2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Thuja (Latin Thuja) - a genus of evergreen coniferous shrubs and trees of the Cypress family. Other names are Tuya or Life tree. The genus includes five species naturally occurring in East Asia and North America.
Characteristics of culture
Thuja is a monoecious shrub or tree up to 70 m high and has a dense symmetrical conical crown. The diameter of the trunk varies from 0.5 to 6 m. The needles are scaly, dense, located oppositely opposite, adjacent to the shoots. Young needles are needle-like, soft. Cones are medium-sized, oval or oblong, covered with leathery scales.
The seeds are flat, equipped with two narrow wings. The fruits ripen in the first year. Thuja is wind and gas resistant. Trees and shrubs easily tolerate transplanting, multiply easily and are undemanding to growing conditions. They are widely used in decorative gardening and topiary art.
Growing conditions
Thuja is an unpretentious plant, but it develops better on well-drained, moist, neutral or slightly acidic soils. The culture has a superficial root system, so the plants are able to withstand even slight waterlogging and short-term flooding. Prolonged waterlogging leads to inevitable death.
Thuja is shade-tolerant, accepts light partial shade. In the dense shade, the trees thin out a lot and lose their attractive appearance. Intensely lit areas with diffused sunlight are optimal for growing thuja. Soil fertility plays an important role in the intensity of the color of the needles. The distance between plants is from 3 to 5 m.
Reproduction and planting
Thuja is propagated by seeds, horizontal layering, cuttings and division. Sowing is carried out with freshly harvested seeds in autumn or spring with preliminary stratification. Unfortunately, the seed method does not guarantee the receipt of specimens with obvious maternal signs, however, future plants are always strong, healthy and look very attractive and harmonious.
It is preferable to propagate the culture by vegetative methods. So, cuttings are effective for almost all types of thuja, but the rooting rate is different for them. Cuttings are carried out in early spring (before the start of sap flow). Summer cuttings are also possible, but undesirable, since cuttings do not always have time to take root before the onset of stable cold weather. For the winter, cuttings are covered for insulation. The use of growth stimulants before planting is encouraged.
The simplest method is propagation by horizontal layers, however, one should not expect a beautiful conical crown on future plants. Shrubs and trees are often lopsided, but with regular grooming, formative pruning and shearing, they acquire the correct crown. Layers are laid in spring or summer, separated - next spring. Division is used only for multi-stemmed compact specimens. To do this, the bushes are spud, periodically moistened, and after the formation of additional roots, the plants are separated.
Planting of seedlings is carried out immediately after thawing of the soil, the deadline is the beginning of July. Planting material needs a lot of time to go through the adaptation period and prepare for future cold weather. It is not recommended to plant thuja seedlings starting from mid-August. For the winter, the seedlings are covered with spruce branches, and the soil in the near-trunk zone is mulched with organic material with a layer of at least 20 cm.
Care
In the first year after planting, the plants need more careful care. In addition, they require light shading from direct sunlight, otherwise young shrubs or trees will get burned. It is recommended to use a special reflective non-woven material for shading, never kraft paper. Watering, feeding and pruning are important for thuja.
Pruning and trimming can be done in the spring or early summer. The first feeding is carried out immediately after thawing of the soil, the second - during the active growth of shoots, the third - at the end of August. Preventive treatments against pests and diseases are not prohibited. Possible pests of the culture are bark beetles, cypress and thuja aphids, scale insects, false scale insects; of diseases, bacteriosis and fungal diseases are widespread.
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