In the garden, office and home it is becoming increasingly popular. People are tired of violets and hydrangeas; they want to decorate their home with majestic cedar or delicate, evergreen shrub, called thuja. This is exactly what we will talk about today. At the same time, the varieties of thuja leave a huge number of options for decorating. Its evergreen needles will delight you and fill your home with life and beauty. At the same time, the plant cannot be called capricious; it survives in the most difficult conditions.
General description
Almost everyone loves the fresh, spicy aroma that this tree exudes. It beckons you to take a break from everyday work. All varieties of thuja are highly resistant to rotting, they are winter-hardy and heat-tolerant, that is, your tree will survive even in a greenhouse or in a garden. This plant belongs to the cypress family. In nature, thuja is a tree, its average height reaches 12-18 meters (sometimes they grow up to 75 meters), or a shrub of a wide variety of shapes. The needles of these plants are very interesting, scale-like, and needle-shaped in young plants. Varieties of thuja allow you to design your garden the way you want. Below we will look at their main types so that you have a complete understanding of this wonderful coniferous family.
What kind of thuja is there?
We will not be able to describe all varieties of thuja, since there are so many of them. However, we will give you guidelines based on which you can plan your purchase. There are three main groups:
- Dwarf - usually used in rockeries and rock gardens.
- Bushy varieties are used for planting hedges.
- Solitaire thujas are beauties intended for single landing.
Today, five types of thuja and dozens of their different forms and varieties are known. perfect for gardening in any climatic zone. It is the most winter-hardy and unpretentious, has large number forms and varieties. The second species, which will also survive in any conditions, is the Japanese thuja. It is found in Japan, growing in mixed forests and mountains, at an altitude of 1000-1800 meters. The tree can reach 18 meters in height. These types of thuja are frost-resistant, unpretentious in care, they can be quite for a long time do without water.
It grows It does not tolerate winter so well, young shoots freeze during severe frosts, but the plant can quickly recover. distinguished by fan-shaped branches. In the middle zone it grows only under cover. Finally, Korean thuja is a shrub with spreading branches and soft needles. However, it grows only in the southern regions. Now we would like to take a closer look at the types of thuja so that you can choose the best option for your home or garden.
Western thuja Smaragd
In another way it is called thuja columnar. This plant came to us from North America. It grows well in shady areas, in clay and sandy soil. The only condition is a sufficient amount of moisture for the root system. This thuja can grow up to 20 meters in height, and such a tree lives up to 1000 years. That is, your great-great-grandchildren will also rejoice at the landing. Thuja columnarum propagates by rooting cuttings. This is the most popular in Russian gardens.
The crown diameter of this plant reaches 5 meters; this must be taken into account when you choose a place for planting. Of course, for a room or winter garden This plant is too large, but it will become a luxurious decoration in the garden. A young tree has a pyramidal shape, while older trees have an ovoid crown. The tree's needles are scale-shaped and dark green in color; in winter they take on a brown tint.
Features of growth and development
Do you know what this huge tree grows from? If you do not take into account propagation using cuttings and shoots in a nursery, then these are seeds. Of course, thuja seedlings will become full-fledged trees much faster than seeds. Thuja fruits are cones. They grow small, maximum 12 mm. There are two seeds inside. The young plant grows annually up to 30 cm in height and up to 10 cm in diameter, that is, the growth rate is much faster than that of a Christmas tree or cedar.
The wood of this species has a reddish tint and is quite soft. This tree does not produce resin, but due to essential oils it exudes a pleasant aroma. The roots are compact and do not grow.
This thuja grows best in a country house or on a plot of a private house. This plant loves light very much, but also tolerates shade, so if there are no free sunny areas, it doesn’t matter. Fertile black soil is not at all necessary for it; the plant feels best on clay soils, grows well on light soil, sandy soil. It can even grow in lowlands where the soil is moist. The tree is not considered picky at all. Mature trees tolerate both heat and cold well and thrive in urban environments.
Thuja pyramidalis
This is another wonderful species that is great for garden decoration. This thuja will calmly withstand even the most severe cold in winter, which means it can be used to decorate the garden. This is a tree with a narrow crown up to 6-7 meters high and up to 1.3 meters in diameter. The structure of the crown is very interesting, with short, dense shoots. The needles are scaly, dark green in color, which practically does not change with the onset of winter. Planted in a certain sequence, it will become perfect decoration for your garden.
Thuja pyramidalis grows quickly, up to 20 cm per year. It is undemanding to soils, but feels best in moderately fertile soils with average moisture. It tolerates drought very poorly, as does full shade. It is best to choose lightly shaded areas. Trees have an ideal shape with regular pruning and can be used to form tall (up to 4 meters), formed and free-growing hedges.
