open root system can be planted in the ground in spring or autumn. The first option is preferable because the plant has time to acclimatize and root. In autumn, if you delay planting, there is a high risk of freezing of the bush.

Nurseries offer closed-root seedlings. Planting such a plant is possible throughout the warm season.

How to plant thuja in the spring?

Decorative thuja love light, but constant exposure to the sun is depressing. Such a shrub turns yellow, dries up and hibernates poorly. To prevent this from happening, a bright place is chosen for the thuja, protected from the midday sun and draft.

Thuja, unpretentious and easily growing on soils of different composition, love moisture more than other conifers, but at the same time they are afraid of stagnant water, therefore, before planting thuja in spring, they properly prepare a hole, a loose aerated substrate, and also prepare a seedling.

Thuja soil is mixed on the basis of:

• 2 pieces of litter from coniferous forest or peat;
• 3 parts of sod land;
• 2 parts of humus;
• 1 part sand.

Mineral fertilizers for conifers are mixed into the substrate, according to the recommendations of the feed manufacturer. If the soil in the country is sandy, no additional sand is added.

Plants with an open root system often dry out on the way to their permanent residence. To replenish strength and revive the thuja will help immersion of the roots in settled water at room temperature, to which it is useful to add a root formation stimulator.

Plants with a closed root system, especially from foreign nurseries, can be infected with harmful fungi, scale insects, spider mites, rust pathogens and other diseases.

So that when planting thuja in Siberia, as in the photo, care does not begin with the struggle for the life of a shrub, the plant must be examined in advance and treated from roots to crown with systemic insecticides and fungicides.

Thuja planting technology in spring: a step-by-step description

The dimensions of the planting pit depend on the dimensions of the earthen coma and the root system of the seedling. For a thuja seedling at 3-4 years of age, a pit 50 to 100 cm wide and 60-70 cm deep is required.

A planting hole is made at a distance of 1-3 meters from other horticultural crops. The distance depends on the selected variety. The higher the shrub, the more space and nutrition is required for its superficial root system.

How to proceed further? Summer residents who do not have experience in growing conifers will need a step-by-step description of the technology for planting thuja in the spring.

1. If the site is dense, heavy soil, drainage of sand, brick chips or expanded clay with a layer of 15 to 20 cm must be done at the bottom.
2. Then part of the prepared soil is poured onto the bottom with a cone for a seedling with an open root system and an even layer for a plant in a container.
3. A bush with a closed root system is removed from the container and placed in the center of the pit. The roots of the shrub without a container are straightened and evenly spread over an earthen cone.
4. It is important that the root collar of the thuja is not below the soil level.
5. When the pit is covered with soil, it is slightly compacted.
6. The soil under the planted thuja is watered abundantly so that the soil is moist to the entire depth of the pit. This requires 10 to 20 liters.
7. At the end, the trunk circle is mulched with chopped grass or peat.

A loose protective layer of mulch will save moisture, protect the root system from decay when planting thuja and care in the Leningrad region, as well as from freezing during return cold in Siberia or the Urals.

Thuja care after planting in the open field

Tui respond well to water. With its lack, the shrub loses its brightness and tone, the needles gradually turn yellow, and the crown thins.

Focusing on the weather, the humidity of the air and soil, the plants in the garden are regularly watered. In dry weather, this should be done every 3-4 days. Irrigating the crown in the morning or evening will help:

• keep the greenery alive and beautiful;
• activate the respiration of the shoots.

Caring for thuja in the open field after planting involves removing weeds and carefully loosening the soil under the bushes. Since the roots of thuja are superficial, you should not disturb the soil deeper than 8-10 cm. Laying peat or sawdust mulch will help to simplify the task, the layer of which is renewed as needed.

Feeding thuja in the spring gives the plant strength for a quick recovery after wintering and activates the growth of young shoots. As a fertilizer, complex formulations for conifers with a predominance of nitrogen should be used. Liquid top dressing is applied in the morning or evening hours on wet soil.

If fertilizers were added when planting in the ground, the first feeding of the thuja is carried out only two years after planting, when the soil has completely thawed. This is especially important when planting and caring for thuja in the Urals, Siberia and other regions with a harsh climate.

Roots in warm soil will immediately assimilate nutrients and push the growth of shoots. If fertilizers get into frozen soil, they can cause rotting of the root system.

Pruning thuja in spring

Evergreen shrubs practically do not change over the winter.In the cold season, some of the thuja varieties acquire a brown hue, their development is inhibited and resumed only with the arrival of heat.

Caring for thujas in the spring necessarily includes sanitary pruning, which allows the crown to be freed from dry and severely damaged branches. Until the shoots have begun to grow, they carry out the spring formation of the crown. This must be done carefully, cutting off no more than a third of the length of the shoot. In the future, pruning helps to maintain the shape of the shrub, and also stimulates branching, making the plant denser, lively, green.

Hot summers can lead to the loss or weakening of some branches. In this case, do not wait for autumn. Sanitary pruning of thuja is carried out as needed. If the shoot is not dead, but only weakened, a haircut can push its recovery.

The time for re-forming the bush in the middle lane begins in August and lasts until the end of September. In Siberia, the Urals and regions where the first frosts come earlier, the haircut will have to be done earlier.

By autumn, the growth of thuja freezes, the plant prepares for winter. If the soil is dry, the plants are watered abundantly in October before the snow falls.

Preparing for cold weather and caring for thuja after winter

Most types of thuja tolerate frost without loss, however, young shrubs are better protected from low temperatures using spruce branches or other suitable materials. In the future, the growing shrub may not suffer from the cold, but from the breaks of the crown and burns of the needles that occur in February or March, when the snow melts and can no longer protect the branches.

In Siberia, conifers lose their decorative effect both from an early spring burn and from drying out, as a result of soil freezing. These dangers are often haunted by large tall forms. Dwarf trees and squat plants tolerate even the most severe winters better, but they can undermine in spring with a dense crown and prolonged thawing of the soil.

Before the onset of winter, when caring for thuja:

• carry out sanitary pruning of the crown;
• shrubs water and huddle high;
• near-trunk circles are mulched abundantly with a layer of up to 15 cm.

For the prevention of snow breaks, pyramidal and spherical shrubs are tied, securing the shape with twine, but without tightening, in order to prevent the appearance of delusion.

Covers for evergreen wintering plants have proven themselves quite well. Snow helps to preserve the decorative effect of thuja; both tall and low plants are abundantly sprinkled with it.

Before caring for thuja in the country, you need to know the features of the various forms of this culture.

Garden thuja are divided into vigorous, medium-sized specimens and ground cover forms. Among tall plants, it winters best, retains the bright color of the needles and the thuja Braband is formed up to 20 meters high. Shrubs with a narrower pyramidal shape can fade, but columnar plants, even in Siberian conditions, retain their decorative effect well. Thuja Smaragd with a height of about 2 meters with an average growth rate both in winter and in summer pleases with bright green needles, but without sufficient care it burns out.

The most unpretentious and easy to care for are small plants that can be easily covered under snow and covered in spring to protect them from burns. They are good for planting and nursing in the Urals, Siberia and the Leningrad region, where it is not always possible to grow large shrubs.

Thuja care after winter begins in February. The bright sun not only awakens everything to life, but also turns the snow into a hard crust, spoiling the bark, and burns the scaly needles. Therefore, before removing the shelter from the thuja after winter, they destroy the ice crust, and also carry out a number of measures to accelerate the thawing of the soil:

• the old mulch is removed;
• the bush is watered with hot water;
• the near-stem circle is covered with a film or black non-woven material.

The bright spring sun is detrimental to the needles, which turn yellow and often fall off. From March to May, especially if the thuja grows in an open, sunny place, the shrub is covered with breathable material.

When the needles on the shoots are nevertheless damaged and lost their former splendor, the heavily dried, yellowed parts of the branches are cut off, and the crown is treated daily, irrigated with a solution of a growth stimulator.

Ice crust can damage the bark. After they removed the shelter for the winter, the thuja are examined, and the revealed lesions are covered with garden var.

Problems when caring for thuja outdoors

Problems when growing thuja are most often associated with:

• with a lack of attention;
• with the wrong planting or choosing a place for the bush;
• weakening of the wintering field;
• attack by pests or pathogens.

Tui are affected by pathogens of fungal and bacterial infections, manifested in the form of wilting needles, the appearance of yellowness or brown spots on it. Without proper attention and complex treatment with a fungicide, the disease grows and can cause the death of the garden thuja. After the initial irrigation, the procedure is repeated after 2 weeks.

Among the pests dangerous for thuja:

• shields and false shields;
• spider mites;
• thuja moth;
• aphid;
• leaf rollers;
• bark beetles damaging the bark.

