Thuja types and varieties with descriptions. Features of planting and caring for thuja pyramidalis at a summer cottage

Plant thuja (lat. Thuja), or life tree , belongs to the genus of gymnosperm coniferous plants of the Cypress family, like juniper, sequoia, taxodium, cypress and cypress. Thuja was brought to Europe from East Asia or America. The Latin name of the plant has an ancient Greek root meaning “sacrifice”, “incense” - apparently, there is a connection between the name of the plant and the smell of aromatic thuja species ritually burned as incense. The genus includes 6 species, representatives of which sometimes live up to 150 years, although much more mature specimens are also found.

In addition to some species, about 120 varieties of plants are grown in culture, differing in the color and quality of the needles and the shape of the crown. Thuja in landscape design is one of the basic plants and is grown as a tapeworm or in a group, and is also used to decorate alleys, borders, and create hedges.

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Planting and caring for thuja (in brief)

• Landing: It’s possible in the fall, but it’s more reliable in the spring.
• Bloom: the plant is grown as an ornamental foliage plant.
• Lighting: bright light in the morning and partial shade in the afternoon.
• The soil: nutritious, sandy loam or loamy.
• Watering: sprinkling method. Newly planted seedlings are watered every week, adults a little less often. Water consumption is from 10 to 50 liters per plant.
• Feeding: in spring, full mineral fertilizer. If you applied fertilizer when planting, the plant is fed for the first time only after two years.
• Trimming: for sanitary purposes – better in spring, and formative pruning for thuja is optional.
• Reproduction: species plants can be propagated both vegetatively and by seeds, while varietal plants can only be propagated by vegetative means: cuttings and dividing the bush.
• Pests: false scale insects and aphids.
• Diseases: brown schutte, cytosporosis, fusarium.

Read more about growing thuja below.

Thuja tree - description

Thuja are evergreen shrubs or trees, sometimes in nature reaching 70 m in height with a trunk diameter of 6 m. In cultivation, thuja rarely grows above 11 meters. Young thujas have needle-shaped, soft, light green needles, while adults have leaves of a darker green hue, opposite, scale-like. Thujas are monoecious plants, their fruits are oval or oblong cones with flat seeds that ripen in the first year. Thuja is not capricious in care, it is smoke-resistant, cold-resistant, and a species such as the western thuja tolerates even cold winters well.

Planting thuja

When to plant thuja

Before planting a thuja, you need to choose for it suitable site. Thuja is light-loving, but being in the sun for a whole day dehydrates it, and this leads to the fact that thuja does not tolerate winter well. Therefore, the place for the thuja should be bright, but at midday the sun should not fall on it. In addition, thuja does not tolerate drafts.

The soil for thuja should be nutritious- turf soil with the addition of sand and peat, although thuja also grows on less rich soils - in swampy, sandy loam and clay. You can plant thuja in spring or autumn, but planting thuja in autumn does not give confidence that the plant will have time to adapt to open ground before winter.

How to plant thuja

The size of the thuja pit depends on the size of the seedling's root system - it should be 35-40 cm wider and 15-30 cm deeper than the thuja's earthen ball. If you are planting several plants, the distance between them, depending on the size of adult plants, is kept from 1 to 5 m. When planting thuja along an alley, the distance between seedlings is kept at 3.5-4 m. A mixture of soil with a small amount of compost or well rotted manure.

Before planting, the roots of the seedling should be kept in a container of water until air bubbles stop coming out. After this, place the tree in the center of the hole, straighten the roots, make sure that the root collar is slightly above the soil level, fill the hole with good soil mixture, carefully and carefully compact it, trying not to damage the base of the trunk, and water the seedling generously at the rate of 1.5-2 watering cans per plant. When the water is absorbed and the soil settles slightly, mulch the tree trunk with wood chips, peat, compost or pine bark - the mulch will protect the roots of the thuja from too hot or too cold weather and will retain moisture in the soil longer.