Thuja Sunkist
Giant trees are not always needed in every garden. I would like to plant an elegant shrub somewhere for decoration. Do not rush to remove thuja seedlings from your options. For example, this dense bush will become wonderful decoration to enter the gazebo. Its height is 3-5 meters, crown diameter is 1-2 meters. The crown is conical, slightly ruffled, with densely branched branches. She is originally from Canada. The needles of these plants are very elegant. In young plants it is golden yellow; with age it changes to a brighter, lemon yellow. In mature plants it takes on a bronze tint. This variety grows slowly, by about 10 years the thuja will reach only 2 meters.
Growing coniferous shrubs
The Sunkist variety is not picky about soil conditions. She is light-loving and tolerates haircuts well. It survives winter cold easily, except for very severe ones. This shrub is recommended for colorful, mixed compositions and also looks great as an individual planting. Prefers moist, fertile soils, but is difficult to tolerate drought. If there is a long, dry and hot period, and you do not have the opportunity to water, the thuja will enter the mass seeding phase. This leads to loss of decorativeness.
Thuja Vagneri
And we continue to look at an amazing coniferous plant called thuja. Species and varieties are presented in such a magnificent variety that you need to think carefully before choosing this or that plant for yourself. The next type is a small, decorative tree, up to 3.5 meters high and up to 1.5 meters wide. In a pot it usually grows much more compact. The ovoid, dense crown, with numerous thin, vertically arranged shoots, is attractive. The needles are gray-green, acquiring a copper tint in winter. medium, very demanding on soil conditions, it needs to be provided with fertile and well-moistened soil. This small shrub is distinguished by high frost resistance. Original form crown makes thuja the most attractive option for solitaire plantings and container growing. That is, this is the best indoor thuja, homemade or grown in flowerpots, which are placed in the garden in the fresh air in the summer.
Thuja Globoza
Another comparatively small view, which is perfect for container keeping. This is a spherical shrub, up to 2 meters high. The needles are light green, becoming brownish with the onset of winter. The shoots are straight and flat, rising vertically. It grows very slowly, in about ten years the bush will reach a height of 1 meter. Thuja is very convenient for growing both indoors and in the garden. This shrub is winter-hardy and shade-tolerant, drought-resistant. It needs to be provided with fertile and moist soil. Regarding this species, it should be noted that it tolerates dry air worse than others. Needs more frequent watering, when growing indoors, it is advisable to cover it with moss so that the soil does not dry out.
These are the most popular varieties thuja. We hope that we were able to interest you, and you will definitely try to plant this evergreen plant in your dacha or near your house, because there is nothing difficult in caring for it.
Thuja occidentalis ( Latin name Thúja occidentalis) is an evergreen tree of the Cypress family. The homeland of thuja is North America; the plant was brought to Europe in the mid-16th century by Spanish and Portuguese sailors.
General information
The name "thuja" in Greek means sacrifice or incense. The fact is that when the wood of some types of thuja burns, a pleasant aroma is released, so it was used during worship and sacrifices.
Western thuja (occidentalis) is a tree with valuable, strong and durable wood and high decorative qualities, so it is bred everywhere, pursuing their own goals, which are different for gardeners, landscape designers, clergy, woodcarvers and furniture makers.
Description: Thuja occidentalis grows up to 12-20 meters, has a compact pyramidal or oval crown, and a compact root system. It grows slowly.
The bark of a young thuja is smooth, red-brown in color, over time it becomes gray-brown, and in old age it begins to peel off, separating long narrow strips.
The needles differ from the needles of other evergreen trees - they are scale-like and acquire a brownish tint in winter. The needles are small in size - 0.2-0.4 cm, tightly pressed to the branches. The needles live for 2-3 years, after which they fall off with small branches.
The fruits are small cones, 8-12 mm in size, scaly. Each cone contains two seeds with yellow wings.
The wood of almost all types of thuja is reddish in color, soft but durable, with a pleasant pine aroma, has no resin ducts, and is resistant to putrefactive bacteria.
Variety of varieties
Grow in nature various types thuja, on the basis of which various varieties were bred for planting in gardens and parks. In Russia, thuja occidentalis is represented by 10-14 winter-hardy varieties. Let's name some varieties of western thuja, adapted to Russian conditions, and present their brief description.
(occidentalis Brabant) - a tree with a columnar crown and green needles that turn brown in winter time. Height is 4-5 meters, crown diameter is 1.5 meters, per year the growth in height reaches 30-35 cm, and in width - 15 cm.
Brabant – frost-resistant variety, not requiring complex care. Can be planted in sunny or shaded areas, but strong winds thuja must be protected. It tolerates shearing well, which allows you to form the desired crown shape. The cones are brown, small - within 1 cm, ripen in autumn. The variety is suitable for planting in alleys and hedges.
Variety Smaragd (occidentalis Smaragd) is a tree with a crown of dense structure and conical shape. Up to 4.5 meters high. The needles are dark green; in winter the color remains the same.
It grows very slowly, so frequent pruning is not needed, which makes care much easier. Smaragd is a light-loving, frost-resistant tree, but it must be protected from severe frosts and drafts.