As a preventive measure, plants are sprayed with an insecticide solution in early spring, repeating the treatment after 14 days.

If the thuja is planted correctly, and caring for the plant fully covers its needs, the shrub grows well and decorates the summer cottage for a long time.

Planting a thuja - video

Thuja care - video

In an effort to decorate your site, the question often arises of how to plant a thuja if the harsh climate does not please the plants with a long spring-summer season. Thuja enjoys special love among amateur summer residents and experienced gardeners, because the variety of varieties includes species that can develop well both in mild climatic and Siberian conditions. In order for thuja to become a unique element of landscape design, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the rules for planting and caring for this coniferous perennial.

Thuja characteristics

Thuja belongs to the cypress family. These are evergreen shrubs and trees, some species of which are capable of reaching a height of 70 m, and a trunk diameter of 6 m. In horticulture, varieties are usually planted not exceeding 11 meters in height.

Despite the fact that thuja belongs to the class of gymnosperms of conifers, its leaves are not quite like needles - they are soft, scaly.

The homeland of thuja is considered to be North America and East Asia, from where it was brought to Europe.

This shrub is undemanding to growing conditions, tolerates gas-polluted city air well, making it a popular means of landscaping parks and streets. Thuja is highly frost-resistant. However, it tolerates dry weather and shade well. Thuja is not picky about the fertility and type of soil, but it is not recommended to overmoisten it.

Types and varieties of thuja

Thuja is distinguished by a variety of varieties and species that differ from each other in shape, crown size, shade of leaves, height. Here are the most popular ones:

Eastern

Differs in a large spreading crown of a lace look. This species belongs to the thermophilic species, therefore it is not grown in regions with severe winters. More than 50 varieties have been bred from this species.

Western

The most popular species today. There are several varieties of western thuja, which differ in the shape of the crown and the color of the needles. The plant is unpretentious, even tolerates a harsh winter.

Thuja Western, grade Golden Glob

Japanese

Under natural conditions, Japanese thuja grows up to 20 meters in height. She needs clean air, so the species is not suitable for urban cultivation.

Thuja Japanese: prefers clean air

Giant (folded)

The height of the giant thuja reaches 60 meters. It is distinguished by very fragrant needles and cold intolerance. Vipkord and Kagers Beauty are considered popular varieties of giant thuja.

Thuja Giant in natural conditions

Korean

The Korean thuja shrub grows up to 7-9 meters. Growing conditions for Korean thuja are regions with warm winters.

Thuja Korean is distinguished by large needles of a silvery shade.

For cultivation in Siberia, they use the Western thuja. More than 120 varieties of this variety are known, but the following are the most frost-resistant:

Thuja Brabant

A tree-like variety that grows up to 4 meters in height. The crown is columnar, 1.5 meters in diameter. The needles of the plant are green in the warm season, and brown in winter. Brabant belongs to fast-growing varieties: in just one year, the thuja stretches upwards by 30 cm, increasing in diameter by 15 cm. It tolerates periodic pruning of the crown and shoots. Thuja Brabant prefers lighted areas, but also tolerates small shadows well. Doesn't like drafts. This variety should be planted in black soil.

Emerald

Grows up to 4.5 m in height. The crown is conical, with dense dark green branches. The shade of the foliage does not change even in winter. The variety is slow-growing, loves regular watering. Due to its slow growth, Smaragd does not need a constant haircut.

Smaragd is often used as a hedge.

Columna

A six-meter tree with a crown diameter of 1.5 m. It is dense, compact, with horizontally located shoots. The needles are dark green, the shade does not change for the winter. The variety is very frost-resistant, undemanding to soil and air temperature. Requires regular watering and a partial shade area.

Holmstrup

Columnar shrub 3 meters high. He has a very dense, dense crown. Not picky about the illumination of the site, soil moisture, it grows slowly.

Fastigiata

A six-meter tree with a fluffy crown of a light green hue. A fast-growing variety: the annual growth is 30 cm. In winter, the thuja does not change its color, the shape of the crown resembles a cypress.

Sunkist

Shrub with a conical crown, dense and dense branches. The needles are golden yellow in color, as they grow older, they become bronze in color. The growth of thuja Sunkist is slow: in 10 years it can grow by only 2 meters. Photophilous variety.

Three-year-old thuja sapling Sankist

Wagneri

Thuja with an ovoid crown of a gray-green hue and a copper tint. For good growth and development, it requires fertile, moist soil and a well-lit area. Does not need a haircut, independently maintaining the shape of the crown.

The best option for giving is thuja Wagneri

Clot of Gold

A low thuja (2 m.) With an ellipse or cone-shaped crown, which is distinguished by the lemon color of the needles. Requires high-quality drainage, medium-fertile soil with a high alkali content. An excess of moisture can die.

Original Clot of Gold

When is the best time to plant thuja in Siberia?

It is recommended to plant thuja in the spring, so that over the summer the young seedling has time to root well and can endure wintering. If the shrub was planted in the fall, it must be covered for the winter.

If a seedling with a closed root system was purchased in the nursery, it can be planted in the ground at any warm season.

Preparing the soil for planting

Before planting thuja, it is important to properly prepare the soil. It is preferable to use black soil, into which sand, peat, turf are introduced. Thuja does not like excessive soil moisture and stagnant water, therefore, before planting, you need to provide high-quality drainage with the help of chipped bricks and gravel.

How to plant thuja correctly in spring:

• choose an area protected from drafts and the sun;
• prepare the soil for the shrub, consisting of peat, humus, sand and turf in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 3. If the soil contains sand on the site, it is not added to the prepared substrate;
• the resulting soil is mixed with mineral fertilizers for conifers.

How to choose a cutting?

It is recommended to buy a thuja seedling in a nursery, where you can look at the condition of the plant, evaluate its external characteristics. You should not import a seedling from a different climatic zone.It is best to buy it where it is planned to grow thuja - it will be an already acclimatized plant, which will quickly take root in a new place.

The ephedra should be carefully examined for infection with spider mites, scale insects, the presence of fungal lesions, which sometimes happens when buying seedlings from foreign nurseries. After purchasing, the shrub from the roots to the very top should be treated with special means.

Care of young thuja

After planting a shrub on the site, sufficient care must be provided so that the seedling takes root faster and begins to develop.

I. Autumn

At the end of autumn, the development of the shrub slows down, it begins to prepare for wintering. If the fall is dry, it is necessary to water the soil abundantly before the snow falls. Before the onset of winter, it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning of the crown, high hilling, abundant mulching near the trunk up to 15 cm thick.

II. In winter

Frost-resistant thuja can easily endure the winter cold, but young seedlings need special care before the first winter. Therefore, it is recommended to protect thuja from low temperatures using spruce branches or covering materials. When the snow begins to melt, they will help protect the shrubbery from the sunburns of the spring sun and crown breaks. Thuja with a pyramidal and spherical crown is tied with twine, without tightening too much.

Shelter and bondage for the winter

III. In the spring

The shrub needs to be properly watered. If the weather is dry, the thuja is watered every 3-4 days with irrigation of the crown in the morning and evening. This will help keep the greenery fresh and encourage shoot growth. After planting under the bush, weeds are removed and the soil is gently loosened on the surface (no deeper than 8-10 cm).

You can mulch the soil with peat or sawdust. As a fertilizer, complex solutions for conifers with the addition of nitrogen are used, adding them in the morning and in the evening. If fertilizers were added during planting, then the first top dressing should be applied no earlier than 2 years later and only after the soil has completely thawed out after winter, which is especially important for Siberia.

IV. Summer

Young thuja in the summer needs to be shaded - for this they use gauze, burlap, agril. It is covered so that the material does not touch the branches. You can use a lightweight folding frame covered with fabric. When covering, the amount of thuja irrigation decreases. In addition, in the summer, the thuja must be mulched, pouring a layer of sawdust, humus and peat near the trunk.

Thuja breeding methods

Thuja reproduces vegetatively and by seed. If the plant is species, use the second method. If varietal, vegetative propagation should be used as seeds may not retain varietal characteristics.

I. Propagation by seeds

It usually takes a long time to grow thuja from seeds - about five years. But at the same time, shrubs grow from seeds that are maximally adapted to local climatic conditions.

For planting, seeds are used that have spent the whole winter under the snow - this is how they are “hardened”. In the spring, they are placed in a container with a nutrient substrate, adding soil with coniferous sawdust. After that, they need to provide the necessary conditions: constant hydration, protection from the sun and timely feeding. After five years, the seedling is placed in open ground.

