06.01.2017 37 060

Thuja western - how winter-hardy varieties give preference?

- not only in its simplicity and the needles that persist all year round, but also in the ability of the plant to maintain a certain shape. Thuja pyramidal can be considered a living symbol of the species. It is these specimens that are most often found in parks and squares, as part of hedges, in groups and as tapeworms in suburban areas.

Despite the general similarity, plants with a conical crown belong to different varieties and even species. In the middle lane, due to frost resistance, preference is given to the western thuja, in the south, the eastern thuja or flat-flowered thuja predominate in plantings.

Features of the structure and vegetation of the western pyramidal thuja

The ancestors of the western pyramidal thuja are people from North America, growing in nature for several tens or hundreds of years to 15-30 meters in height. A cone-shaped thuja may have one or more trunks tightly pressed against each other.

The pyramidal thuja has small scaly needles. Depending on the variety, it either turns brown in winter, or retains its original color until spring.

Since thuja are evergreens, the modified foliage, even when it becomes brown or reddish-copper, does not crumble. Its life lasts up to three years, after which the needles die off, and the shoot becomes bare.

All thujas grow slowly, are distinguished by an unpretentious disposition and tolerate transplantation well. Thanks to the available winter-hardy varieties, pyramidal thuja are increasingly settling on summer cottages not only in the middle zone, but also in the North-West of the country, in the Urals and Siberia.

The propagation of varietal plants is carried out vegetatively, using cuttings or cuttings. The seed method is also possible, but young seedlings do not always retain the features of the parent specimens.

Planting pyramidal thuja in the ground is carried out when the seedlings reach the age of 2–4 years, while young plants take root well and can retain their decorative effect for up to a hundred years.

Conditions for planting and caring for thuja pyramidal

Ephedra prefer sun or partial shade, where the plant receives enough light and forms an evenly dense, beautiful crown... If thuja falls into deep shadow:

• branches gradually become sparse;
• the needles are losing saturated shade, may turn yellow, and in golden varieties, become greenish;
• the pyramidal shape of the crown is violated.

Pyramidal thuja, pictured, do not need special composition primer or care. The proliferation of thuja in landscape design was due to their resistance to the negative influences of the external environment, including:

• wind;
• direct sunlight;
• freezing;
• air polluted by working transport and industrial enterprises in cities and their immediate environs.

However, this does not mean that caring for a pyramidal thuja is unnecessary. For planting thuja of all varieties, spacious pits are prepared, in terms of the size of the root system and an earthen clod, which are equipped with drainage and filled with a loose mixture based on garden soil, peat and sand.

So that thuja do not lack nutrients, the soil is fertilized with complex specialized formulations for conifers.

In the future, feeding of shrubs is carried out in the spring and less often in the fall, combining with not frequent, but abundant.

Ephedra tolerate a lack of soil and drought, but grow better if the ground beneath them is moist. In dry hot weather, plants, especially young ones, respond well to shallow sprinkling. Abundant mulching helps prevent the root system from drying out. near-trunk circles... At the beginning of the growing season, thuja undergo sanitary pruning and, if necessary, correct the pyramidal shape of the crown.

A slight shedding of needles is most often associated with natural renewal processes, so the summer resident should not bother.

If the pyramidal thuja, in the photo, suffered from sunburn or froze in a snowless winter, you don't have to wait for it to turn green by itself. A neat haircut, supported by fertilization and watering, helps to restore decorativeness and repair damage over the summer.

Before the beginning of winter, the conical crown of the plant is tightly tied, small thuja, as well as varieties with low frost resistance, are covered. This measure allows the ephedra to retain its shape and most of the branches in strong winds, frost and heavy snow that can break skeletal branches.

I can diversify the design of the site with numerous decorative varieties of pyramidal thuja and their variegated varieties. Such plants tend to be more demanding than wild ancestors, but with minimal care and the right choice planting sites for many years decorate the cottage, serve as a hedge or background for low-growing deciduous shrubs, flowering perennials and herbs.