Variety Columna (occidentalis Columna) - the tree is distinguished by a narrow, compact columnar crown and a height of about 7 meters, with a diameter of up to one and a half meters. The shoots are horizontal, dense, the needles are dark green, their color almost does not change in winter.
Height growth is about 20 cm per year. Does not tolerate drought well - caring for it requires abundant watering.
Variety Holmstrup (occidentalis Holmstrup) is a low tree, up to 3.5 meters in height, with a columnar crown with a diameter of 1 meter. The needles are green and do not change depending on the season.
It grows slowly - about 12 cm in height and 3-4 cm in width, does not require frequent pruning, and tolerates it well. It grows well in any soil, is resistant to frost and temperature changes, and can be planted in sunny or slightly shaded places. All this makes caring for Thuja Holmstrup quite easy.
The Fastigiata variety (occidentalis Fastigiata) is a winter-hardy tree with a columnar crown and branches compactly pressed to the trunk. The needles are soft, green in color, and do not change depending on the season. It has a strong aroma. It grows up to 6 meters in height, with an annual growth of about 30 cm. The cones are small and brown in color.
Caring for fastigiata consists of frequent cutting, watering, and mulching the soil with pine needles, which over time becomes fertilizer for it.
Prefers moderately moist loamy soil; planting in marshy areas is allowed, but with a high-quality drainage system.
Variety Sunkist (occidentalis ‘Sunkist’) is a frost-resistant tree or shrub 3-5 meters high, with a conical crown 1-2 meters in diameter. The branches are thick, lush, the needles are bright, golden, becoming lemon yellow with age, turning bronze in winter.
The growth is slow, in 10 years it grows up to two meters in height. Easily tolerates cutting and crown formation. Care is not difficult, but it does not tolerate drought well. With a lack of moisture, mass seed production begins, which is why the decorative effect suffers. Lack of light negatively affects the quality and shade of needles. Suitable for single planting or together with other trees and shrubs.
The Wagneri variety (occidentalis Wagneri) is a frost-resistant tree with a dense ovoid crown up to 3.5 meters high and about one and a half meters wide. The branches are vertical, drooping. The needles are gray-green in color, turning copper in winter. The growth is average, the crown shape is maintained well, so pruning does not need to be done too often.
No special care is required, but it is demanding on the soil; it can be planted in an open, bright place. The variety was bred for planting in alleys and containers.
The variety Cloth of Gold (occidentalis Cloth of Gold) is a frost-resistant shrub about two meters high and a crown up to 1.2 meters in diameter. The crown is conical in shape, the needles are needle-shaped or scaly, lemon-yellow or yellow-orange in shade, and in winter it becomes copper-colored.
It grows slowly and requires simple care. It is better to plant the shrub in a bright place, protected from winds and drafts; in the shade the needles fade. Grows well in moderate, alkaline conditions fertile soil. Tolerant to drought, does not tolerate waterlogging well. The variety is suitable for planting in alleys and in compositions with other shrubs and trees.
Not only the western thuja is suitable for planting and growing in Russia, but also the oriental thuja (Thuja orientalis), an aurea native to the northwestern regions of China.
Description: Thuja aurea is most often a tree 15-20 meters high. However, there are known specimens growing in the wild, the height of which reached 35 meters, and the diameter of the crown - up to 14 meters.
The crown of young trees is pyramidal in shape; in adults it becomes round, irregular shape, which is easily corrected with a haircut. Thuja orientalis aurea is a multi-stemmed plant, but can also grow as a shrub.
The cones of the eastern thuja differ from the cones of the western thuja. In thuja aurea they are juicy, fleshy and green, with hook-shaped outgrowths. When ripe, they change color and become brown, and they form seeds similar to wheat grains.
Thuja aurea grows well in neutral, slightly alkaline and even chalky soil. For the first two months, caring for it consists of watering every 10 days. If the seedling takes root well, you can do without watering. Thuja aurea is a long-lived plant; in favorable conditions it can live 1000 years.
All types of thuja - both western and eastern - are suitable for forming hedges, alleys, rocky gardens, and Mediterranean landscapes. Despite some differences, almost all types of thuja are frost-resistant, decorative and well adapted to a new area.
Growing
Thuja occidentalis – unpretentious plant, capable of growing on any type of soil and in any conditions, but it also has its own preferences.
Western thuja loves bright places, but in the shade the decorative properties of its needles are better preserved. The tree grows well in dry soil, but it can also be planted in areas with high level groundwater. In gratitude for the careful care and optimal watering, the thuja occidentalis will grow beautiful tree with a beautiful luxurious crown.
Thuja is propagated by cuttings, seeds or seedlings. Since thuja grows very slowly, the easiest way is to purchase ready-made seedlings in a nursery, but if desired, the entire process of growing thuja from seed to large tree you can do it yourself.
Thuja seeds rarely retain all the characteristics of the parent tree, especially for hybrid varieties, and seedlings in garden centers and nurseries are quite expensive. Therefore, it is best to propagate thuja at home by cuttings - only in this case can you get the right type with all varietal characteristics.