II. Cuttings

When propagated by cuttings, seedlings retain their varietal qualities. For reproduction, 2-3-year-old shoots are used, which are separated from the upper part of the crown in April. It is necessary to separate the stalk manually so that particles of wood enriched with useful substances are preserved at its end. The length of the shoot should be 20 cm.

Before planting the cuttings, they are disinfected by dipping them into potassium permanganate and soaking them in a solution of a root growth stimulator for about a day. Then they are planted in sand with drainage from small pebbles.There should be holes at the bottom of the containers to allow moisture to pass through, as well as to facilitate the free flow of oxygen to the roots.

Diseases than to treat

Despite the unpretentiousness of the thuja, sometimes diseases can occur caused by improper or insufficient care, an unsuccessful planting site, and the weakening of the plant after wintering. Thuja are often affected by fungal or bacterial infections that cause foliage to wilt, yellow or brown spots. If the shrub is not treated with a fungicide in time, diseases can lead to the death of thuja. The fungicide irrigation procedure is carried out every two weeks.

How to deal with pests?

The plant can be attacked by pests. Among them may be: false shields, spider mites, thuja moths, aphids, leafworms, bast beetles. To prevent their attack, a preventive spraying of the plant with insecticides is carried out, starting in early spring, and repeating it 14 days after the initial treatment.

Pest infestation (false shield)

Watering

After spring or summer planting, thuja should be watered once a week. If the weather is dry, watering should be done twice a week. At the same time, at least 1-2 buckets of water must be poured under each bush of the plant. For mature plants and young seedlings, more water will be required. In addition to watering, in dry weather, it is required to irrigate the thuja foliage - this should be done in the evenings, at sunset.

Pruning

To activate the growth of young shoots and preserve the neat shape of the crown, the thuja must be periodically trimmed. The frequency of pruning depends on the growth rate of the shrub. In spring, sanitary pruning should be carried out, removing dry old branches, and also forming a crown. If the branches were damaged or weakened in summer, it is also worth carrying out sanitary pruning, removing a third of the length of the shoot. Repeated haircuts in Siberia are carried out before the first frost.

Top dressing and mulching

Fertilization will help thuja grow faster, develop a lush crown, maintain a vibrant shine and shade of needles. It is enough to fertilize the plant twice - at the beginning of the season, then in the summer. Common compost is used, as well as mineral fertilizers for conifers. They can be applied to the topsoil and slightly loosened, or prepared for irrigation solutions. Mulching with compost or sawdust from coniferous trees should be carried out around the trunk to protect the thuja from weeds and retain moisture.

Pine bark mulching

Thuja daily care

For an adult thuja, the following care is needed:

1. As the shrub grows, shoots and branches should be pruned. The pruning procedure is usually carried out at least once a year. This will help form a beautiful, rounded crown. The yellowed branches are removed, and the dried ones are cut off by one third of the length.
2. Regular watering, in extreme heat shrubs can be hosed in the evening. In this case, you need to ensure that there is no excess moisture.
3. Top dressing is applied every spring. At normal times, you need to mulch the soil, loosen the soil near the trunk, without touching the root system.
4. Cleansing the land around the thuja from weeds.
5. Preparation for winter is expressed in the termination of feeding to stop the growth of young shoots, abundant watering of the land and the subsequent warming of the young shrub.

Helpful tips and tricks from professionals

1. In the spring, you should not immediately remove the covering material from the thuja. This should be done only after the snow has completely melted, when the air warms up well. Shrubs should be opened in cloudy weather, otherwise the spring rays will leave burns on the branches weaned from the sun.
2. When mulching the soil, you need to make sure that the mulch does not cover the lower branches and the trunk of the thuja, otherwise these places will begin to grind.
3. Due to the sharp change in temperature, closer to spring, cracks may appear on the bark of the thuja. They should be covered with garden pitch, and the bark should be pulled off well. After that, the wounds will heal.

Proper care, watering, timely treatment of the shrub, taking preventive measures against pests and diseases, will ensure the sustainable growth and development of thuja even in the harsh Siberian climate with hot summers and cold winters. Thuja Western is best suited for this climate.

Videos about growing thuja

The properties of the plant that allow it to grow in the harsh climate of Siberia:

From this video you can find out what types of thuja are and what are the differences between them:

Features of growing thuja western in the following video:

Thuja in Siberia - features of planting and care

Planting a thuja in your garden is like laying a time capsule for future generations. The lifespan of this plant is calculated in tens of years, often the age of the thuja goes over the century mark.

Imagine, there will be no gadget on which you are reading these lines, the building in which you are will cease to exist, and your descendants will probably look at the “life tree” planted by your hands.

How to plant thuja and properly care for it, which variety to choose for growing in Siberia - the correct answers to these questions will allow your garden to be filled with the healing coniferous aroma of an evergreen tree.

Thuja varieties for growing in Siberia

The genus thuja includes 5 species, the most widespread in landscaping around the world was Thuja Western, as the most unpretentious and winter-hardy. Among the varieties of western thuja, the following are popular in Siberia:

• Smaragd (Smaragd) - hardy variety, reaches 5 meters, but grows slowly, about 10 centimeters per year;
• Hoseri (Hoseri) - fast-growing, per year gives an increase of up to a third of a meter, up to 2 meters high, suitable for creating hedges;
• Brabant (Brabant) - dwarf, decorative, up to half a meter high;
• Danica (Danica) is a popular dwarf variety up to 60 centimeters high, round in shape.

Thuja western, unlike some other species, is able to live in areas with polluted air, without losing its decorative properties, and therefore can be used in urban greening.

Choosing a place on the site

It is advisable to choose a place for planting thuja that is illuminated by the sun either in the morning or in the evening. With the constant presence of a plant in direct sunlight, it loses a lot of moisture, loses its decorative properties.

Thuja is quite unpretentious, but prefers light soil with the addition of peat and sand. The plant is demanding on soil moisture and is able to grow even in areas with high groundwater levels.

However, when placing thuja in such areas, in order to avoid getting the roots wet at the bottom of the planting pit, a drainage layer of 15-20 centimeters is created (from gravel, broken brick).

When is it better to plant thuja

Is it better to plant thuja in Siberia in spring or autumn? A plant planted in spring has more opportunities for full rooting during the summer and has greater winter hardiness. If necessary, a seedling of a winter-hardy variety, for example, Smaragd, can be planted in the fall, but it must be covered especially carefully for the winter.

We plant thuja correctly

Thuja can be propagated both by sowing with seeds (cones), and by cuttings and planting seedlings. At the same time, if you want to get a plant of a certain variety, it must be borne in mind that varietal qualities are not preserved when sown with seeds.

The most reliable way to acquire the desired variety of thuja is to buy it in a reliable nursery, where you can see the state of the tree, its appearance. In addition, by purchasing a plant in a nursery located in your climatic zone, you are guaranteed to receive an acclimatized plant that can safely survive a transplant.

Thuja is planted in planting pits, the size of which is determined by the size of the earthen coma on the roots of the plant.The depth of the hole should be such that when planting, the root collar is flush with the ground, as the plant grew in a nursery or nursery.

At what distance to plant thuja in a summer cottage? The distance between plants depends on their estimated height in adulthood. On average, between vigorous plants (from 10 meters), it is necessary to leave 5 meters, less tall - 2 meters. When laying a hedge, plants are planted at a distance of 0.7-1 meter.

Since the root system of the thuja is located close to the surface of the earth, it is recommended to mulch the planting site with high quality, this will retain moisture for the plant in summer, eliminating the need to loosen the soil under it.

Thuja care

How often to water the thuja, many novice gardeners do not know. In the first year after planting, regular watering is required - 1 bucket of water once a week and sprinkling of the seedling. In a hot dry season, both the volume and frequency of watering should be increased by pouring 2 buckets 2 times a week under each plant. A couple of times per season, young thuja can be watered with diluted manure infusion in a ratio of 1:20.

Regular sprinkling or watering from a hose with a shower divider is very beneficial for the condition of thuja. By washing away dust and impurities from the plant, sprinkling facilitates the processes of respiration and photosynthesis of the plant, which helps to keep the needles healthier and stimulates the release of essential oils. After this procedure, the garden is filled with a coniferous aroma, which has a healing phytoncidal effect.

In spring, thuja must be pruned by removing all dried, damaged branches. The formation of a plant for decorative purposes begins to be produced when it reaches the required height. During the pruning process, it is allowed to remove no more than a third of the branches so as not to weaken the plant.

Shelter for the winter

In the first winter after planting, it is advisable to warm the young thuja. To prevent freezing of the root system, the plant is mulched abundantly, if this has not been done earlier.

The branches are tied to the trunk, which is wrapped in a light-transmitting covering material.

