Thuja smaragd - description and sizes, landing and care

Thuja in translation from Latin means "vital tree". It is often called the tree of paradise, because in mythology there are many stories that say: thuja connects heaven and the underworld. It is also believed that it grows in the middle of paradise. Her homeland is Asia and North America.

Thuja smaragd western

Thuja smaragd belongs to the Cypress family. An evergreen can delight your eyes for 50 to 100 years. A monoecious tree has a narrow and dense pyramidal shape.

Thuja mix

Thuja smaragd: description and dimensions

Thuja western smaragd is distinguished by its unique description:

• the tree reaches sizes from 4 to 6 m in height and up to 2 m wide. The difference in growth depends on the variety. In the wild, the height can reach 70 m;
• she has a dense crown, which is covered with needles. From it, designers love to create real sculptural masterpieces, which becomes an adornment of any landscape;
• in spring, small brown cones appear on the tree, which fall with the onset of cold autumn;
• in Russia there are two species - a tree with green and with a golden color;
• it gives off a peculiar pleasant resinous aroma.

How fast is thuja smaragd growing

Thuja western grows very slowly. For a year she adds 10 cm in height and 5 cm in width.

Landing and care

To grow a strong and healthy tree, you need to carefully consider all the details. Half of the success depends on the right place to plant the plant. Thuja smaragd loves sunlight, however, it is not worth it to allow the plant to be in the sun all day, because the rays will lead the tree to dehydration, and the blue thuja will not tolerate winter.

Although the tree can grow quietly in swamps and clay, it is better to plant it in nutrient soil. To do this, mix peat, turf land and sand.

Tuyu is planted from seeds and cuttings. Growing from seeds is a difficult and time-consuming process. From the period of sowing of planting material and before transplanting into the soil, 2 to 5 years can pass.

Cones are harvested that year when the tree bears fruit. They are placed in a warm place, where they open, and the seeds spill out. Only large specimens are selected for sowing.

Cones with seeds

The advantage of growing a coniferous specimen from seeds is that it will form strong and will be fully adapted to the climate of the region.

In order for the process of growing thuja from seeds to succeed, you need to adhere to certain rules:

• the fruits are sown in moist sand and covered with a film of pot;
• the future crop is placed in a refrigerator or a cool place for 2 or 3 months with a temperature regime of about 6 ° C;
• sowing should be controlled, periodically remove the film and ventilate so that condensate does not accumulate;
• in February, the plant is transplanted into soil prepared from turf land, peat and sand. For the purpose of disinfection, the soil is watered with a potassium permanganate solution. Plants are placed in a room with a temperature regime of 20 ° C;
• when the sprouts grow, they are moved to a cool place and provide good lighting;
• 2 times a month you need to make mineral fertilizers in the soil;
• when the seedlings are 2 years old, they will be dived. In summer, pots with plants are taken out to fresh air and put in partial shade;
• in the third year, seedlings are planted in larger containers. When they reach a height of 50 cm, they are planted from the nursery on the street for a permanent habitat. This happens no later than five years after planting the seeds.

Gardeners also practice planting seeds outside. Collected in the fall, it is better to put them in boxes, since the young plant looks like dill and is easily confused with weeds. Twigs by the tree appear when he is 6 months old.

How to plant thuja smaragd

Not one gardener wonders how to plant thuja smaragd and how much space they will need.

Step-by-step landing instructions:

1. It is necessary to dig a hole with a diameter of about a meter and a depth of not more than 80 cm.
2. Line the bottom with a drainage layer, and then pour soil into the pit, mixed with 2 tbsp. ash and mineral fertilizers.
3. The seedling is placed so that the root neck is above the surface.
4. If there is a desire to form a hedge from thuja, then the plants are planted at a distance from each other no more than one meter. For free growth, you need 2-5 m between the trees. Such living fences will give odds to any creeping bushes, which they also make hedges.

Thuja planting in the soil

Watering mode

The regularity of watering depends on the rains. On hot days, the tree is watered every 3 days. At least 10 liters of water should be used per plant. Watering is carried out in the morning or in the evening. Also, the tree should be sprayed regularly.

Top dressing

For thuja, as well as for other conifers, it is very important to provide the correct top dressing. However, it is worth remembering that it is not worth abusing fertilizers. An excess of minerals can adversely affect the development of the tree.

Top dressing should be applied both during planting and throughout the entire period of active growth of decorative thuja. Although an adult tree has a well-developed root system and is able to independently extract nutrients from the soil, it also needs to be fed.

Fertilizing is divided into several stages:

1. When planting, compost ash is added to the soil. 3 kg of ash fall into one hole, which is sprinkled on the bottom, and the compost bucket is mixed with soil. After that, they do not make any fertilizers for a whole year.
2. The following top dressing is carried out in the spring. Mineral substances are introduced into the soil, which contain: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and other useful substances. This happens at the beginning or end of March, it all depends on weather conditions. If the thuja badly endured the winter, then you need to help her to get stronger. For this, root is suitable.
3. It is important to feed plants in late summer. During this period, humus is used, which not only nourishes the plants, but also protects them from the fungus.