At the same time, you can experiment with seeds - perhaps many new specimens will have excellent decorative qualities and you will want to breed them in the future.
Seeds for planting are collected in the fall; in winter, the cones open and the seeds fall out. The cut cones are dried in a room with a temperature no higher than +7 degrees. When the scales are dry, you can remove the seeds and store them in a fabric bag. With the first snow, the bags are taken out of the room, placed on the ground and sprinkled with a 30 cm layer of snow - this is how the seeds undergo the necessary stratification.
Planting of seeds is carried out in the spring, in grooves, with a distance of 10-15 cm. The seeds of thuja are small, so they are not planted deep - 0.5 cm is enough. The grooves for planting are filled with water, and after sowing the seeds, they are sprinkled with dry soil and mulched on top. pine needles or sawdust.
The seedlings are watered regularly, but in moderate amounts; at first they are shaded from the strong rays of the sun. Western thuja grows for a very long time - in the first year it grows by 4-5 cm, in the next two years by 10-20 cm and 25-40 cm.
Caring for seedlings involves mulching the soil around them with peat or sawdust. Diving is carried out three years after sowing; planting in a permanent place is allowed after 4-5 years.
Thuja occidentalis from cuttings. Cuttings are cut in the spring in the morning or evening, as well as in cloudy weather. It is better to take cuttings from the apical side shoots of this year, from a tree aged 4 to 8 years. The length of the cuttings should be within 10-12 cm.
The cuttings are placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 24 hours. After which they are planted in the soil to a depth of 5-6 cm, at a slight angle of 20-30 degrees. Cuttings can be planted in containers, pots or open ground, but under film, at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other.
The cuttings are planted in a soil mixture of leaf soil, humus and sand, since the western thuja loves fertile, light soil.
Containers with cuttings are stored in the basement, and with the arrival of real warmth they are transplanted into open ground, preferably together with a lump of earth.
Cuttings in the spring allow the cuttings to take root well in the first year and begin to grow. Summer cuttings are less fruitful - callus appears in such cuttings in the first year, but mass rooting occurs only in the second year.
Thuja occidentalis is a light-loving plant; it needs sun 6-7 hours a day, otherwise it will begin to stretch out and the crown will be sparse.
Planting seedlings from the nursery. The hole for this purpose is made larger than the pot in which the seedling is still growing. Pine needles, a little humus and the top layer of soil are poured into the hole, and a bucket of water is poured. The seedling is carefully removed from the pot, placed in the hole and the roots are straightened, after which it is covered with soil and watered again.
There is no need to fertilize the seedling at first; this will interfere with its normal adaptation to the new place. IN further care care for a grown seedling should consist of watering, loosening the soil, weeding and fertilizing with nitrophoska.
The thuja plant (Thuja or Tuya) is also called the “tree of life.” It belongs to the order of gymnosperms of coniferous plants of the juniper family. It is not known for certain where it was brought to our continent from. It is believed that it was first brought from America or East Asia. This genus of plants combines six species. Thuja is a long-liver: her middle age can be about 150 years old, however, there are trees older.
Description of thuja
The description of the thuja tree comes down to a description of its features. This plant is an evergreen tree or shrub. In its natural environment, its trunk circumference can be about 6 meters and its height can be 70 meters. However, specimens growing in our latitudes barely reach a height of 11 meters. Young trees have soft, pale green needles, while older trees are dark green, opposite and scaly. These monoecious plants bear fruits in the form of small oblong or oval shaped cones with flat seeds.
It is noteworthy that the seeds begin to ripen in the first year. In addition, thuja is unpretentious in care, cold-resistant, and western thuja can withstand severe frosts.
Tree planting and its features
The first step is to choose the right area in which the tree will grow. It should be remembered that the thuja plant is light-loving, although all day it is contraindicated for him to be in the sun: It suffers from dehydration and will have a harder time surviving the winter. Therefore, when choosing a place for planting, you should pay attention to the fact that it is well lit, but on a hot afternoon the sun should not mercilessly scorch the plant. The tree also does not like drafts.
The soil for this plant should be rich in various nutrients. The most suitable is turf soil with the addition of peat and sand. Nevertheless, it is able to survive even in rather poor soil (sandy loam, clay and marshy soils).
It is best to plant thuja in open ground in the off-season (autumn or spring). However, do not forget that a tree planted in the fall may not have time to grow stronger and will not survive the winter well.
Thuja tolerates pruning quite well. If you carry out this procedure often enough, while heavily pruning the branches, the tree will subsequently become very lush, with thick needles. It is best to perform pruning in spring period before the buds begin to open. If the thuja is planted as a green hedge, then it will have to be trimmed regularly in any case. Even if it grows as a single plant, it also needs thinning and sanitary pruning.
If the plants are planted in a group, then they will need formative pruning, otherwise over time they will have an unsightly appearance. It must be remembered that crown molding should be done when the tree reaches the desired height.