It is unacceptable to cover the thuja with materials that do not transmit the sun's rays, since the processes of photosynthesis in the needles of a plant continue in winter.

An adult healthy thuja plant does not need shelter for the winter. In order to prevent the breakage of the shoots under the weight of the snow, the branches are not tied too tightly to the trunk with a rope before the snow falls. In this state, western thuja successfully winters in Siberia.

Beauty thuja

I first met this plant in childhood. We flew to the resort in the southern city of Zheleznovodsk, and from the very first minutes I was struck by the many hedges in the streets made of an amazing tree with openwork leaves.

In Siberia, I had never met such a rare beauty, and here the janitors even swept the sidewalks with it. As it turned out, this plant is called thuja, and in the southern regions it is not at all uncommon.

It is possible to grow thuja in our area, observing some of the peculiarities of caring for it in the Siberian climate.

There are five types of thuja in nature. Of these, only the western thuja (Thuja occidenta) can be successfully grown in the open field of the Siberian region. Thuja western is an evergreen coniferous tree from the Cypress family.

In nature, it is found in the eastern regions of North America.

Thuja needles are scaly, dark green, golden or bluish, the bark is smooth red-brown in young trees and gray-brown in old age, the root system is superficial, branched.

Thuja, due to the huge variety of varieties and good shearing tolerance, is an excellent plant for decorating a garden. It can withstand and realize almost any fantasy of landscape design: it can grow a small border, and a human-sized hedge, and single columns or large golden balls, and even create interesting topiary forms.

Planting thuja

Thuja is undemanding to the soil - it grows well on neutral and slightly acidic soils, but prefers moist, well-drained soil. Thuja acquires the most attractive decorative appearance when grown in soil from a mixture of sod land, sand, humus and peat.

Thuja should be planted in partial shade to avoid sunburn on the crown, in a place well sheltered from the wind.

The distance between trees depends on the purpose of planting: for hedges, the distance is maintained from 0.5 to 2 meters, between single trees - from 1 to 5 meters.

Thuja tolerates repeated transplants well, it is better to plant new plants on the site in the spring at the moment the soil thaws, in pits 0.7 m deep and up to 1 m in diameter.

Planting thuja (video)

See the experience of planting a western thuja with a closed root system in the video of Tatyana and Sergey Krapivin.

Thuja care

In order for the plant to acquire a lush crown and a bright appearance, the soil at its roots must be well moistened. A month after planting a thuja, she needs abundant watering - once a week, a 10-liter bucket of water per plant and irrigation of the crown. Then - regular watering.

However, remember that prolonged heating and excessive waterlogging of the soil leads to the death of conifers. The peculiarities of the thuja root system are such that the roots are located at the surface of the earth, and when they begin to dry out, the crown turns yellow.

Therefore, in addition to regular watering, the soil must be carefully loosened - to a depth of 10 cm, and mulched with peat or wood chips in a layer of 7 cm.

Thuja is fed not earlier than a year after planting, every spring watering the near-trunk circle several times with warm water with Kemira Lux soluble fertilizer. Do not fertilize in the fall.

Training thujaTowinter

In autumn, the thuja begins to prepare for winter - its crown can acquire a brown hue - this is a natural protective reaction of the tree to a cold snap. Preparing thuja for winter is especially important for young plants. At the end of autumn, it is necessary to prune all dry shoots with garden shears.

For the winter, the plants are covered - this protects the thuja not so much from frost as from the danger of getting spring sunburn, which greatly damages the crown. In spring, the ground is frozen, and in the absence of moisture, the plant has no way to resist the sun.

You do not need to cover yellow thuja varieties resistant to spring burns: Aurescens, Golden Glob, Sankist, and low-growing varieties, for example, Danica globular, which will be completely covered by natural snow cover. The most important thing is the choice of covering material.

In no case are non-breathable materials such as polyethylene or nylon bags suitable - under them the thuja can simply snuggle. It is important to choose a material that does not allow ultraviolet light to pass through; experienced gardeners recommend black agrotex for this purpose.

It is necessary to remove the covering material in the spring after the ground has completely thawed, it is better on cloudy days or to open the thuja gradually, making sure that the plant has already woken up.

A haircutandpruning thuja

Thuja is cut annually with a sharp pruner, no more than 1/3 of the length of the shoot. All dry shoots are also carefully removed.

If you carefully cut off the tips of the apical shoots, this will lead to tillering and the formation of a more lush crown.

With proper care, the beautiful thuja will serve as a wonderful frame for your site or country house, delighting you and your guests with its lush openwork greenery.

Polina Miroshnikova

Site in Siberia and landscaping: tips

The harsh climate in Siberia is not a reason to abandon the idea of ​​creating a landscape design.

Is it possible to create a beautiful and original landscape design in Siberia? It is possible, despite certain difficulties, primarily related to the specifics of the climate.

Siberia has a really harsh climate that does not allow many plants to survive. However, not everything is so hopeless. And this region has its own "zest".

For example, there you can arrange a plot using Siberian cedar, or you can decorate the ground with crested crested, lungwort and kandyks.

You will not find these plants anywhere except Siberia, for the rest of the world it is an unaffordable luxury, exotic. And in the Siberian area, they feel comfortable, grow and develop rapidly. What other plants can you use in harsh climates? More on this below.

Unpretentious plants for landscape design in Siberia: which ones to look for?

The main thing to consider when choosing plants for a site in Siberia is the place where they will be planted, their whimsicality to light. Here's a list of the most drought tolerant and maintenance free plants. Almost all of them are light-loving.

Annual light-loving plants

Euphorbia is a sample of annuals, represented by many species, among which you can find both trees and shrubs.

Veronica can also be represented by both perennials and annuals. Plants thrive in direct light in dry soil with an abundance of calcareous minerals. Feature - they do an excellent job with cold and frost, are suitable for planting on a lawn or in a rabatka.

Perennial light-loving plants

This group includes Siberian irises, which do not need watering in dry weather. Just like Veronica, irises do not die even in severe frost, which is important, given the climate of Siberia. Often, irises are used to equip alpine slides.

Another light-loving plant is liatris, which, unlike previous species, needs watering. It grows without requiring a special shelter in cold weather, perfect for decorating a rocky garden and mixborder.

Shade-loving plants

Shadow is a relative concept. The shade can be dense, covering most of the area with a dark blanket, or it can be laced, creating darkening in places. Plants should be selected based on the type of shade in the area and their adaptability to it.

So, for example, some of them grow well in partial shade, and some do well in full shade. The advantages of even partially shaded areas are soil moisture. So that the humidity does not go beyond the norm, you will need to take care of the drainage.

It is important to understand that the shadow is more often formed from trees that take many nutrients from the soil, which means that the plants will need to be fed periodically.

Astilba is perfect for design on a site in Siberia.

Astilba - feels great in the shade. They are hardy plants that are resistant to diseases and pests. In Siberia, it is especially popular due to its resistance to frosty weather (subject to dense snow cover).

Ferns, the oldest plant species on Earth, love to grow in the shade, but cannot tolerate too wet soil. The most resistant to Siberian frosts is a bulbous bladder, which does not require careful maintenance, and is rapidly developing.

Hosts are plants that grow well in places protected from the wind in the shade in the soil with sufficient moisture and a percentage of humus. Correctly selected soil for the plant will further reduce the time it takes to care for it. Hosts are used to decorate a mixborder, a reservoir in areas decorated with stones.

The most demanding plant to care for is the daylily, which must be planted on fertile soil, watered abundantly and infrequently.

Thuja is a very beautiful tree that is completely unpretentious.

Among the popular conifers for decorating a country house, you can use thuja or juniper (examples in the photo). Thuja practically does not need care and will beautifully fit into any Siberian garden, will become the dominant or background of the composition created by the efforts of landscape design. Tue is not afraid of Siberian frosts, it can grow in almost any soil.

Juniper is grown in Siberia more often Cossack, preferring well-lit areas, drought-resistant, with a number of soil-protective properties.

Thuja - tree of life

It is difficult even to imagine that this fluffy and already familiar tree in parks and on plots is not found in the wild nature of our regions. Thuja came to us from the southeastern part of Canada and the northern part of the United States several centuries ago. Under natural conditions, in its homeland, thuja grows up to 20 meters, in our latitudes it is more customary to see it about 10 meters high.

Thuja is a coniferous plant from the Cypress family that can be a tree or shrub with flat shoots. There are five types of thuja:

• Thuja western, or life tree (Thuja occidentalis);
• Thuja Sichuan, or Thuja Chinese (Thuja sutchuenensis);
• Thuja Korean (Thuja koraiensis);
• Thuja japonica, or Thuja Standisha (Thuja standishii);
• Thuja folded, or Thuja giant (Thuja plicata).

