Thuja is a coniferous plant and belongs to the Cypress family. Its genus includes trees and shrubs of five species. In our country, only one is popular among gardeners - the thuja occidentalis (thuja occidentalis). About its varieties, their cultivation and care, read the article.
Thuja West: photo and description
This plant is a beautiful tree, whose height reaches 15 or even 20 meters. Wildlife specimens are even higher, but they can be found very rarely. Thuja zapadnaya has an ovoid or pyramidal crown and a compact root system. Monoecious flowers do not have a decorative effect. They lonely crown the tops of the branches, so the flowering does not look lush. Small cones one centimeter long are ovoid in shape. Each contains two seeds with yellow wings.
The young plant has a smooth, brick-brown bark. In a mature thuja, it acquires a gray-brown hue. Ten-year-old specimens have a fibrous cortex, on which deep longitudinal cracks are clearly visible. Wood is durable and soft. On the cut it has a reddish tint with yellow, brown or red blotches in the form of veins. It does not undergo a process of decay, there is no resin in it. Thuja wood is ideally suited for furniture production, but could not be used in this area due to the slow growth of the plant and the fibrous bark.
Thuja Zapadnaya: needles description
Like all trees, this ornamental plant is leafy. In Western Thuja, it has the appearance of green, small needles, the length of which reaches two to four millimeters. It is scaly, densely covers the branches of a tree. The life expectancy of such foliage is two to three years, after which it begins to fall off with small branches. This does not happen immediately, but gradually. The crown is being updated imperceptibly. Before the start of winter, its discoloration sets in. The crown becomes yellowish green or brown. Thuja Zapadnaya (photo below) is called an “evergreen” plant relatively. For example, in pine and spruce in winter, the shade of needles does not change, and in most varieties of arborvitae it becomes different.
Plant species
That Western is grown as a tree and as a bush. It is frost-resistant and shade-loving. Under natural conditions, riverbanks and marshes are places of growth. Therefore, in culture, it is not demanding of care, for which it is popular among gardeners. This tree is a decoration of any landscape. Thuja Zapadnaya (occidentalis) is distinguished by a variety of varieties. To choose what you want, you should get acquainted with the information about them. Below are some varieties of Western Thuja.
Emerald
This thuja variety belongs to evergreen conifers with high decorativeness. Thuja Western Smaragd has a symmetrical, dense crown, the diameter of which is about two meters. In culture, a tree is given a columnar shape, although in its natural form it resembles a cone. Scaly needles with a shiny surface have a dark emerald color. The tree has a small height, only five meters, and slow growth. For a year it adds 10 cm in height, and five in width. The fruits are represented by brown cones, the size of which is less than a centimeter.
The lifespan of the thuja Western Smaragd is 150 years. This tree is unpretentious, can adapt without any problems in any weather conditions and grow in soils with any composition. But loam is preferable, as well as soil containing lime. In urban conditions it grows well, withstands frosts, but in the early spring receives burns from the rays of the sun, so the plant needs to be covered. After falling snow, it is very important to shake it off the branches, as the crown may be damaged.
To plant a thuja, it is better to choose a lighted area, although it tolerates the shadow well. In places of its growth, the surrounding air is purified and ionized. The plant is not only beautiful, but also useful, therefore, its plantings can be found in parks, gardens, and on personal plots. This variety of culture is so decorative that it was awarded a medal by the organizers of the exhibition. The international event took place in 2008 in Warsaw.
Kolumna
This thuja is an evergreen coniferous tree. Belongs to the columnar and fast-growing varieties of this species. Kolumna is the only variety whose height reaches eight meters. The growth in length per year is 20 cm, in width - from four to six. Life expectancy reaches 200 years. The width of the vertical crown can grow up to one and a half meters. Scaly needles are dark, with a characteristic sheen that does not disappear even in winter. The fruits are round cones of brown color. Their narrow seeds are flat.