There are also species that require frequent formative pruning. However, to prevent the tree from weakening, you should not cut off more than one-third of the stem in one procedure. The first time pruning is carried out when the tree reaches 2-3 years. For this purpose, use a very sharp pruner so that it does not chew the stems of the plant.
Sometimes it happens that an adult tree needs replanting. This is a simple procedure, but to carry it out you should learn a few rules. If the tree small size, then you need to pierce the soil around its axis, using a sharp shovel for this. It is necessary to maintain a distance from the trunk of about half a meter. After this, you need to carefully pry up the tree and pull its roots out of the ground along with the trunk circle, put it in a wheelbarrow and transport it to the transplant site, being careful not to destroy the lump of earth.
Immediately after this, the plants are planted in the ground. If it is quite large, then it will have to be pierced a year before transplantation. This is done so that the thuja can grow young roots inside an earthen clod separated by a circle. As a result, the soil will not crumble during transportation to a new planting site and the transplant will be completed as painlessly as possible. Such a tree will take root better after replanting.
Young specimens less than 5 years old must be covered with spruce branches on top. But before that, it should be hilled up high, and the tree trunk circle should be covered with a large layer of mulch (peat). Adult plants do not need shelter before wintering, but nevertheless, the tree trunk circle still needs to be sprinkled with mulch.
If the winter is snowy, this can lead to injury to branches even in mature and strong plants. To prevent such a situation, in the fall the crown is tied to the trunk using twine.
Towards the end of winter, a non-woven covering material is put on the tree, which can protect it from bright sun rays in the spring. Due to the sudden change temperature regime, cracks may form on the tree bark. In the spring, they should be covered with garden varnish, tightening the bark well for better healing of the wounds.
There are a large number of varieties of this wonderful plant. Among other things, they are divided into basic and derivative types. IN natural conditions There are 5 types of thuja:
- Western.
- Japanese.
- Chinese.
- Korean.
- Folded (giant).
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Each of these types should be considered in more detail.
Thuja occidentalis is the most popular type of plant among amateur gardeners. It is easy to care for and frost-resistant. A large number of varieties of this species are known. This is a long-lived plant, some of its specimens live more than 1000 years. This thuja takes root in many regions of Russia, except for semi-deserts in the south and harsh northern regions. It is bred in all European countries. There are such varieties of this plant:
- Thuja occidentalis Sunkist.
- Dwarf thuja Teddy.
- Thuja occidentalis Brabant.
Thuja japonica, also known as Standish's thuja, grows in the mixed forests of the highlands on the Japanese island of Hondo. It grows at an altitude of 1000−1800 m above sea level. It is distinguished by soft and beautiful needles, which have green tint above and white spots below. It can reach a height of about 18 meters.
Thuja Koreana is a thuja shrub that is rarely found in the forests of Korea. It is characterized by a wide crown with soft needles and spreading branches. In the Russian climate, it can only grow in the south, since it does not tolerate frost.
Thuja foldata does not tolerate cold quite well. During severe frosts, young shoots freeze, but as soon as spring comes, they are able to quickly regenerate. Its length can reach 60 meters and width - 2 meters. It grows on the west coast of Canada and has a specific aroma.
Thuja orientalis, or oriental flat branch, whose homeland is considered to be China, has been popular since ancient times due to its healing properties. It is able to kill many pathogenic bacteria, refreshing the air with its aroma. Its branches are shaped like a fan.
This species does not tolerate low temperatures, which is why it is grown only in the southern regions. In central Russia it can grow only if there is good shading.
Undoubtedly, thuja is very beautiful exotic plant, which has taken root well in many regions. With its help you can decorate almost any landscape, because it decorative qualities cannot leave connoisseurs of natural beauty indifferent. For many decades now, this plant has pleased many owners with its appearance. suburban areas, because its popularity is growing every year.
Thuja plant and its types
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IN Ancient Greece the word "thuja" meant "tree of life." It is a pity that its Russian name does not reflect the incredible vitality of this amazing plant: in nature, thuja is able to grow both in valleys and along the banks of mountain rivers, adapts well to both limestone and poor podzolic soils, and is also a long-lived tree, whose age can reach thousands of years.
Giants and dwarfs
The genus Thuja, from the cypress family (Cupressaceae), has six species of coniferous plants, which are distributed mainly in the mountains of East Asia, and only one species, the western thuja (Thuja occidentalis), occupied North America. There it formed impenetrable forests stretching from Canada to North Carolina, growing in swamps and in places where groundwater lies close. Thuja has been known in Europe since the 16th century, and reached Russian borders only in early XIX century, when it was first planted in Nikitsky botanical garden in Crimea. But already in late XIX centuries, thuja “captured” Belarus and Russia. It is the thuja occidentalis that has taken root here - the least demanding, most frost-resistant and therefore well adapted to natural conditions middle zone Russia. Today, thuja can be found both in Arkhangelsk and on the Black Sea coast.