Forms and varieties of pyramidal thuja

Traditionally, more than a dozen pyramidal or conical forms of western thuja are used for landscaping. Among them there are plants, the crown of which is formed into one or more trunks. Most of the varieties are varieties that change color to brown-brown in winter.

The most famous pyramidal thuja with invariably green needles is the western thuja Smaragd. A plant with a squat conical crown reaches 2 meters in height by the age of 10. The maximum possible sizes are twice as large. the culture owes its name to the emerald shade of the needles, which does not change either in summer or in winter.

The decorative form of western thuja is considered one of the best varieties with a conical crown. The plant has a relative winter hardiness, but in the northern regions it can freeze out, suffers from the spring sun and needs protection.

The taller thuja Braband is well known to Russian gardeners due to its frost resistance and universal use. Most often, tall, up to 3-4 meters shrubs are used to create green fences, in group plantings. In order for the thuja to maintain a pyramidal shape, it needs a mandatory pruning. The variety is shade-tolerant, but it does not tolerate periodic spring thaws and frosts, which cause damage to needles and wood.

Like thuja Smaragd, this variety has a golden variegated shape. Such a pyramidal thuja in planting and care does not differ from its green relatives. However, it is easier to maintain an elegant yellow crown color in a sunny area.

Since 1904, lovers of conifers can plant in their plots the varieties of thuja Pyramidalis Compact with a narrow conical crown, consisting of many highly branched shoots. The branches are tightly pressed together and covered with small green needles. In shape, the needles resemble faintly shiny smooth scales. The maximum plant height reaches 8-10 meters.

This form of thuja is incredibly common and, thanks to its frost resistance, undemanding and naturally compact crown, has earned the respect of more than one generation of gardeners.

Thuja planting video

Columnar thujas are one of the varieties of western thujas used in landscape design as public places recreation, and personal plots.

Like all thuja, it has good adaptation to various growing conditions.

Characteristic

Among the main characteristics of thuja, it should be noted:

1. An adult tree can grow up to 30 meters. Moreover, it has been growing for about 100 years. In a year, it grows up to 20 cm in height. The diameter reaches 1.5 meters.
2. Differs in high resistance to low temperatures, so in the winter season you can not cover. But at the same time, in very hot weather, it requires additional watering.
3. Differs in high resistance to insect pests and diseases.

Note: when planting a thuja hedge, not only a beautiful emerald tone for other plants of various shades appears on the site, but also an excellent protection from wind gusts, dusty and smoky clouds from the road.

4. Amenable to haircut. At the same time, a haircut from above stimulates growth in width, and from the sides - in height.

Planting and leaving

As a rule, thujas are able to adapt to any growing conditions.

But in order for the trees to grow and develop effectively, additional care is needed for them, especially when it comes to young seedlings:

• watering once a week;
• in the evening at night, the seedlings are sheltered from the coolness;
• regular feeding, mixtures for conifers for fertilization can be bought in specialized stores;
• loosening the soil should be done from time to time, in parallel to mulch - cover the ground around the tree with peat, dry grass or sawdust.

Such a layer will not only retain moisture for a longer period of time, but also gradually feed the tree through root system... When cold weather approaches, the layer will also protect the roots close to the surface from freezing.

Caring for mature plants is also pretty simple:

• in prolonged dry weather, trees are watered twice a week and sprayed. This results in additional moistening of the needles twice a day and at the same time the dust and dirt is washed off from the crown. This should be done in the early morning and evening with twilight;
• fertilization is carried out in the spring;
• loosening of the earth should also be carried out regularly.

For columnar thuja, animal urine is destructive. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a fence from animals.

Reproduction rules at home

As a rule, amateur gardeners.

Slightly woody cuttings are picked up, separating them from the branch by tearing, but not cutting. The cultivation of future seedlings has its own characteristics, as well as their planting.

1. For germination, cuttings are placed in a warm room.
2. The cuttings must be lignified.
3. First of all, after collecting the cuttings, future seedlings are placed in water, then after 2 hours they are placed in the ground.
4. The soil should be composed of peat, turf and sand. Better fit river sand.
5. Landing is done in the autumn season, long before the onset of cold weather.

