Tui have been introduced into decorative gardening for quite some time. These are evergreen and most often heat-loving representatives of the Cypress family. Slender trees and dwarf shrubs are actively used for landscaping parks, city alleys and personal garden plots. Two types are best known : folded thuja and western. It will be a plant of the first species. In nature, it is spread from the sunny shores of California to Alaska, but in our climate it is more demanding to leave.
Botanical Description
The folded thuja is also sometimes called giant, and of the unofficial names, Canadian or Western red cedar are especially popular. The natural habitat is large enough. It is a slender tree up to 75 cm high and with a trunk girth up to 1.2-2.4 m. The shape of the crown is conical or pyramidal, the branches are located in a horizontal plane, and the shoots slightly wilt. Brown-red bark with a thickness of 1-2.5 cm has many cracks. Shoots are flat, covered with leaves with a glossy green outer surface and a whitish bottom. The tree forms large cones up to 12 cm long oval-oblong.
Site location and soil
The tree is wind-resistant and shade-tolerant, long-lived with a life expectancy of 500 to 800 years. Thuja can develop normally both in sunny areas and in partial shade. In the first case, there is a risk that the tree will suffer from changes in day and night temperatures, and dehydration will begin. Under natural conditions, folded thuja grows on moist coasts, in swampy lowlands, where it reaches truly gigantic proportions. It is not exacting to the soil, however for the best development it is necessary to prepare nutritious soil. Specialists recommend mixing sand, peat, leaf or turf soil in a ratio of 1: 1: 2 for planting.
Folded thuja: planting and care of seedlings
There is no unequivocal opinion about the time of planting seedlings, but it should be borne in mind that during spring planting the plant will have time to grow stronger in the cold. The size of the landing pit depends on the size of the tree, the minimum depth is 80 cm, the bottom is covered with a drainage layer (15-20 cm). When planting, leave a distance of 1-3 m between the plants when forming a hedge and up to 5 m to create an alley. The root neck cannot be deepened, it should be left at ground level. During the first month after planting, it is recommended to water the tree once a week, the volume of water is 10 l, and also carry out sprinkling (spraying) in the early morning or evening hours to avoid sunburn.
Growing thuja
Further care of the plant consists in weeding the periostemal circle from weeds, loosening it to a depth of not more than 10 cm, since the root system is located close to the surface, and mulching the soil (bark, pebbles, wood chips, etc.). Folded thuja (description and photo in the text) is sensitive to lack of moisture. With a constant lack of water, the crown begins to thin, and the needles turn yellow. Therefore, in a dry summer, the tree needs to be watered abundantly (15-20 l) 2 times a week. If a complex mineral fertilizer was introduced during planting, then the next dressing should be carried out only after 2 years. Use, for example, the drug "Kemira Universal" at the rate of 100-120 g per 1 sq.m.
Every year in the spring, remove dry shoots and conduct a haircut (if necessary) within reasonable limits. Shortening shoots to a length of more than 1/3 is not recommended. Adult plants in the Moscow climate survive the winter quite easily, young plants should be covered in the first 2-3 years.
Folded thuja: decorative forms
In the framework of the natural species, it is customary to distinguish between folded mountain (or eastern) and coastal. The first prefers a warm climate, and the second - continental. In a decorative-park culture, plants are divided into three forms, depending on external characteristics.
- Thuja plicata f. Atrovirens is one of the most spectacular evergreen pyramidal trees. The glossy foliage of a deep dark green color is harmoniously emphasized by a reddish-brown wrinkled bark. It grows to 6-7.6 m, develops slowly, lives up to 80 years.
- Thuja plicata f. Pendula (photo above) - a very spectacular thuja (folded), highly decorative form with a characteristic weeping crown. The shrub is sprawling, grows slowly and reaches 1.8-4.5 m by the age of 10, shoots give an increase of up to 30 cm per year. The branches are drooping, curved in an arc, the needles are bright green in the summer and with a grayish tint in the winter.
- Thuja plicata f. Fastigata - has an even columnar crown shape. The tree reaches a height of 12 m. The spread of the crown is from 2-3 m to 3-3.6 m. It is undemanding to soils, relatively winter-hardy.
One of the most decorative varieties that are widespread in park culture is the thuja folded Gelderland with a conical fluffy crown. High decorative effect is achieved due to the thick needles of a deep dark green color and a bright bronze hue in the winter. Over 10 years, the plant reaches a height of 5 m. It is relatively frost-resistant, but in cold regions it requires shelter for the winter.
Tui attract with their dense crown, aroma of needles and clear forms of the crown. This is a very valuable material for landscape gardening. They are used in single and group plantings, as a living wall, for the formation of alleys. In the garden, thuja folded (photo above) goes well with other conifers (oriental spruce, European larch), cypress, tsuga.