The first fans of thuja appreciated not only its decorative qualities, which persist both in winter and summer. The needles contain a lot of essential oil, which began to be used in perfumery and medicine. It purifies and heals the air, and thuja wood is soft, resistant to rot, so it is even suitable for shipbuilding. In nature, thuja can reach twenty to thirty meters in height, but cultivated species are usually one and a half to two times lower.
The western thuja has many forms, but dwarf thujas are especially popular. They are winter-hardy trees, their height varies from one and a half meters for the umbrella thuja to four meters for the thuja Bota. Caring for them is the same, so when choosing, be guided by your taste and needs.
Unpretentious guest
Thuja occidentalis is a real find for a novice gardener. It tolerates excess moisture in the soil well, and is quite drought-resistant, so it can be left for a long time without special care. It is shade-tolerant and light-loving - thuja can be planted next to other trees without fear that excess shade will destroy it, but if desired, it can be left alone, in the middle of the lawn, since under watering conditions it does not suffer from high temperatures. Thuja easily withstands winds and tolerates shearing well. Perhaps its only drawback is its superficial root system, which may not hold mature plant. Therefore, after heavy snowfalls, wet snow must be shaken off the thuja so that the tree does not break or fall. But even this will not be needed if you choose dwarf forms for your first experiments - they winter well under the snow and grow slowly.
If you want to “fit” thuja occidentalis into a group of trees, be sure to take into account that the shape of the plant changes with age: at the beginning of its life it has a narrow pyramidal crown, but then it becomes ovoid. Over the course of a year, she grows ten to fifteen centimeters. The needles fall off in the fourth or fifth year of life along with the branches. The color of the thuja changes depending on the season: in the spring the needles delight with bright green shades, in the summer they become darker, and in the winter they acquire a bronze color.
Another interesting phenomenon that you will observe if you properly care for the plant is the flowering, or rather, the dusting of the thuja. In April–early May, the thuja is covered with female cones in the middle part of the crown and male cones in the upper part. Female cones are yellow-green, bud-like, while male cones are brownish-yellow and round. Depending on the weather, dusting lasts six to twelve days. And a few weeks after dusting, shoots begin to grow. The cones will ripen only after five to six months, then their scales will open slightly and flat seeds with narrow wings will fly to the ground. They remain viable for no more than two years.
To make you feel comfortable
Thuja is unpretentious, but the plant cannot be left without any care. If your site has heavy soil with stagnant melt or rainwater, when replanting thuja, the planting hole should be filled with a thick layer of drainage - about twenty centimeters. Young seedlings are protected from frost with spruce branches in the winter, and shaded in the spring. If the summer is dry, water the plant several times a week, loosen the soil from time to time (no deeper than ten centimeters), sprinkle with peat or sawdust - a layer of five to seven centimeters. Regular sprinkling will wash away dust from the crown, and the air will immediately be filled with the refreshing aroma of pine needles. At other times of the year, depending on the level groundwater, thuja can do without watering at all.
An adult tree also needs your care: heavy wet snow can break the branches, and if you do not have the opportunity to shake them off regularly, it is better to tie the crown in the fall. When temperature changes, cracks may appear on the trunk; in this case, in the spring, cover the damaged areas with garden varnish and pull the cracked bark tightly.
Once a year, preferably in the spring, you need to feed the tree with mineral or organic fertilizers. Loosening the soil should be shallow, up to ten centimeters, so as not to damage the root system, which is located close to the surface. It is also better to remove dry shoots and branches in the spring. And in the summer it’s time for a haircut - but only moderately, no more than a third of the shoot. Choose a powerful pruner; it will protect the branches from dents at the cutting tips.
If you want to choose for thuja good neighbors, remember that in nature this tree does best in moist, fresh and clay soils of mixed forests of black ash, red spruce, balsam fir and hemlock. But there is no need to plant tall forms closer than three meters to other trees; dwarf forms are more suitable for group plantings and hedges.
Prepare your seeds in the fall...
For those who have been growing thuja for many years and feel confident enough, you can go further and try growing trees from seeds. Start by collecting the cones; they should be quite mature in September–October. Place the cones in a cloth bag and dry (you can use a radiator) for ten to fifteen days. As soon as the cones dry out, the scales open slightly and the seeds begin to fall out - they need to be kept moist until spring on the top shelf of the refrigerator. In spring, sow the seeds in rows to a depth of half a centimeter, lightly sprinkle with pine sawdust on top. Leave about ten centimeters between rows. The beds need to be watered from time to time, but it is better not to over-water them.
When the seedlings appear, cover them from direct sunlight. In the first year, their height will not exceed five to six centimeters, and in the third it will reach ten to twenty centimeters. At the height of summer, to prevent drying out, the plantings are mulched (sprinkled around) with peat or sawdust. Three-year-old plants should be fed with a weak solution of rotted manure, but nitrogen fertilizers should be used with caution. At a young age, thuja tolerates transplantation more easily, and you can plant your young trees even in flower pots, it will make a great gift. For potted thuja, use a substrate of peat and fertile soil with the addition of organic fertilizers in the amount of 30–50 grams per bucket of soil.