All types of thuja are evergreen with a dense crown, and the needles tolerate cold and air pollution well. Therefore, they are ideal for urban beautification in temperate latitudes. Thuja wood contains aromatic essential oils that give the plant a pleasant smell. In our cold latitudes, various varieties of western thuja grow well and tolerate winters.

Thuja western - an evergreen coniferous tree from the Cypress family (Cupressaceae), genus Tuya, naturally occurring in the eastern regions of North America.

Due to the large number of highly decorative artificially bred forms, winter hardiness, durability and resistance to urban conditions, thuja western is very widespread in ornamental gardening across all continents in many climatic zones.

Planting thuja

If you decide to plant a thuja in the garden, then choose an area where the sun will not be all day long. Due to constant direct sunlight, the plant can become dehydrated or get sick in winter from frost. The soil is better suited to sod, with the addition of peat and sand.

Thuja will grow without any problems in any other soil - in a swamp, clay, sandy loam. When planting thujas in groups, it is necessary to maintain the correct distance between trees, it can vary from 1 to 5 meters, namely, when planting a single-row hedge of 1 m.

, with a two-row hedge - up to 2 m, and when planting large species of thuja in the alley up to 5 m. Do not forget that trees will grow not only in height, but also in width. Planting depth - 60-80 cm.

It is advisable to plant thuja in the spring, although at any time of the year the thuja tolerates planting well with the right actions of the gardener.

Thuja is grown in the air: in the open field or in a pot, in single and group plantings, in hedges, forest shelter belts, if possible in a cool and humid microclimate. Usually these plants are planted permanently in November or March. They prefer deep and slightly moist but well-drained soils.

For hedges, thuja is planted, observing a distance of 60-70 centimeters between plants. Growing thuja in pots or flowerpots, a substrate of peat and fertile soil is used with the addition of organic fertilizers in an amount of 30-50 grams per bucket of soil. From the second year of life, they have been practicing liquid fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

Living wall of tui

Growing thuja

Thuja can grow both in a sunny place and in partial shade, but in full shade its crown thins. Any soil is suitable: peaty, clayey, dry sandy loam, the main thing is that it is well permeable. On heavy damp soils, drainage is done with a layer of 15–20 cm; in swamps, pipes are laid in trenches.

When buying and transplanting plants, pay attention to the fact that the earthen lump around the roots of the thuja is preserved. Young plants tolerate transplanting more easily.

Planting pits should be 60–80 cm deep - depending on the size of the earth clod, the height and diameter of the plant crown.

They are covered with a mixture of sod or leafy soil, peat and sand (2: 1: 1) with the addition (at planting) of 50-100 g of nitroammofoska for each adult plant. The root collar should be at ground level.

When planting plants in groups, a distance of 3 to 5 m is maintained between them, focusing on the size of future trees. In the alleys, thuja are usually planted 4 meters from one another.

Plants are fed in spring. Usually, for this purpose, complex fertilizers are used, for example, "Kemiru-universal", at the rate of 50-60 g / m2. If complete mineral fertilization was applied during planting, the first feeding is carried out only after two years.

Lush thuja needles evaporate a lot of moisture, so the soil should not be allowed to dry out, including in autumn.

In the first month after planting, it is watered once a week (10–50 liters per seedling, depending on its size), in addition, the crown is irrigated.

Thanks to sprinkling, the dust is not just washed off: the stomata of the leaves open up, it becomes easier for the plant to breathe and, accordingly, all physiological processes proceed more intensively.

During the growing season, the soil is loosened to a depth of 8–10 cm (the thuja has a superficial root system). It is advisable to mulch the trunk circles - with peat, wood chips, bark, compost. This will protect the roots from overheating and drying out in summer and from rapid freezing in winter.

For the first three to four years, the plants are covered to avoid winter and spring sunburn. Adult thuja are quite winter-hardy. However, it is advisable to slightly pull the branches of tall trees with twine so that their crowns do not break under the weight of wet snow.

Reproduction of thuja

Thuja can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively. Seed propagation is acceptable only for thuja species, but not for forms and varieties (decorative qualities will be lost). In addition, it is a laborious and long process: it will take three to five years to grow a seedling. The seeds must be freshly harvested.

They are subjected to natural stratification, leaving them in the fall under the snow. In the spring, they are sown on the ridges, deepening by only 0.5 cm, lightly sprinkled with coniferous sawdust. Thuja shoots are covered with shields from the sun, the soil is kept loose and moist.

They are fed with a weak solution of slurry (1:20).

Most often, the western and its forms are propagated by lignified cuttings (using 2–3-year-old shoots 25–40 cm long) and semi-lignified (the current year's growth is 10–20 cm long, cut in June).

Cuttings are cut off so that a small piece of old wood - "heel" remains on the base of the shoot. In this case, the cuttings root better. They are treated with a solution of heteroauxin and placed in a greenhouse.

The soil is prepared from a mixture of river sand with peat and sod land (in a ratio of 1: 1: 1), disinfected with potassium permanganate. The planting depth of the cuttings is from 1.5 to 2.5 cm.

In a greenhouse, it is very important to maintain high air humidity without waterlogging the substrate, therefore spraying is more desirable than watering. Rooted cuttings are ventilated, hardened. In November, they are insulated with leaves, sawdust or spruce branches, when frost comes (-5 ..- 7 ° C) they are additionally covered with a film.

Flowerbed with thuja

Thuja diseases and pests

Diseases are caused by dangerous pathogens: fungi of the genus Fusarium, cytospores, Thomas and others. They infect crowns, shoots, needles. Shyute thuja brown damages only needles. To combat fungal diseases, Bordeaux liquid or kartocid is used. Trees are treated starting in spring at intervals of two weeks until they are fully recovered.

Of the pests, the most dangerous are thuja aphids and thuja false shields. Needles damaged by aphids turn yellow and fall off. To get rid of it, the plant is sprayed several times with karbofos, rogor or decis.

Thuya false shield, found on needles and twigs, causes no less harm.

Before bud break, the plants are sprayed with karbofos, at the end of June they are treated twice with actellik, rogor or chlorophos (with an interval of one and a half to two weeks).

Thuja will perfectly decorate your garden! This beautiful coniferous tree also has a very pleasant smell!

Thuja: skilled planting and care outdoors

A wonderful and interesting plant thuja, planting and care in the open field of which will not cause much trouble, can be seen in many summer cottages.

Conifers are especially loved by owners of personal plots and private houses, and the thuja tree is an unpretentious, frost-resistant and very beautiful plant.

From it you can form figures for landscape design, decorate paths, decorate beautiful corners of the garden.

Varieties of thuja

There are many types of tui, and it will not be possible to list everything in a brief overview, so you can dwell on the most popular ones:

1. The most common type of thuja is the Western thuja Smaragd. This is a tree that looks like a cypress, it can grow up to 5 m. The needles of the Western thuja are emerald in color all year round. The thuja grows in any soil, but it is more comfortable in calcareous or loamy soil. The plant is frost-resistant, areas open to sunlight or partial shade are suitable for it. It does not grow quickly and is ideal for the formation of hedges and garden figures.
2. Another representative of Western thuja is Golden Smaragd. The shade of the branches casts gold, hence the name. This tree grows up to 2 m, the shoots are short and form a crown in the form of a cone. As for the land, Golden prefers fertile soil, does not like dirty city air, so it is better to plant it in the country. Poorly tolerates direct sunlight
3. Western Danica is a globular shrub about 1 m in height. It grows slowly, so this species is often used as a curb or hedge.
4. The Aureya variety has a yellowish color of needles - it is a dwarf shrub that does not require cutting.
5. Brabant is a giant that can grow up to 20 m, and the tree grows quickly - in a year it adds up to 40 cm in height and up to 15 cm in width. The color of the needles does not change during the year and remains deep green.

Among the Eastern thujas, there are more than 50 varieties. They are more demanding, and it is a little more difficult to care for them, but with proper care of trees and shrubs, you can get a real decoration of the site. Eastern thujas are heat-resistant and tolerate drought well; stony soil is suitable for them.

Planting a tree

Thuja loves light, but if you plant it in direct sunlight, it will lose a lot of moisture, and it will be difficult for it to survive the winter. The place for the thuja must be selected light, but at noon there should be partial shade or shade, especially this rule applies to variegated and yellow thuja, otherwise their color will be pale.

It is better to plant a tree on a cloudy spring day; it is undesirable to do this in autumn, since there is no guarantee that she will have time to adapt to the new environment before winter.

Tui on the site

It is necessary to plant thuja at a distance of at least 3.5 m from each other. The size of the planting pit depends on the size of the seedling roots. The depth should be approximately 25-30 cm more than the root with a lump of earth, and the width should be 35-40 cm wider. The root collar should be level with the ground.