However, do not allow the mulch to cover the trunk or lower branches of the plant - they can get stuck under the mulch.

Caring for thuja in the garden

How to grow thuja

Thuja is very responsive to watering, she especially likes sprinkling. In the first weeks after planting, thuja seedlings are watered weekly at the rate of 10-50 liters of water per seedling, depending on its size. If you give young plants sprinkling, this will not only moisten the soil and water the roots of the thuja, but will also wash away the dust from the needles, the stomata of the leaves will open, and it will become much easier for the plant to breathe, accordingly, everything physiological processes will proceed faster. After watering, the soil around the thuja is loosened, but not deeper than 8-10 cm, since the plant’s root system is superficial.

Thuja is fed in the spring with complex mineral fertilizer, for example, Kemira-universal solution at the rate of 50-60 g per m². If you applied fertilizer to the soil when planting, then the next time you will need to feed the plant only after two years.

Thuja responds well to pruning - the more often and more strongly it is cut, the thicker and more magnificent it becomes. There is no strict time frame for pruning, but it is better to do this in the spring, before the buds open. If you are growing hedge from thuja, then you have no choice: whether you want it or not, you will have to cut it. Thuja growing as a solo plant will require at least sanitary and thinning pruning. But if thujas grow in a group, you will have to shape their crowns, otherwise they will look sloppy.

Start forming the crown when the plants have already grown to the size you need. Sometimes one haircut a year is enough - in the spring, but usually there is a need for repeated trimming - in late summer or early autumn. Some forms require constant adjustment of the crown, but no more than one third of the shoot can be cut off at a time, otherwise the plant may weaken. The first pruning of thuja is carried out no earlier than 2-3 years of age. Use sharp, powerful pruning shears for cutting so that it does not chew the shoots or leave dents on them.

This seems to be all the information on how to care for thuja. As you can see, planting and caring for a thuja will not take much of your time, but a healthy appearance This elegant evergreen will surely make your garden more beautiful.

Thuja transplant

By various reasons We sometimes have to transplant mature plants from one place to another. Replanting conifers is quite easy if you know how to do it. Around small plants, you need to prick the soil in a circle with a sharp shovel at a distance of 40-50 cm from the trunk, then carefully pry up the plant along with the trunk area outlined in a circle, remove it from the soil, transport it to a new place with a wheelbarrow, trying not to destroy the earthen lump, and immediately plant it. Larger plants need to be pinched a year before transplanting so that they have time to grow new young roots inside a circle-bound earthen coma - as a result, the earth will not fall apart when removed, and transportation will be painless for the plant. In a new place, thuja takes root more easily than other conifers.

Pests and diseases of thuja

Thuja is susceptible to fungal diseases such as brown scute, fusarium and cytosporosis, which affect the shoots and needles of the plant. To combat them, treatment with Bordeaux mixture or Kartocide is used - treatment of thuja begins in the spring and is repeated every two weeks until the thuja gets better.

Reproduction of thuja

How to propagate thuja

Thuja reproduces both generatively and vegetatively. If you are propagating a species of thuja, you can do it with seeds. But varieties and forms must be propagated vegetatively - by cuttings or dividing the bush, since thuja from seeds does not retain the varietal characteristics of the parent plants.

Propagation of thuja by cuttings

Propagation of thuja by cuttings is carried out using lignified two- to three-year-old shoots 25-40 cm long, cut in June, or semi-lignified shoots of the current year, 10 to 20 cm long. Thuja cuttings are not cut, but torn off with the heel, and the place of separation from the thuja is treated. mother plant heteroauxin solution, planted to a depth of 1.5-2.5 cm in the mixture equal parts turf land, peat and sand, spilled for disinfection with a warm solution of potassium permanganate, and cover the planting with plastic film.

For successful rooting of cuttings, it is necessary to maintain them in a greenhouse. high humidity air without waterlogging the substrate, so the soil is not watered, but sprayed from a sprayer. As soon as the cuttings take root, they begin to be ventilated and gradually hardened until it is time to remove the film. With the onset of deep autumn, the cuttings are covered with dry leaves, sawdust, or preferably spruce branches, and if the temperature drops to -5-7 ºC, a film is thrown over the spruce branches.