Or you can plant young plants, using thuja for single or group planting, to create alleys and hedges, borders and various trimmed forms - just give free rein to your imagination.
How often can you cut thuja per season?
Only thick plants should be trimmed, so the first task is to achieve the required density and height. To enhance tillering, at the end of May - beginning of June, pinching is done - the tips of the shoots are torn off at the moment when new growths appear. After a year or two, you can begin to shape the thuja, give it the shape of a cone or ball, or simply trim it to the desired height. Haircuts can be carried out up to three times per season, simultaneously getting rid of overgrown shoots if they violate the desired shape.
Housewarming
Typically, these plants are planted in a permanent place in November or March, although proper preparation they tolerate planting at any time of the year. It is much more important when planting thuja in the garden not to bury it or raise it above ground level. root collar. The planting depth is a little more than half a meter; almost any soil is suitable, but the best option is turf, with the addition of peat and sand. If fertilizers were placed in the hole during planting, then there is no need to fertilize the tree for the next two years. It’s good if you choose an area where the thuja will not be constantly in the sun; from time to time it needs shade.
In the first month after planting, watering should be done once a week, ten liters per tree, but in dry weather - twice a week, twenty liters per tree. At autumn planting in the first winter you need to cover young tree so that it is not affected by frost.
When planting in groups (alley, hedge), remember that the thuja will grow not only in height, but also in width. For a single-row hedge, maintain a distance between trees of one meter, for a double-row hedge - two meters, and if you are laying an alley of tall forms of thuja, then the distance between the trees can reach five meters.
They gave me a small thuja in a pot. How long does she live and how should she be cared for?
Thuja is not indoor plant. She grows in open ground. If you do not transplant it into the soil, the thuja will hardly “last” more than six months. In the spring it can be planted, but until then, under no circumstances store the pot on the balcony or street, the plant has already awakened in the warmth and will quickly die in the cold air. In an apartment, thuja needs a temperature of about 15 degrees and constant spraying; there is no need to feed the plant, water it moderately. Ideally, the thuja would be preserved in a cold winter garden or a well-insulated loggia.
Thuja belongs to the well-known cypress family. This low evergreen tree has raised branches and dense dark green leaves. Scale-shaped flowers are unisexual. The fruit of the plant is presented in the form of an obovate cone with brown, wide-winged seeds.
Useful properties of thuja
Thuja has an immunomodulatory effect. Yellow essential oil contains flavonoids, essential tannins and a huge amount of resin. Thuja also contains tuin, pinin, pilene, traces of saponins, aromadendrin, as well as toxifolin and pinipicrin.
Application of thuja
For diseases of the urinary tract, thuja shoots are used. In addition, this plant is used for runny nose, headaches and allergic reactions. Thuja is often prescribed for osteochondrosis, metabolic arthritis, hepatocholecystitis, cystitis, cholelithiasis, chronic prostatitis, and also for prostate adenoma. For edema, this plant also gives good results treatment. I would like to note that thuja is an excellent anthelmintic. It is able to resolve scars and adhesions, and also perfectly fights tumors.
Thuja oil
Such a multifaceted remedy has a unique metabolic effect. The oil promotes surprisingly rapid restoration of epithelial tissue, as well as normalization of the activity of secretory elements of the skin. Thuja oil is indicated for acne, condylomas, warts, as well as rhinitis, aphthous stomatitis, adenoids, otitis, periodontal disease and arthritis. To achieve a noticeable effect in case of inflammation of the epidermis, you should apply thuja oil 3 times a day to severely affected areas. Intranasally, this wonderful remedy is used 4 drops 3 times a day in both nasal passages.
Thuja care
Caring for this tree is completely easy. When planting, it is advisable to place it in the hole. suitable fertilizers, and then the plant does not need to be fertilized for two years. Thuja prefers fairly moist soil and air. She likes being hosed down. Before the start of the cold period, the branches of this tree must be tied with a cord so that they are not damaged under heavy snow. In addition, during severe frosts, the tree should be wrapped with a special covering material “Lutrasil-30”. When the thuja grows up, then next year such shelter is not required
Thuja oil for adenoids
Adenoiditis is acute inflammation tonsils of the pharynx. Long-term treatment of this disease with thuja oil gives an incredible effect, but the course of treatment should not be less than one and a half months. Regular instillation of thuja oil after washing the nasal passages after a certain period significantly improves the patient's condition. In some unadvanced cases, surgical intervention can be avoided.
Thuja oil for nose
Thuja essential oil is made from the cones and fragrant needles of 15-year-old trees. The smell of this remedy slightly camphorous, and the consistency is viscous. By instilling this oil into your nose, you can quickly get rid of inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, constant congestion, headaches and general malaise of the body. This drug has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect, helps reduce the viscosity of nasal discharge, facilitating its passage.