At the bottom of the pit, drainage and a layer of compost are laid out. Then the root of the plant is covered with a mixture of sand, turf and peat.

After the pit is filled, it is necessary to compact the soil well and water the plant abundantly so that the soil is completely saturated, mulch with mowed grass, crushed tree bark and peat.

This layer will protect the thrown from both heat and low temperatures. But it is worth making sure that the mulch does not cover the trunk and lower branches, otherwise they can rot.

Care after landing

How to care for thuja after planting? Although this plant is drought-resistant, it is also moisture-loving.

In the first week after planting, it must be watered in the morning and in the evening, after the seedling takes root and grows, the plant must be watered in the summer every 5 days with 10 liters of water, and in the fall and spring it must be guided by the weather.

An adult tree is watered once every 2 weeks with 30 liters of water, after 5 years it can already be watered only in hot and dry days.

Thuja care involves periodic sprinkling, while the age of the plant does not matter. So the tree receives an additional source of moisture, its foliage is freed of dust and dirt, and the air is filled with a coniferous aroma. Sprinkling can be done in the morning and in the evening, with the exception of cold nights and hot sunny days, when the moist foliage of the plant can be damaged.

Do not think that when pruning, damage to the plant is caused. Correct pruning is one important and necessary maintenance point. All types of thuja need pruning. If there are doubts about pruning, then it is better to contact a professional and see how he will form this shrub.

Top dressing of thuja

The care and cultivation of thuja is also the fertilization of the plant. What top dressing to use depends on the soil in which the thuja grows. You need to feed the plant if:

• it is necessary to improve the agricultural background;
• quickly provide the plant with nutrients;
• if the plant was transplanted in the fall.

Caring for thuja in the fall also involves feeding the plant. To do this, use compost, bone meal, wood ash, peat. This will help the plant to winter safely. In the spring, it is advisable to feed the thuja with organic fertilizers, the plant reacts well to mineral fertilizers - potash and nitrogen.

How to prepare thuja for winter

In summer cottages in the first year of planting for the winter, it is better to cover the thuja. You can make a bag of non-woven material (spunbond, lutrasil) and put it on the plant, making sure that the needles are not overtightened.

If the winters are snowy and windy, then you can make a wooden frame, install it around the thuja, and stretch the fabric over the frame. This will help shield the branches and prevent snow from accumulating on the top of the plant. The root system must also be insulated by preparing mulch and covering the ground around the trunk of the plant with it.

Shelter thuja for the winter

If the plant is already mature and well-rooted, then winter care will consist in removing excess snow from the branches so that the thuja foliage does not melt, and the branches do not break under the weight of the snow cover. Before the start of frost, it is necessary to water well the thuja so that the earth is moist.

When spring comes, do not rush and remove insulation and shelter - the plant must adapt. The bag must be removed on a cloudy day. When the wind dies down, you can remove the wooden frame. If the spring is sunny, it is advisable to make an awning over the thuja so that at first it is in the shade.

Thuja pests

One of the pests of the plant is the thuja aphid - tiny insects that live in large colonies and look like white dust. If the thuja was attacked, then its needles will turn yellow and fall off.

To get rid of pests, cover the ground under the plant with cellophane and rinse the affected areas with soapy water. This should be done within 1-2 weeks.

A spider mite is especially dangerous for thuja, it cannot be confused with another pest, because it envelops the plant with cobwebs. As a result, the needles become covered with yellow spots and fall off.

You can cope with a spider mite by spraying the plant with infusion of garlic or dandelion. If the lesion is too large, then use acaricides. The tick does not like moisture, so it is worth spraying it with cold water.

Tuya is waiting for treatment

The speckled moth gnaws thuja branches. If traces of this pest are seen, then it is better to cut off the affected branches. A completely affected plant must be treated with pyrethroid agents.

The leafworm makes spider cocoons by weaving thuja needles into them. The drugs Profi, Fufanon or Decis will help get rid of it.

Root click beetles feed on the roots of the tree. To remove them, you can use Zemlin, Trap or Bazudin.

Thuja diseases

Fungal infection (brown shoots) manifests itself in early spring. The bark scales turn yellow, and the shoots begin to die off. It is recommended to use the antifungal agent Fundazol, and remove the affected branches. In order to prevent infection of thuja with a fungal infection, it is necessary to sprinkle the roots with limestone.

Young thujas often suffer from rust. The causes of this disease may be lack of nutrition, dry air, high humidity. To prevent this disease from hitting the plant, in the spring, conifers should be sprayed with HOM.

If the needles darken and fall off, then, perhaps, she was struck by the fungal disease shyute. It is also most often found in young plants. To get rid of it, it is recommended to spray the plant with Topsin-M; Bordeaux liquid can be used as a prophylaxis. With proper care and timely prevention, thuja is not as susceptible to disease as other conifers.

Recommendations for planting and caring for thuja

Landscaping> Plants> Shrubs

Thuja is an evergreen plant from the cypress family.

Thuja is able to give calmness and harmony to any garden plot, and it is also "respected" by almost all landscape designers.

The plant has an unpretentious character, extraordinary beauty and longevity. On average, a plant lives for about a hundred years. Read an overview of the thuja species on this page.

Thuja transplant in the picture

Planting thuja

Every amateur gardener on whose garden this unique evergreen plant grows has long known that this plant is represented in a wide variety of species, but despite this, all plants belonging to the cypress family are planted in accordance with certain rules. For thuja, it is important that the place where it will be planted meets the following requirements:

• The place should be calm;
• The place should be in the shade, because the scorching rays of the sun have a bad effect on the external qualities of the plant.

In addition, in order to properly care for and plant thuja, it is necessary to choose a piece of land with the most suitable soil composition. According to experienced gardeners, thuja takes root best in areas with high humidity levels.

For example, if you plant a plant in a dry or clayey area, you can observe the rapid wilting of the plant, yellowing of the crown and loss of decorative qualities. Even careful maintenance will not save the plant.

How to grow a dammer cotoneaster, read on this page.

Thuja seedlings adapt best in the spring, because over the next three summer months, the plant is rapidly gaining strength and will be ready to endure any frosts.

It is not recommended to plant thuja in autumn, but you can transplant:

• The size of the thuja planting pit should correspond to the dimensions of the plant root system.
• Before planting the plant in moist soil, it will be necessary to prepare a drainage mixture. For example, it can be a mixture of crushed stone with expanded clay or broken brick.
• After that, the root system of the plant will need to be sprinkled with a mixture of sand and peat.

Attention! Not all types of thuja can be planted in Siberia or in other "difficult" regions.

In order to decorate your site with thuja, you will need to choose a frost-resistant look.

The plant should be planted only at the level of the root collar. You can not place the plant below the root collar in the ground, because such an incorrect planting will lead to rotting of the trunk and root system.

And also you should not put the neck above - the plant will dry out. Everything has to be done on a level basis. Read how to care for a horizontal cotoneaster here

com / rasteniya / kustarniki / osobennosti-uxoda-za-kizilnikom-gorizontalnym.html.

Thuja care at home

First of all, it should be said that only eastern and western thuja can take root in an apartment. In order for the thuja to feel comfortable at home, you need to find a suitable place for it and prepare a special soil composition.

You need to transplant the plant as the root system develops. The potting mix includes:

• One piece of leafy land;
• One piece of compost;
• One piece of peat;
• Three parts of a clay-grain land.

Caring for thuja at home is not a laborious process, the only thing worth considering is that in winter the ambient temperature should not be lower than eight degrees and exceed twelve.
Water thoroughly and do not dry out the thuja. Even in the summer, the plant needs a lot of fresh air and sun.

Thuja preparing for winter

First, you should remember that thuja requires a lot of attention and careful care. Especially in the winter time. Before wintering, you should prepare the plant for the cold as much as possible, especially in the first year of life.

Preparing thuja for winter - a shelter made of non-woven fabric

If the thuja was planted in the spring, then we can assume that before the cold weather begins, the plant adapts, feeds on the necessary substances. In thuja, root hairs will grow and grow stronger, which are able to protect thuja from the most severe frosts.

If the plant was nevertheless planted in the autumn, then it should be borne in mind that it will be weak and completely defenseless against the cold. Therefore, you should prepare thuja for the onset of cold weather:

• To cover the thuja from frost, cover it with a light-colored non-woven material and secure it at the base of the plant. If this condition is not met, then under the sun's rays, both in winter and in spring, the thuja will begin to give off moisture, the root system will experience a shortage of water. As a result, the thuja will dry out.
• It is also necessary to ensure that snow does not accumulate on the surface of the material. Large amounts of snow can break branches.
• It is worth thinking about the root system of the plant. To protect the roots, you will need to sprinkle the soil around the trunk with earth and foliage. During the cold season, the leaves will begin to rot and generate enough heat to warm the plant. For maximum protection from cold weather, the plant should be prepared for winter in early November.