Growing thuja from seeds

In order to grow a thuja from a seed, you will need three to five years. You only need to sow freshly harvested thuja seeds, having previously subjected them to natural stratification from autumn to spring under the snow or in the refrigerator. In spring, seeds are sown in beds located in partial shade to a depth of only 0.5 cm and lightly sprinkled with sawdust from trees. coniferous species. Then the crops are covered from the sun with shields, and the soil is kept loose and slightly moist at all times. After the emergence of seedlings, the area is mulched with peat.

Twice a month the seedlings are fed with a solution of complete mineral fertilizer. During the first season, seedlings usually grow up to 7-8 cm. For the winter, young thujas are covered with spruce branches and a film on top. Next spring, the cover is removed, and the seedlings are cared for as last year - the soil is mulched, watered, weeds are removed and fed. In the third spring, when the plants reach a height of 50 cm, they are planted in a permanent place.

Thuja in winter at the dacha

Thuja in autumn

In the fall, both watering and fertilizing of the thuja are stopped, since the plant must prepare for the dormant period.

How to cover a thuja

Young plants that are under five years old need to be covered with spruce branches for the winter. Before covering the thuja for the winter, it is hilled up high, and the tree trunk area is mulched with a thick layer of peat. Adult plants overwinter without shelter, but it is necessary to mulch the area around them.

Wintering of thuja

If too much snow falls in winter, it can break the thick crown and branches of even an adult large thuja. To prevent this from happening, thujas are tied with twine for the winter. At the end of winter, so that the thuja does not suffer from the strong spring sun, a non-woven covering material is thrown over it. Sometimes, due to sudden temperature changes in winter, cracks form on the thuja bark. In the spring, they are covered with garden varnish and the bark is pulled tightly so that the wounds heal.

Types and varieties of thuja

Western thuja (Thuja occidentalis)

When we talk about cultural thuja, we primarily mean the type of thuja occidentalis - it is this species that is represented in our gardens, parks and squares by a huge number of its varieties, forms and varieties. In Europe, it was introduced into culture in the 16th century. Large specimens of this species reach a height of 8-12 m. Western thuja is a long-liver among trees, it can live up to a thousand years. At a young age, it is a pyramidal tree; subsequently, the shape of the crown becomes ovoid.

For landscaping, pin-shaped, cone-shaped or column-shaped plants are usually used. For example:

• Thuja Brabant– a tree 15-21 m high with a conical crown with a diameter of 3-4 m. The bark is peeling, gray-brown or reddish. The needles are green and scaly. Thuja cones of this variety are oblong-ovate, Brown, up to 12 mm long;
• Thuja Smaragd is a squat variety up to 2 m high with a cone-shaped crown and weak branching. The vertical shoots have glossy evergreen branches widely spaced from each other. Planting and caring for thuja Smaragd is carried out in accordance with the recommendations in this article. The variety is in great demand.

Among the group of varieties with a spherical crown shape, the most famous are:

• Thuja Danika– a dwarf form of thuja of Danish selection with gray-brown or reddish exfoliating bark, thick, soft, shiny green scaly needles, which acquire a brownish tint in winter;
• Thuja Woodward– spherical thuja of dwarf size – no higher than 2.5 m with a crown diameter of 5 m. Its shoots and branches are straight and flat. The needles are dark green.

Gardeners are also attracted to varieties of cascading, thread-like shape, which include:

• Thuja Filiformis- a tree up to 1.5 m high with a dense round or wide cone-shaped crown, long thread-like hanging shoots that almost do not branch. Young needles are light green; in winter they turn brown.

Not long ago, a heather-like form of thuja was developed, for example:

• Thuja Ericoides- no more than a meter high, reminiscent of a juniper, with a rounded multi-vertex wide-conical crown, numerous thin flexible shoots, straight or curved, and awl-shaped soft needles, matte yellow-green above, gray-green below. In winter the needles turn brown.