1. To create dense, seedlings are planted in an even straight row at a distance of 0.5 meters from each other.
2. The first pruning of seedlings is carried out immediately after planting. In this case, the height is aligned with the lowest seedling in the entire row. If the planting was in early autumn, then the plant is cut off the next spring.
3. The first time can be spent with an ordinary pruner. But the more mature the tree becomes and the thicker its crown, the more powerful the tool is needed. For example, electric scissors.
4. When purchasing a thuja dug out of the ground, pay attention to the clod of earth holding on to the root system. It should not crumble, be large. When the hole is wide, it should be wider than the earthen lump. The depth should be 80 cm.
5. With age, the thuja dries up a little and crumbles from below. To hide this annoying drawback, you can plant low-growing densely growing shrubs (for example, quince) in front.
6. A way to protect thuja from dog urine is to surround the plants with netting or thorny bushes (such as barberry).
7. For the winter, it is recommended to fix the top of the tree with a rope, as it can deform and ruin the whole appearance plants.

What a large columnar thuja looks like and how tall it can be, see the following video:

In nature, there are a small number of pyramidal thuja species.

They are the most different sizes and the color of the needles. There are five types: western, eastern, folded, Korean, Japanese.

But in landscape design, the western types of thuja are most common. And the most popular variety of pyramidal western thuja is Pyramidalis compacta.

Species overview

The most popular type of pyramidal thuja is the western thuja.

The maximum height of a tree in nature is 20 meters, and its diameter reaches 4 meters. On the tree, you can find flowers and cones of a red-brown color, but they are small, barely noticeable.

The crown is green, dark, it becomes lighter downward. In winter, the needles lose their rich shade and turn brown.

The root system of the thuja is so strong that it can rise and destroy the road surface. Life cycle western thuja lasts up to 1000 years.

Some varieties may not be pyramidal, but spherical or columnar. In private houses, undersized varieties are grown. Also, the following varieties belong to pyramidal thujas:

1. Eastern thuja has a maximum height of 18 meters.

Unlike other species, its branches grow vertically (in others, horizontally). Eastern thuja is easy to grow in your garden, because it is quite unpretentious.

2. also called giant, is a pyramidal relative of the western thuja.

Outwardly, the plant is easy to confuse with cypress, it is low, it develops quickly. The shape of the thuja is also pyramidal, the maximum height in nature is 15 meters. The crown is dark green, emits a pronounced aroma.

3. The Korean thuja has a soft, widely branched crown.

The leaves are long, triangular in shape. The leaves shimmer as the outside of the leaves is dark green and the inside is silvery.

4. Japanese thuja grows up to 18 meters in height, the needles are soft.

It is easy to grow a tree, it tolerates any temperature and soil well, but it is demanding on the purity of the surrounding air.

Pyramidalis compact

Thuja Pyramidalis compacta belongs to the western species. The plant is used for:

• creation of hedges;
• for single landing;
• to create compositions together with other conifers.

Growing a plant is not difficult. Thuja is actively developing both in the sun and in partial shade. In Russia, it is grown in the middle lane, in winter it requires shelter, it is better to tie the crown so that the branches do not break under the weight of the snow.

Important to remember: while the plant is young, the summer sun can burn its needles, so in spring-summer period shade the crown.

The soil is used for moist, loose, water should not stagnate. When planting, a dense drainage layer is laid, broken brick, gravel or crushed stone is used.

When choosing a soil type, it is better to stay on fertile loam. When leaving, it is important not to forget to apply fertilizers in a timely manner.

The tree is upright, the crown is narrow, pyramidal in shape. The branches are short, extending horizontally from the trunk.

The maximum plant height is 10 meters, the maximum crown diameter is 1.5 meters. Thuja grows slowly. In winter and summer, the color does not change its color, it remains dark green with a shiny tint.

Planting and leaving

It is better to plant thuja in the garden in spring, the soil should be well-drained, slightly acidic or neutral.

If you choose the wrong landing site, then the thuja can lose its appearance. In the shade, the crown becomes rare, in the bright sun it dehydrates, in drafts it becomes more vulnerable.