How does thuja reproduce?

This beauty can not only be bought, but also grown from a seed or cutting:

• The seeds of the plant ripen in cones at the beginning of September, during the same period it is necessary to collect the cones.
• Seeds should be sown in the spring on the beds, before that they should be soaked in the input.
• Germinated is considered to be seeds, whose root system will be equal in length to half the seed.
• After that, it will be necessary to care for the seeds and water them thoroughly.

For cuttings, only the tops of the axial shoots are used. It is they who are "responsible" for the preservation of the characteristic properties inherent in this species. Cuttings should be planted in the ground with admixtures of quartz. This method is the most efficient and convenient. Read our guide to growing brilliant cotoneaster.

Why does thuja turn yellow?

All plants, regardless of whether they are home or garden, sometimes get sick. Thuja is also susceptible to certain diseases. For example, if thuja turns yellow, then you should pay attention to the composition of the soil, carefully evaluate the place in which the plant is planted. Yellowing of the thuja indicates that it lacks nutrients or the plant is oversaturated with sunlight.

To solve this problem, you should transplant the plant to a place more comfortable for it. Water it thoroughly and monitor development. Do not forget about complementary foods.

For planting recommendations for thuja, see the video:

Thuja will become a decoration of the garden plot only if it is properly looked after. According to landscape designers, no other species can compete with the popularity of this plant.Read about the use of euonymus in landscape design on this page.

Thuja western Brabant

Thuja is similar to cypress: the same height, pyramidal crown, decorative effect. But unlike cypress, it grows freely throughout the territory of our country and has already reached Siberia. When planning a garden, gardeners willingly bring it into their collections. How did she achieve such success?

Features of the plant, the reason for its popularity

Thuja western Brabant (thuja occidentalis brabant) has two life forms: tree and shrub. Thuja is more commonly used as a shrub as it is popular for hedging. Both forms are common on the territory of our country.

Tuya is a long-lived giant. This is a representative of this. Cypress, which you will melt up to 20m (in the middle lane - up to 4-5m) and lives up to 150 years. The conical and lush shape of the crown, the needles in the form of light green scales rising up, makes the tree decorative. The bark is brown, flaking. Egg-shaped cones are also brown in color.

It is a fast growing culture... A valuable species, the planting of which is limited to arid areas and areas with a low temperature regime (-30-35C). A photo of an adult plant can be viewed in the article.

: There are 120 known varieties of Tui varieties. Among them, the western thuja is the most famous. They do not throw off their "green outfit" in the winter. It can only change to a lighter one. Thuja Brabant also belongs to such varieties.

These are the two most popular varieties preferred by gardeners for decorating a plot or creating a hedge. What are their features?

Brabant variety	Smaragd variety
The choice for those who want to see the creation of their own hands: a thuja hedge in a short time. Its growth rate is half a meter per year. To create a dense and fluffy crown, it is necessary to cut the crop 2 times per season. And to get an impassable green hedge, plant it every meter.	It also has a conical crown and light green needles. The crown is narrow-pyramidal, keeping green color throughout the year. The crown is lush, does not need frequent pruning, because grows slowly. In order for the green wall to be dense, plants should be planted 80 cm apart.
The needles are light green. The shape of the bush can be modified. Differs in rapid growth. Most often used to create a hedge.	The color of the needles is more intense. Good "keeps" the shape of the crown. More decorative.
Photophilous and tolerates waterlogging, but does not withstand severe frosts.	Shade-tolerant, withstands frost -40C, but the soil needs drained.

Both varieties, despite certain differences, tolerate cutting and shaping well. Compositions or geometric classics: the choice is yours.

How to plant a crop correctly?

Thuja Brabant is unpretentious to the soil. But, grown on fertile soil, it is more fluffy, and the needles are brighter. On poor soil, it will look slightly different. So the soil affects the decorativeness of the plant.

The culture is photophilous, but it is better if the sun does not fall on the thuja during the day. This leads to dehydration of the needles, and the shrub (or tree) overwinters worse. A small partial shade is quite acceptable, but in a strong shade the crown will be rare.

Having chosen a place, we proceed to landing:

1. A young plant will tolerate planting and transplanting well in any season if the root system is closed. But usually planting is carried out in the spring.
2. The planting hole should match the size of the root. Usually the diameter is up to 1m. If the soil is heavy, then drainage is necessary. These are pebbles, expanded clay, broken brick.
3. The pit is filled with a mixture of earth, the composition of which is: leaf earth, peat, sand (2: 1: 1).
4. We place the root collar of the seedling on the same level with the ground. If it is raised or deepened, then the tree may die.
5. If an alley is formed from thuja, then the row spacing is 6-8m, and the interval between seedlings is 3-4m. If it is a hedge, then the distance between plants is 0.5-07m.

You need to know this: In order for the alley or the green hedge to be even, when planting, they pull a rope along which they dig a trench for seedlings. This will create a geometrically correct pattern.

Care involves both traditional activities and special ones necessary for this type of plant. Step-by-step care looks like this:

1. During the first month after planting water the seedling once a week... This should be done more often during dry periods.
2. Regularly held loosening to a depth of 10 cmsince the root system of thuja brabant is superficial, it is easy to damage it. From above, it is advisable to mulch the soil with peat.
3. In winter, branches need to be tied upso that they do not break under the snow mass.
4. In the spring, you need to remove diseased and damaged shoots.
5. Complex fertilizer for conifers is also used in spring, which enables the culture to grow quickly.
6. The first two years, young bushes need to be covered in winter from frost, and in the spring - from the bright sun. You can close it with spruce branches. The grown thuja will no longer need this.
7. Pruning begins from the third year of life... The upper part is pruned when the thuja has reached the height that suits you. The first pruning occurs at the beginning of summer, the second at the end of August. Thanks to systematic pruning, the crown is dense.

You need to know: When pruning, a pruner is used that does not injure the cut points, making them even. So the wound on the branch will heal faster. Thuja Brabant can withstand shearing well, but no more than a third of the shoot needs to be cut off so that the culture remains strong.

An evergreen tree with a conical crown is distinguished by the color of the needles. As the name suggests, it should be golden. Indeed, in the sun, the yellow-green color "plays", and the feeling is created that the branches are cast with a golden color.

The tree retains this color in winter, so it looks simply dazzling against the background of the snow cover. The variety has appeared recently, but it is already popular and loved by gardeners for its unpretentiousness, rapid growth, and decorative qualities. Looks good in group plantings, like a tapeworm, when "building" a hedge.

The unpretentiousness of the "golden beauty" is expressed in the fact that she:

• undemanding to soil;
• tolerates short-term waterlogging;
• withstands short droughts;
• the variety is frost-resistant;
• tolerant of a haircut;
• grows in a city environment;
• fits well into any landscape.

You need to know: An adult plant firmly tolerates winter frosts, but in spring, in bright light, suffers from sunburn. It is important to shade the thuja, especially at a young age. To prevent the crown from being damaged by excess snow, the branches are pulled together for the winter. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the spring.

The price of thuja brabant seeds is within 700 rubles. The price of a seedling will fluctuate depending on the age of the plant. A small seedling can be purchased for 760 rubles, and an adult crop, the height of which reaches 3m. - for 9 800 (Moscow prices).

Thuja Brabant hedge

A living wall made of thuja is a reliable and low-passable fence, protecting the owners' garden site no worse than any fence. There are also internal fences, but these are already curbs, low and compact. The hedge, the planting rules of which were discussed above:

• will close boring landscapes and unattractive places on the site;
• will create calm conditions for rest;
• will make it possible to breathe not just clean air, but air containing phytoncides;
• will hide from gases, noise, dust;
• may look unusual, because it can be given any shape;
• has a high decorative effect in different seasons.

You will create for yourself a refuge, a place detached from another, noisy and hectic world. Perhaps you are a lover of natural, natural beauty, then pruning is not needed. The natural form also looks great.

But we will consider the question of how to cut a thuja, since many want to give their site beautiful shapes and proportions.In addition, it is the shearing that makes the plant more lush.

Spring pruning is the first pruning... The thuja already has strength after wintering. The second is held in August, when it begins to prepare for winter. When cutting, try to make the upper part narrower. Then a lot of light will fall on the lower branches and the bush will not be exposed. Remove young shoots, they recover faster.