A form has also been developed with two types of needles on one plant - needle-shaped and scale-shaped, with a strange growth of the crown: at 8-10 years of life it breaks up into several tops and instead of one thuja a group of plants is formed.

Thuja plicata

The species also grown in culture is the thuja foldata, or giant thuja, which grows in nature along the Pacific coast and is the highest mountain species of thuja. It reaches a height of 60 m with a trunk diameter of 3-4 m, although in culture its achievements are not so high. Thuja foldata has several decorative forms, of which the most famous is Zebrina.

Korean thuja (Thuja koraiensis)

It is a wide shrub or tree up to 9 m high. The needles are elegant, whitish, almost silver. However, this attractive plant needs shelter in winter.

Japanese thuja (Thuja standishii)

grows in places natural habitat, in the mountains of Central Japan, up to 18 m in height, it has a wide cone-shaped crown with copper-red bark and silvery underside branches that, when crushed, smell like eucalyptus caramel and lemon. In cool areas, thuja japonica grows slowly; in warm areas, growth accelerates noticeably.

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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, which is of great importance in terms of decorative decoration. personal plots, parks or gardens.

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

Advantages

Why do many people prefer dwarf varieties:

1. First of all, thuja is a coniferous plant, which means it is capable of pleasing the eyes of people with its lush green pine needles throughout the year;
2. By nature, thujas are capable of purifying the air well. They enrich environment oxygen, due to which this plant lands on the territory of hospitals, along alleys and parks where people constantly walk;
3. Low-growing varieties are excellent 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 tolerate temperature changes quite easily;
6. By planting thujas on your site, you can create a lot of interesting decorative options.

The most common varieties

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

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

Globular thuja, diameter about 50 centimeters. It grows very slowly and reaches its maximum size, only 10 years after planting. Ideally combined with stones;

A low thuja that has a spherical crown with yellow-green needles in the form of small scales. This variety looks very good in rock gardens ( miniature garden). The growth rate is very slow (it grows to 50-60 centimeters in height only 10 years after planting);

Experts who breed and grow ornamental varieties of thuja advise planting dwarf varieties in areas with poor soil. This must be done so that they do not tend to grow upward and do not lose their usual shape.

Choosing the right plant

To achieve the best possible 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 where the shrubs will be planted (soil and sunlight).

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

• Tolerates shady areas;
• Resistance to severe frosts;
• Demanding 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 perform its main task - decorative decoration plot.

What to look for when buying a shrub:

1. Bareness of the root system - the integrity of the earthen coma on the root system provides protection for shoots from negative influence low or high temperatures, as well as many others external factors. In addition, you should pay attention to the degree of development of the same root system. If the roots are cut off, the plant will most likely not take root at all;
2. Roots and trunk - A visual assessment of the condition of a seedling also includes assessing its dryness. If the upper layers of the dwarf thuja peel and flake off, then most likely such a shrub will die;
3. Crown – A careful examination of the crown and trunk will help to promptly determine the presence of any abnormalities in the seedling (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 take root successfully;

Planting a low-growing variety

There are no restrictions regarding the season for planting dwarf thuja, but according to experts, best period The best time to plant thuja is in autumn or early spring. If you follow this advice, the shrub will grow stronger and more resistant to the environment.

When planting thuja, the root collar should be at the same level with the soil; it should not be immersed too deeply, but raising it above the soil is also undesirable, as this may result in plant disease.

If there are areas with stagnant water in the garden (rainfall or melted snow), then to prevent rotting of the roots it is necessary to create a kind of drainage (a layer of gravel or broken bricks, about 20 centimeters high). To create a high-quality alley 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, it is necessary to maintain a distance of about 1 meter (but more accurate measurements must be taken taking into account the final size of the bush).