The size of the planting hole is selected according to the size of the root system. The root collar remains at ground level. Speaking about caring for a thuja, there are several rules:

• if there is no groundwater nearby, the plant is periodically watered;
• in the spring, mineral and organic fertilizers are applied;
• produced in spring (dry shoots);
• in the spring the soil is loosened.

In order not to bother you, you need to immediately choose permanent place growth

Reproduction

and in a vegetative way. Seed propagation is a more complex and time-consuming method, there is a risk that the parental traits will not be passed on to the young plant.

The collected seeds are laid out on the soil in autumn, the snow that has fallen will accelerate their germination period. In spring, the seeds can be buried in the soil and sprinkled with sawdust, protected from sunlight.

It is imperative to fertilize with manure. A full-fledged seedling will grow in about 4 years.

Lignified or semi-lignified shoots 2 years old are cut in June. A piece of an adult tree should remain at the edge of the shoot.

Cuttings are processed with heteroacusin and placed in greenhouse conditions. Growing soil is prepared from the following components:

• sod land;
• river sand;
• peat.

All soil components are taken in the same amount. The stalk is planted in the ground to a depth of 2 cm. The plant must be sprayed periodically. For propagation, cuttings from 20 to 40 cm are used.

See the following video for an overview of the varieties of tui:

Thuja dwarf is an evergreen coniferous plant that belongs to the cypress family. These shrubs have long been in great demand among gardeners, as they have a dense crown that has great value in terms of decorative decoration of personal plots, parks or gardens.

This variety of conifers is famous not only for its appearance, but also for its ability to influence human health, because a short calm walk along the alley planted with thujas helps to calm the nerves. Landscape designers consider thuja to be among the basic plants for creating a wide variety of decorative compositions in the garden.

Dignity

Why do many people prefer dwarf varieties:

1. First of all, thuja is a coniferous plant, which means that it is able to delight the eyes of people with its lush green needles throughout the year;
2. By nature, thujas are capable of cleansing the air well. They enrich environment oxygen, thanks to which this plant is planted on the territory of hospitals, along alleys and parks where people constantly walk;
3. Low-growing varieties are great for creating hedges, which create a good decorative effect, while reducing the permeability of noise from the street;
4. The plant is unpretentious in terms of caring for it;
5. Dwarf conifers easily tolerate temperature changes;
6. By planting thuja on your site, you can create a lot of interesting decorative options.

The most common varieties

This thuja is of a low-growing variety, has unusual shape a sphere with a diameter of no more than one meter. Small fluffy balls, fit very nicely into the design garden plot, especially if you combine them with other types of plants;

Shrub of short stature with a beautiful branched crown, which looks very good in the composition of an alpine slide. A feature of this variety is its ability to change colors depending on the season. In summer, the crown of thuja Little Champion stands out for its light brown needles, and during the winter cold season, it becomes bronze in color;

Spherical thuja, about 50 centimeters in diameter. It grows very slowly and reaches its maximum size only 10 years after planting. Matches perfectly with stones;

Low thuja, which has a spherical crown with yellow-green needles in the form of small scales. This variety looks very good in rock gardens ( miniature garden). Growth rates are very slow (it grows up to 50-60 centimeters in height only 10 years after disembarkation);

Experts who are engaged in breeding and growing ornamental varieties of thujas advise planting dwarf varieties in areas with poor soil. This must be done so that they do not strive to grow upwards and do not lose their usual shape.

Choosing the right plant

To achieve the best you can decorative effect, you need to be very careful when choosing a dwarf thuja that will grow in the garden. To begin with, experts advise taking into account all the features of the area, and the parameters of the site on which the shrubs will be planted (soil and sunlight).

When choosing a variety of dwarf thuja, you need to consider the following nuances:

• Shade tolerance;
• Strong frost resistance;
• Exactness in terms of care;

Before buying a dwarf thuja, you need to pay attention to its appearance. After all, if you buy a plant with defects, in the future it will often get sick and will not be able to fulfill its main task - the decorative decoration of the site.