This thuja variety is unpretentious, but grows poorly on compacted soils. This tree needs moist soil. It can grow in bright areas and in the shade. A crown receiving a lot of sun will have a higher density; its color is brightness. In a tree grown in the shade, it loses its density. Among all Western thuja this variety is the most cold-resistant. Thanks to its decorative properties, it is used to create live fences.
Danica
This thuja is a dwarf plant, its height is from 60 to 80 cm, and the crown is wider - one meter. This Western Danica was brought out by breeders from Denmark, which determined its name. The crown of spherical shape has a saturated green color with brilliance. But in winter, the needles become brownish. The culture has increased frost resistance, is not demanding on growing conditions. It feels great in any climate. Thanks to the dwarf form does not need pruning. Thuja West Danica is an ideal plant for decorating a small garden, alpine slide or patio.
Globose
This type of plant is an evergreen coniferous shrub that has a round shape. Its height and width reach one and a half meters. It is characterized by slow growth, but life expectancy is large - 200 years. The annual growth in height and width is not more than five centimeters. The dense crown has a spherical shape, and the brown fruit has a round shape.
Scaly, dark needles are quite large. The shrub is very decorative, so it is often used for low fences, in plantings in groups, as well as for single growth. It grows both in lighted, calm areas, and in the shade. This thuja prefers soil in the form of fertile loams, does not tolerate stagnation of water in the soil. It responds well to top dressing and tolerates frosty winters.
Brabant
This thuja is a fast-growing tree with excellent decorative qualities. The growth for the year is 30-40 cm in height and 15 in width. Thuja Western Brabant grows up to 15 m, although it can be higher - 21 m. But in the conditions of our climate it is a short tree, reaching a height of only four meters.
The crown is compact, with a large number of branched legs, some of which sometimes fall to the surface of the soil. Its shape is conical. Green needles are very bright, even in winter. The trunk is covered with a reddish-brown bark, which has the ability to exfoliate. Thuja Western Brabant tolerates frosts well, grows on any soil, blooms luxuriantly since April, after which brown cones in the shape of an egg are formed. Single plants are used in the design, and living fences are also created from them.
Golden Globe
This is a dwarf shrub with a dense, spherical crown. Its dense shoots stretch upward, they are straight and flat. The large, scaly needles have a yellow-green color with a golden hue. The adult shrub reaches a height and a width of a little more than a meter, grows slowly.
The roots lie close to the surface of the soil. Like all arborvitae, it prefers loams and does not like excessive waterlogging. It grows in the sun and in the shade. In the latter case, the golden color will disappear, the color of the needles will remain saturated green. It tolerates frosts. It is used in landscape design to create decorative compositions, borders, hedges.
Seed planting
This method is rarely used due to the fact that new plants will not be transmitted in full decorative qualities. An ordinary wild-shaped tree will grow from the seeds. In addition, the process is time consuming and time consuming. Only after five years you can wait for a full-fledged seedling. The advantage of this planting is a good adaptability of the tree to the conditions of the terrain.
If someone wants to plant thuja in this way, the seeds for the whole winter period are left under the cover of snow to sprout faster. With the onset of spring, they need to be placed in soil containing a lot of nutrients. Sprouts germinate quickly, but young shoots need long-term care. Only four years later, on the fifth, they are transplanted to the place where they will grow constantly.
Planting by cuttings
This method is the most common, since you can quickly wait for the result and grow a tree of any variety. To plant Western thuja cuttings need to take shoots from two-year or three-year-old plants. Harvesting of planting material should be done in spring days: morning, evening or wait for cloudy weather. For cuttings, side shoots (their tops) of the current year are suitable. They should have a length of 10-12 cm.
Cuttings need to be soaked in potassium permanganate for a day, then planted in fertile soil, which includes leafy soil, sand, humus. Deep landing is not welcomed, five centimeters is enough. Cuttings during planting are placed at an angle of 20-30 ° C. Between them they maintain a distance of 10-15 cm and are covered with a film on top.