Thuja oil has antiseptic, sedative and tonic properties. For the rapid restoration of mucous membranes after degeneration, this remedy is also effective. It should be noted that this drug can be successfully used for inhalation. The duration of each procedure should be about 7 minutes.
Thuja seeds
The small brown seeds of the thuja develop in elongated cones with leathery, dehiscent scales. The cones stay on the branches for about two years, while the seeds ripen only in the first year. Each seed has two rather narrow wings when ripe. For sowing, only fresh seeds are used after swelling in water. After sowing, it is recommended to cover the soil to maintain optimal level humidity. After a couple of years, under favorable conditions, each seedling can reach about half a meter in height.
Reproduction of thuja
Thuja can reproduce both by seeds and by more common vegetative way. For this, lignified shoots about 40 cm long, as well as green fresh shoots, are used. Cuttings are selected with strong side shoots and taken from the tree by cutting. This procedure is recommended to be carried out in the autumn season. The cutting should sit in the ground to a depth of about 2 cm, and the needles should not come into contact with the ground. If this is not protected, the shoot will die.
Thuja occidentalis
The beautiful western thuja is a powerful tree that grows up to 30 m in height. The bright green young shoots are flat in shape. The needles of such a tree are dark green, and the scales are located one above the other. Mature ovoid cones are slightly bent downwards. In autumn, the ripened seeds fall out. This type thuja with reddish wood is an excellent park decoration. Such a durable and winter-hardy tree is not demanding on soil fertility.
Thuja Smaragd
The evergreen tree Smaragd has a crown up to 20 cm with a pin-shaped shape. The short branches of this tree are spaced horizontally from the trunk. Flattened branches, brown bark and scaly needles are the characteristic features of Thuja Smaragd. The light brown cones of this species are quite small and ovoid, and the scales are leathery and almost all dehiscent. Thuja has winged seeds 4 mm long, which usually ripen in the first year. This unique coniferous plant is widely used in gardens of temperate and cold regions. Thuja Smaragd is one of the most delightful materials for creating an exquisite hedge.
Arbor vitae
Thuja orientalis is a frequently grown crop in the southern regions of the CIS. In addition, this particular species is often used as indoor decorations. Homeland eastern thuja are China and Korea, where the plant is in great demand. It should be noted that this tree has more than 60 varieties, which differ in the shape of the crown and the size of the trunk, the structure of the shoots and the color of the leaves. IN good conditions such a thuja can grow up to 20 m. This shade-tolerant plant prefers places with bright, diffused lighting. It is no coincidence oriental thuja It is called a phytoncidal plant, because its needles secrete substances with a very strong aroma that destroy microbes.
Thuja Edas
A medicinal product such as thuja oil "Edas-801" is made using a unique technology. It has an incredibly wide range of actions on human body. Edas-801 contains a component that has an effective local effect, reducing severe symptoms of the disease and inflammatory processes. medicinal product indicated for prolonged runny noses, adenoids, the growth of nasal polyps, as well as for chronic sluggish ear diseases with fluid secretion. Edas-801 is also prescribed for the treatment of hypertrophic rhinitis, arthritis, arthrosis and joint pain.
Thuja globulus
Thuja globular can be called one of the brightest representatives of the western group with a rounded and well-formed crown. This dwarf tree grows very slowly and does not exceed 120 cm in height. The shoots of the thuja are densely spaced and grow very evenly. Depending on the time of year it is unique tree changes the shades of leaves from pale green to brownish. This spherical thuja is perfect for decorating borders, landscaping gardens and parks. To maintain its decorative effect, it is recommended to plant the tree in a shady place. This thuja prefers abundant irrigation and tying up the crown.
Thuja Brabant
Thuja Brabant is a wonderful variety of western thuja that is characterized by excellent fast growth. This beautiful evergreen tree has shiny needles ranging from light green to pale light green. The compact columnar crown sometimes reaches to the ground. The height of the thuja Brabant is about 3 m. This type of thuja is found everywhere in Russia and other warm CIS countries.
This moisture-loving tree does not like dry and frosty places. Thuja Brabant takes root well in cities, creating interesting compositions and hedges. It does not require bright lighting and can easily grow in the shade and in the sun. This variety does incredibly well in moist, fertile soils.
Thuja domestica
Thuja domestica with an evergreen color is practically unpretentious to soil, humidity and light, which allows it to grow successfully in any corner of the world. It is resistant to climate change and does not require complex care. Thuja can be propagated by seeds and cuttings. Young shoots are planted in the spring. Since the thuja has a root system in upper layers soil, then deep loosening is not required. The plant is not afraid of severe frosts, prolonged drought or abundant watering, as well as urban gas pollution. Moreover, thuja domestica is capable of saturating the air space with an incomparable aroma, bactericidal elements and pure nitrogen.
Contraindications to the use of thuja
It is not recommended for expectant mothers to take thuja-based products in order to save the fetus. Considering that this plant is mildly poisonous, the course of treatment should only be prescribed by a specialist. Thuja is also contraindicated for patients with epilepsy.
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