What to look for when buying a shrub:

1. Bare root system - the integrity of the earthen coma on the root system, protects the shoots from the negative effects of low or high temperatures, as well as many others external factors... In addition, attention should be paid to the degree of development of the same root system. If the roots are chopped off, then the plant with a high probability will not take root at all;
2. Roots and trunk - visual assessment of the condition of the seedling consists in the assessment of its dryness. If the upper layers of the dwarf thuja peel off and flake off, then most likely such a shrub will die;
3. Crohn - a careful examination of the crown and trunk will help to determine in a timely manner the presence of any abnormalities in the seedling (the presence of diseases or pests). It is immediately clear that buying an unhealthy seedling is not the best idea, because there is no guarantee that it will successfully take root;

Planting a low-growing variety

There are no restrictions on the season for planting a dwarf thuja, but according to experts, the best period for planting a thuja is autumn or early spring. If you follow this advice, the shrub will grow stronger and more resistant to environmental influences.

During planting of thuja, the root collar should be at the same level with the soil, it should not be immersed too deeply, but it is also undesirable to raise it above the soil, this may result in a plant disease.

If there are areas with stagnant water in the garden (rainfall or melted snow), then to prevent root rotting, it is necessary to create a kind of drainage (a layer of gravel or broken brick, about 20 centimeters high, is poured out at the bottom of the planting pit). To create a high-quality avenue of thujas, the planting distance of thujas should be 1-2 meters.

In the case of planting dwarf thujas as a hedge in one row, a distance of about 1 meter must be observed (but more accurate measurements must be made taking into account the final size of the shrub).

Growing conditions

• A positive feature of the dwarf thuja is its ability to take root on any soil: it can be sand, and clay, and even sod;
• Low-growing shrubs feel better in soil with a fairly good layer of humus, and a slightly acidic reaction;
• Good growth rates, low shrubs show in a sunny or semi-shady place. It is better not to plant them in the shade, since the needles will thin out and the thuja will lose its magnificent shape and greenery;
• The place of localization of thuja should be chosen in the place where the sun will not shine all day. The shrub is not very fond of drought;
• Thuja has a positive attitude towards wet soil. But do not plant them in areas with abundant accumulation of groundwater. In addition, thuja tolerates drought well enough, and during a long dry period it is enough for it to carry out 2-3 waterings per week in the form of sprinkling, so that the needles do not lose their decorative beauty;
• Thuja dwarf varieties can be planted both in open ground and in a pot.

Bush care

To the main ways of caring for dwarf thuja is considered timely and clear organized watering... Within 1 month after planting in the ground, the thuja should be watered at least once a week, adding about 10 liters of water. If the weather is dry outside, the number of irrigations increases to two.

Maintaining normal level soil moisture is one of the main conditions that provides a luxurious and lush crown for thuja. During the first three years after planting, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil near the trunk, but not too deep (no more than 10 centimeters), so as not to damage the root system, which is located almost on the surface.

For mulching dwarf thujas, it is better to use peat or sawdust (a layer of about 6-7 centimeters). To prevent damage to the crown in winter, when heavy snowfalls can occur, it is necessary to tie low shrubs.

When spring warming comes, young thuja are best placed in the shade to reduce the influence of sunlight in order to avoid burns on the needles.

For pruning mature shrubs, it is advised to use a sharp pruner. No more than 1/3 of the plant should be pruned.

Diseases and possible pests

Thuja rarely suffers from various diseases, unlike other plant species, but in some cases, unexpected yellowing of the needles may occur. This symptom can have several reasons:

• Violation of planting rules - insufficient or excessive immersion of the root system in the soil;
• Burns from frequent exposure to sunlight;
• The defeat of the needles by a fungal disease.

Such a symptom does not necessarily mean that it is a disease. Some varieties of thuja are capable of changing the color of their crown depending on the season. For example, with the onset of the first winter frosts, the needles may acquire a yellow color, but with the arrival of spring it turns green again.

The use of dwarf thuja in rock gardens

Rock garden Is an artificially created landscape composition that recreates in miniature decorative plot mountainous area, that is, the place in which conifers do not occupy the last place.

For the full creation of a miniature rock garden, it is the small varieties of decorative thujas that differ from their relatives in compactness and slow rates of development.