The specimens planted in containers are sent for storage to the basement. When the weather sets in and it gets warm outside, they begin to be transplanted into the garden. Lumps of earth on the roots do not need to be shaken. Cuttings planted in the spring quickly root during the first year and begin to grow. If this is done in the summer, in the first year after planting, only callus appears in the cuttings, and the rooting itself is carried out only in the second year.
Planting seedlings
This method is the most reliable, although expensive, as seedlings need to be bought. The main thing here is to make the right choice of planting material. You need to make a purchase from a trusted seller or in nurseries that are specially engaged in the cultivation of thuja seedlings of different varieties. Young trees are sold with pots.
When planting, the hole should be larger than the pot. Needles, humus, the earth of the upper layer of the bed are poured into it, 10 liters of water are poured (one bucket). Then you need to remove the seedling from the pot and place it in the hole. Then spread the roots, cover with earth and water again. Freshly planted young plants do not need to be fed. This, on the contrary, will interfere with their adaptation at the place of new growth.
When the seedlings grow a little, care for them consists in timely watering, loosening and weeding the soil in near-stem circles, and feeding with nitrophos. All of these procedures are performed as needed. But if it is a hot summer, water the tree more often, not allowing the soil to dry out. This is done in the evening or early in the morning until the sun has risen. If watering is not carried out in the heat, the thuja begins to bear fruit. This is bad, since in future the crown can be deformed. When the snow melts, you can start feeding.
How to choose a place to land?
Going to engage in the cultivation of arborvitae, many questions arise. One of them is choosing the right landing site, since the health and beauty of a decorative tree depends on it. Western thuja is considered an unpretentious plant. But for a good survival rate and obtaining a tree or shrub, which will have a lush crown and needles of a normal color, the site for planting should be carefully selected.
A sunny and shaded place is suitable for this. But in the sun, the needles often get burned, and in the shade its color is not so saturated. The best option is partial shade, but with good protection from strong gusts of wind. Thuja grow well on soddy soil, which contains leafy soil, sand, peat. Swampy, clay or peaty land is suitable.
Landing technology
For the cultivation of Western arborvitae of any variety, open ground and containers are used. The best time to plant is considered spring. But this can be done in the fall.
- First of all, the distance between future trees or shrubs is taken into account. When planting several seedlings, it is one to two meters.
- At the selected site, digging holes one meter deep. If the roots are too big, you can do more.
- Then a mixture is prepared, which includes different soils: sod, leaf, peat, sand. 100 g of mineral fertilizer is introduced into each pit.
- If stagnation of water is observed on the site, drainage is placed in the planting pits: pebbles, broken bricks.
- The seedling is placed in the hole and filled with soil. It is important to place the root neck at the same level with the surface of the earth.
- After landing West Thuja and leaving is not difficult. The young plant is watered abundantly, the soil around the trunk is compacted and mulched.
Proper care
Thuja of the described species, although it is considered an unpretentious plant, but to get a healthy tree with high decorative properties, you need to follow some recommendations:
- During the first month of life, a young plant needs watering. This should be done once every seven days.
- Sprinkling should be carried out. During this procedure, the dust is washed off, the smell of needles will be felt more distinctly.
- After each watering, you need to loosen the soil.
- If the old mulch was washed away by rain or it decomposed, you need to add a new one, for example, wood bark.
- So that the needles do not get burns, it is covered with burlap.
- Before the winter season, the branches need to be tied with a rope, otherwise snowfalls will break them.
- Young shoots should be fed with organic or mineral fertilizers.
- With the onset of spring, dry, damaged and diseased shoots are disposed of.
What is pruning for and what are the rules for its implementation
In order for the thuja to grow healthy, well-groomed, beautiful, it needs to be trimmed. During this procedure, a crown is formed. Pruning should be done when the plant reaches two or three years of age. This is best done in the summer after the formation of buds and branches. The procedure is performed using secateurs. So, dents will not remain on the branches, and the slices will heal faster.
The formation of the crown begins when it grows to the desired size. For this, 1/3 of the shoots are cut off. If you remove more, the tree will weaken, and will recover strength for a long time. Subsequently, corrective trimming is done to maintain the shape of the crown.