Growing conditions

• A positive feature of the dwarf thuja is its ability to take root on any soil: it can be sand, clay, or even turf;
• Low-growing shrubs feel better in soil with sufficient good layer humus, and a slightly acidic reaction;
• Good growth rates, low shrubs show in full sun or in the floor shady place. It is better not to plant them in the shade, as the needles will thin out and the thuja will lose its lush shape and greenery;
• The location of the thuja should be chosen in a place where the sun will not shine all day. The shrub does not really like drought;
• Thuja has a positive attitude towards moist soil. But you should not plant them in areas with abundant accumulation of groundwater. In addition, thuja tolerates drought quite well, 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;
• Thujas of the dwarf variety can be planted in open ground, and into the pot.

Shrub care

The main methods of caring for dwarf thuja are timely and well-organized watering. Within 1 month after planting in the ground, thuja should be watered at least once a week, adding about 10 liters of water. If the weather is dry outside, the number of waterings increases by two.

Maintaining a normal level of soil moisture is one of the main conditions that ensures luxurious and lush crown at the 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.

To mulch 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 may occur, it is necessary to tie down low shrubs.

When spring warming sets in, young thujas are best placed in the shade to reduce the impact sun rays to avoid burns on the needles.

To trim adult shrubs, it is recommended to use sharp pruning shears. No more than 1/3 of the plant should be pruned.

Diseases and possible pests

Thuja quite rarely suffers from various diseases, unlike other types of plants, but in some cases unexpected yellowing of the needles may occur. This symptom can have several causes:

• Violation of planting rules - insufficient or excessive immersion of the root system into the soil;
• Burns from frequent exposure to sunlight;
• Infection of needles with a fungal disease.

Such a sign does not necessarily mean a disease. Some varieties of thuja are able to change the color of their crown depending on the time of year. For example, with the onset of the first winter frosts, the needles may acquire a yellow color, but with the arrival of spring they become green again.

The use of dwarf thujas in rock gardens

Rock garden- is artificially created landscape composition, which recreates in miniature a decorative area of ​​a mountainous area, that is, the place in which coniferous plants occupy an important place.

For the full creation of a miniature rock garden, small varieties of decorative thujas, which differ from their relatives in their compactness and slow pace of development, are excellent.

Thuja - excellent example garden hedge made of living plants. Green, fluffy and completely unpretentious in care - the thuja is ideal option for seasonal summer residents and more. It’s not for nothing that urban landscape designers love thuja so much. It is great for decorating squares and parks, framing sidewalks and growing along the busiest roads.

An evergreen shrub that rarely grows above 10 meters in urban environments. You can find thuja in parks, alleys, squares, near well-kept houses and in the design of pedestrian areas. The fact is that thuja adapts very well to urban smoke and is not fussy to care for. Thanks to these qualities, thuja has become indispensable for the urban appearance.

Thuja is also used by summer residents to decorate fences with hedges, to visually divide the space of a site into zones or to decorate alpine slides, coniferous flower beds.

Thuja is a coniferous plant of the cypress family. A frost-resistant evergreen shrub, it was brought to our country from America and partly from the East. Root system The bush is very compact, so it is easy to transplant from place to place. Grows in any soil, very unpretentious to maintenance and care.

One of its many advantages is its high content essential oils, which gives the shrub an interesting aroma. It has probably happened that you picked a cone from a thuja. Do you remember what smell it leaves behind on your hands?

It has several varieties, each of which has several more varieties.

These are the 5 main varieties into which the family is classified:

• Arbor vitae
• Thuja foldata (giant)
• Thuja occidentalis
• Thuja japonica (Standish)
• Thuja Korean

Thuja occidentalis

Emerald

Thuja Smaragd belongs to the cone-shaped thujas. It can reach 4 meters in height. Thuja Smaragd grows slowly, so it will approach its maximum growth only a few years after planting.

It has thick green needles. The color is rich green, which does not fade even in winter. Also, thuja does not dry out in winter and copes well in sunless periods.