Experienced summer residents emit several golden rules for fertilizing:

• You can not add different dressings, which have almost the same composition. An overdose may occur;
• between fertilizers of the soil should pass at least 2 weeks;
• the day before fertilizing the soil needs to be watered;
• in the fall, all feeding is stopped.

Features of summer care

In hot summer days, thuja should be protected from scorching rays. For this, a small structure above a tree is suitable.

Periodically, weeds must be removed and insect nests eliminated. Regular loosening of the soil will provide good air circulation to saturate the roots with oxygen.

It is useful to mulch the soil once a year. This will protect the area from the formation of weeds and retain moisture.

Soil mulching

Winter preparations

Young seedlings of the first year of life must be covered. Mature trees can survive the winter outdoors. Around the seedlings they build a frame and fit it with non-woven white material. This design will allow the snow to move down from the top, and not linger on the branches of trees.

You need to take care of the root system, otherwise the tree will dry. To do this, the leaves are mixed with the ground and sprinkled on the site. Such a mixture will help retain moisture in the soil, and rotten leaves will also serve as fertilizer.

Preparation for winter is carried out in the fall until the snow falls.

With the onset of spring, do not rush to open the tree. It may be affected by sunlight. You should wait until the earth dries out, and the outside temperature will keep the temperature above zero.

Breeding

Thuja propagation at home occurs with the help of seeds, twigs and cuttings. About sowing seeds has already been mentioned above, and now we will focus on less painstaking methods of reproduction, which include twigs and cuttings.

In order for the branches to begin, the cut site is treated with growth stimulants and placed in a box. Several branches can be planted in one pot, most importantly, maintain a distance of 3-5 cm between them.

In spring, stronger plants can be placed in the greenhouse, and in summer they are already planted in a permanent habitat.

Propagation by cuttings

The propagation method by cuttings is the simplest. This process is carried out in the fall. Strong and healthy processes are used as planting material. Cuttings should not be too young or too old. It is necessary to select shoots from the middle of the trunk.

The processes are planted in the prepared soil, which is a mixture of peat and leafy soil. They are taken in equal quantities.

In the process of reproduction, the following recommendations should be followed:

• extra leaves should be eliminated, and those that remain should not touch peat;
• you need to install a greenhouse for the handle, for this a transparent glass jar is suitable;
• seedlings are placed in a warm place. Humidity should not exceed 70%, and the temperature should reach about 23 ° C, otherwise the sprout may rot;
• Ideally it will not water the thawed under the root, but spray regularly.

Propagation by cuttings

If new shoots appear on the thuja, then it has successfully taken root. However, you should not hurry to plant a tree in the soil. First, the greenhouse needs to be ventilated, gradually accustoming the cuttings to fresh air.

Thuja needles turn yellow: what to do

Many gardeners wonder why the thuja turns yellow. This happens for many reasons. The main ones include:

• natural processes. The foliage of needles dies after 3-5 years, therefore it turns yellow and dries out;
• seasonal changes. In winter, some varieties of thuja acquire a golden bronze color;
• improperly selected soil. If thuja is planted in sandy soil, then it will lack moisture, which quickly goes into the ground, and the seedling will turn yellow. Not enough for the sprout of nutrients in clay soil, but water can stagnate in peat and the tree will rot;
• mistakes when leaving: insufficient watering, thickened planting, poor lighting, lack of phosphorus, nitrogen and iron, low air temperature;
• the presence of pests: scale insects, mining moths, leaf moths, spider mites, etc. These parasites do not mind eating the deciduous part of the arborvitae. In the fight should use insecticides;
• tree diseases, the same as juniper: brown shute, late blight. Herbicides will help in the treatment.

What to do with yellowing thuja?

What are thuja

The most common varieties of thuja in Russia are the following varieties of thuja: western, folded, and geometric.

Types of Thuja

In summer cottages and in city alleys, the following types of thuja are most often found:

• western. In nature, it grows up to 20 cm. The tree has a cone-shaped crown narrowed to the top, which over time becomes rounded. The brown bark gradually exfoliates and hangs down. Cones of a plant 1.5 cm long mature in autumn and quickly crumble;
• eastern. This name is fixed to a tree, which is actually not a thuja. It is more correct to call it eastern biota. The plant develops very slowly. In a cold climate, it becomes like a bush;
• giant thuja native to North America. In nature, its height reaches 60 m. In St. Petersburg there are specimens about 15 m high. However, because of the harsh climate, they often freeze;
• Japanese Her homeland is Japan. In their culture, this plant is considered one of the five sacred trees of Kiso. He was even banned from cutting down. In nature, the height of this species reaches 35 m;
• Korean thuja is a shrub or tree with a loose crown. It lives in Korea and China. The needles have a strong smell and has a bluish-silver color.

All varieties of western arborvitae in the table:

From it you can make a hedge or beautiful sculptural structures. In any case, using the secateurs, you can give freedom of imagination and turn a summer cottage into a real fairy tale.