It is convenient to use a coarse mesh in work. It is pulled evenly and those shoots that "look" out of the cells are removed. Cut off dead branches regularly. It is better to prune in cloudy weather so that those shoots that are open after pruning are not exposed.

: After cutting, cuttings are left that are suitable for propagation. This is a rare plant in which cuttings give roots in a jar of water without any stimulants or additional manipulations. In the second year, well-rooted, they are planted in the ground.

I live in Siberia, two years ago I bought saplings of thuja western Brabant in the nursery. Planted out for a hedge. They wintered well under the snow. In the spring I fed them, and they started to grow actively. So far, everything is in order, but they do not look like a hedge yet: they are still small.

I am a resident of the Urals. I read a lot about conifers, thuja, gardeners' reviews about them, but did not believe that she would grow up here. The husband bought seedlings, pruned them. And now I am delighted - we have a beautiful green fence. Moreover, it is green both in winter and in summer.

My husband and I fenced off the playground with the help of thuja plantings. We made a not very high fence. Both beautiful and comfortable. Moreover, thuja secretes antibacterial substances, so children breathe healing air.

I am a landscape designer and for my friends I created a composition of conifers, in which thuja western Brabant also "took part". Friends' reviews are the most enthusiastic!

Today, the abundance of conifers is simply amazing: tall, stunted, thorny, unpretentious, decorative. All of them give us the opportunity to experiment and create something new.

Thuja western Brabant stands apart, which not only gives room for imagination, but also has a rapid growth and the ability to purify the air, which, given the pace of our life and poor environmental conditions, is very important.

Review on video

In great detail about thuja Brabant - in the review from the Greensad Garden Center (Greensad).

Among the variety of conifers, thuja is especially loved by summer residents, owners of private houses. This is not surprising - thuja is frost-resistant, unpretentious, aesthetically attractive. Planting and care in the open field will not require significant work from the summer resident, but its presence on the site will be positive from any point of view. It is great for the formation of hedges, with its help you can create unique green shapes for landscape design of the site, arrange paths.

This tree, like its coniferous counterparts, exudes a wonderful aroma, enriches the air with useful phytoncides. Thuja carries a lot of positive qualities.

Thuja differs from pine or spruce in that it has no needles, its branches are covered with small green scales, soft, pleasant to the touch. It is tacitly called the "royal tree" - it is well deserved. We will consider the nuances of planting, caring for the coniferous beauty thuja, so that it takes root on your site too.

↑ to contents ↑ Thuja tree - selection of seedlings

If you do not plan to reproduce thuja independently, then you can purchase ready-made, grown seedlings. They can be purchased from ephedra nurseries or specialist shops. There, among the declared assortment, you will choose the desired variety, buy a healthy tree, adapted to the local climate.

Small thuja from nurseries vary in size and age. If you have a small seedling, then it will not be difficult to "grow" it yourself until it is planted in a permanent place of growth.You can also purchase a large copy, ready for the decoration of the site or the local area.

When choosing, always pay attention to the conditions of the plants, the degree of soil moisture in the containers, the strength of the coniferous scales on the branch. The branches of the seedlings should be elastic, the needles should not crumble, they should not have any spots or signs of disease. Upon arrival home, hurry up to transplant them to a shaded place, water.

↑ back to contents ↑ Planting thuja in the ground

Thuja will perfectly take root on your site at any time of the year, except in late autumn or winter. Experienced gardeners advise exactly the spring period - April, May. Planted in spring, it will hurt less, grow faster, and adapt better to the environment.

The landing site should be slightly shaded, consider this factor when planning the landscape design of the site. In direct sunlight, the tree will wither, and subsequently it will be worse to endure the winter cold. In a completely dark place, thuja will slowly develop, the branches will not be lush, bright. The ideal territory for it will be a windless section of the site, with light shading, close occurrence of groundwater.

Thuja - planting and leaving, phased actions:

1. First, we dig a rather deep hole - 80-100 cm deep, with the same diameter (if you, of course, have a large seedling, and not the one in the photo above). The deepening should be such that a tree with an earthen lump can freely enter there. At the bottom we pour a little earth mixed with wood ash or other organic fertilizer.
2. We put it in a hole, while its root collar should be at the same level with the soil surface.
3. Mix the dug earth with sand, peat (1: 1), fill a depression with a seedling with this mixture, and then slightly trample.

The distance between the trees should be determined according to the characteristics of the variety, since thuja are very small and, conversely, very tall. Small trees can be planted a meter apart, large ones - about 4-5 meters. Some varieties of thuja reach 15-20 meters in height, and their crown grows in breadth up to 3-4 meters (for example, thuja western Brabant). For full development, such a tree needs space, but when decorating alleys, green corridors, hedges, thuja are planted at a distance of 1 meter, regardless of the variety and type.

Tui Western Smaragd and globular Danica↑ back to contents ↑ How to care for thuja

Competent care of this ephedra implies watering, feeding, loosening the trunk circle, and forming a crown. After the tree is planted at its permanent place of residence, primary feeding is done. For these purposes, natural growth stimulants are often used (most gardeners choose "Epin"). The components of such dressings contribute to better rooting of the tree, improve resistance to diseases. In the spring, you can feed it with potassium-phosphorus supplements, it is better to do this twice, the break between fertilizers should be 10-15 days.

In spring, the frequency of irrigation is influenced by the amount of rain, with the onset of summer it is enough 2 times a week, in the spring - 1 time. If the rains are frequent, then there is no need to water, there will be enough rain moisture. Thuja requires high-quality watering at all stages of life (seedling, adult tree), while the crown also loves irrigation. In order for the branches to be elastic, shiny, to please you with the brightness of green shades, the minimum amount of water for the root area should be 10 liters per watering (once a week, if the summer is very dry, then up to 3 times). Determine the lack of moisture by the state of the top of the thuja - it begins to turn yellow. It is better to water the trees early in the morning or in the evening.

Tuya is very fond of irrigating the crown, for these procedures, the acquisition of a special nozzle becomes relevant.From such sprinkling, dust is washed off, a fresher appearance of the tree is provided, a pleasant coniferous aroma begins to stand out. Do not be afraid to overdo it with irrigation, 1-2 times a day will only benefit thuja.

Returning to fertilizers, it is worth noting that too frequent fertilizing for thuja is not required. Special mineral compositions for conifers (for example, "Fertika") or compost, which has already become a classic additive, is enough to use twice a season - in spring and summer. Fertilizers are applied during loosening: they are laid out in a near-trunk circle, and during plowing they are mixed with the top layer of soil. In summer, the additive can be diluted with water and used for irrigation.

The near-trunk area must be periodically cleaned of weeds, loosened, mulched with sawdust or compost. Decoratively painted sawdust (they are painted with natural ingredients) or nutshells look very attractive. Mulching creates some barrier to weeds, retains moisture, and improves the condition of the tree as a whole.

As for haircuts or artistic pruning, it is better not to touch it for the first two years of a tree's life, it should take root in its place. You can start caring for the crown from the third year from the moment of planting. Initially, dried, weak branches are removed, and the degree of density is determined. Excessive thinning negatively affects the decorative qualities of the tree, everything should be in moderation.

The main pruning is carried out in April, and then only the shape is corrected. For high-quality air circulation, maintaining the "vigorous" appearance of thuja, gardeners recommend removing all branches of annual growth.

If the artistic intention requires the tree to grow in breadth, then only the upper part of the crown should be trimmed. You can create various geometric shapes, columns, figures of animals or fairy-tale characters from tui. Novice gardeners can easily give the crown of a tree the shape of a ball, cascade, border. Trimming or pruning is best done in dry weather.

↑ to contents ↑ Tuya - preparation for winter

For colder regions of the country, frost-resistant varieties of tui (western) should be chosen. Despite their unpretentiousness, they also require preparation for the cold season. In the fall, it is necessary to provide the trees with abundant watering, since even in winter the thuja continues to develop, albeit at a slower pace.

In the first years of life, young representatives must be insulated. With the help of a dense plastic film, non-woven spunbond or other suitable covering material, a kind of cocoon is formed, which will retain heat and let the sun's rays through. You can even buy special covers designed for this very purpose, they are sold by the garden departments of supermarkets or online stores.

For the winter, the roots are covered with fallen leaves, which are harvested with the onset of spring, as soon as the upper layer of the earth thaws. The overgrown crowns of adult thujas are neatly tied with a wide ribbon to prevent the accumulation of snow on the branches.

To please the eye, there was a healthy thuja, planting and care in the open field should be done competently, in a timely manner. This tree is quite unpretentious, but the result of simple care is expressed not only by its external beauty, decoration of the territory. A green hedge made of thuja will absorb noise from the street, neighboring territories, and also protect your site from prying eyes.