The tops of the thuja are not connected, forming the “teeth” of a living fence - if you use it for a hedge. Suitable for cutting neatly shaped bushes - tolerates trimming with scissors well. It also looks good if it grows not in a group, but alone.

You need to plant thuja Smaragd at a distance of more than half a meter from each other, in wet, but not marshy soil. It is advisable to plant thuja in sunny areas - thanks to this, it will grow thick and richly green.

Sunkist

Thuja Sunkist is a low coniferous shrub, reaching a height of 3 (sometimes 5) meters. Just like the thuja Smaragd, the shape of the thuja Sunkist is conical. But unlike the neat Smaragd, Sunkist has “disheveled”, but no less dense and dense needles.

It grows very slowly - within a decade it reaches a height of only a couple of meters.

With age, it changes its color - from golden yellow to lemon yellow (fades), and in winter it even has a bronze tint.

It also loves fertile, moist soils, mostly loams, and does not tolerate drought well. Sunkists grow at a distance of half a meter from each other. Frost-resistant, tolerates various haircuts well. Suitable for creating different geometric shapes with her haircut.

One of the most strikingly colored thujas.

Columna

Thuja Columna is one of the tallest, reaching 10 meters in height.

The shape is not conical, but colonial - it is to this that the thuja owes its name. The color of thuja in both winter and summer is dark green.

Thuja Columna is fast growing - it grows up to 20 cm per year. It lends itself well to shaping and various decorative topiary haircuts.

Grows on moderately moist soils and does not tolerate drought. Prefers partial shade rather than sun. In hedges, the planting spacing is 0.7 m.

Fastigiata

Thuja Fastigiata - also has a colonial form. It grows up to 6 meters in height and has an annual growth of up to 30 cm. It is a fast-growing species of thuja.

Due to the dense and short coniferous legs, it takes up little space on the site and is suitable for decorating tall hedges that reliably hide the courtyard from view. Also ideal for decorating secluded shady alleys and single plantings.

It likes moderately moist and loamy soil, and does not tolerate shade from the spring and winter sun - during these periods it is better to cover the thuja with burlap. Frost-resistant, almost does not change its dark green color in winter.

In order for the thuja to take root better, it is necessary to mulch the soil with mowed grass. But before winter, you need to replace the grass with spruce branches to avoid pests.

Blue thuja

Blue thuja belongs to the variety Eastern thuja.

It is distinguished mainly by the bluish color of the needles. It grows up to 3 meters in height, while being wide - its girth can reach one and a half meters. The branches of the needles are directed vertically, and not horizontally, like those of the western thuja. Adds up to 20 cm per year.

It also has good resistance to drought, so it can grow successfully in the southern regions.

It is not demanding on soil, it grows on the same non-swampy and fertile soils.

It is not frost-resistant, so it requires good shelter in the winter months.

Blue Thuja has 2 varieties:

• Blue Con
• Meldensis

Meldensis is distinguished by an oval crown, which develops into a pyramidal one with age.

Fast growing thuja

Fast-growing thujas are one of the most good ideas for arranging a personal plot and landscaping a yard. With relatively low maintenance costs evergreen shrub, you can see vibrant greenery in your yard season after season. Of all the above varieties and varieties, the fastest growing ones include

• Columna
• Fastigiata
• Blue thujas

The leading position here is held by Western thuja, which has not yet been mentioned here - Brabant.

Brabant

Perhaps the most popular of the decorative thujas. Reaches a height of 20 meters! Annual increase in height at good care- up to 80 cm. It has a light green color.

Takes root well loamy soils. Frost-resistant (up to -35 degrees), does not do well in the heat - it can burn. It is better to plant it in partial shade.

Its characteristics and appearance are very similar to the thuja Smaragd - therefore they are often combined in landscape design.

Thuja care

The most important rule is not to forget about abundant watering. Many varieties do not do well in drought and may lose their natural beauty, dry and change color.

Secondly, for better crown formation, you need to cut off dry branches every spring and autumn. This will not harm the shrub; on the contrary, it will be easier to grow new needles. It is also useful for shaping a neat and uniform crown.

Third, it is advisable to tie thuja (especially cone-shaped) for the winter so that it does not lose its natural look. Under the snow, branches of untied trees can bend in different sides, and in the spring you won’t have the shape you would like.

This article will discuss the types of thuja - an evergreen shrub that can be easily shaped, and their names and descriptions will be given. For better clarity, we have prepared for you a photo gallery of popular varieties.

Thuja is a magnificent tree that does not require special care. winter time of the year. In past centuries, the plant was called the “tree of life” (its cones and needles were used to treat many diseases, and the bark was used to make tea), but even today the fragrant needles of the plant cannot leave anyone indifferent. A small garden or park of thujas is an excellent place to relax and recuperate.

Description

Thuja is the closest relative of cypress trees. The height of the trunk of this tree or shrub can reach eighty meters, but varieties with an average length of 10-20 meters are more popular.

The needles of the crop are needle-shaped and green. Mature plants have a darker shade, similar to scales. The crown is dense.

In nature, thujas are found in the eastern regions North America. Decoratively derived forms can be found on personal plots middle lane.

Varieties

Thuja occidentalis

There are five types of thuja:

• Thuja occidentalis. Plant height up to 20 m. Needles in the form of scales.
• Thuja chinensis. Trees with a dense pyramidal crown. Height up to 12 m.
• Thuja Korean. This variety is rarely planted in middle lane due to the capriciousness of the plant temperature conditions. It has the appearance of a creeping shrub. IN natural environment The height of the crop can reach 8 m.
• Thuja japonica, or Thuja standisha. Great option for landing on summer cottage– the plant is easy to care for and can withstand severe frosts.
• Thuja foldata, or Thuja gigantea. IN natural conditions Thujas of this variety can reach 40 m in height. The height of the decorative forms is 4 m. The crown is pyramidal and dense.

Features of planting and care

When planting thuja on a site, it is worth considering that the plant is light-loving, but being in the sun all day, it can become dehydrated and get sick in winter.

The preferred soil is turf, with the addition of sand. Best time for planting - spring. Then it is recommended to feed the thuja. As fertilizers, it is better to give preference to complex fertilizers.

Watering the bushes is carried out immediately after planting, then once a week.

The depth of the planting hole is 60-80 cm. The distance between group plantings is up to 5 m.

Drying out the soil is not allowed! Young thuja seedlings are covered for the winter (this is usually done for the first 3 years). Adult thujas are winter-hardy.

Application in landscape design

The huge variety of forms has brought thuja fame among landscape design specialists.

And it was they who divided these plants according to their use: the first includes dwarf or shrub species used to create rockeries; to the second - medium-length thujas, their place of application is a “hedge”; the third type of single or solitary plantings are taller trees that highlight design elements. The following types of trees have been used as elements of hedges.

Brabant

Variety Brabant or western thuja. It is characterized by good tolerance to low temperatures and a branched crown, creating an irresistible hedge. Branches should be pruned in early spring and late summer, the best months It will be August and April.

Thuja occidentalis is a fast growing plant, reaching a height of four meters.

When planting, to create a hedge, Brabant is planted at a distance of fifty or one hundred centimeters between the trunks, depending on required density"hedge".

Emerald

Forms a narrow cone-like crown, growing up to six-seven meters in height. This plant is distinguished by its high resistance to frost and strong gusts of wind.

Thanks to its crown, “smaragd” is perfect for creating a “hedge”, as well as solitary planting.

A group of plants of this variety can create a memorable part of the landscape.

Holmstrap

Another type of western thuja is the Holmstrap variety. Its peculiarity is its slow growth; it will reach a height of two meters only ten years after planting.

It is used as a small decorative hedge; seedlings are planted in such a way that there is a distance of at least 75 centimeters between the bushes.

Holmstrap does not perform seasonal pruning of branches.

Rock garden

Dannika variety

The following thujas are suitable for creating a rock garden or rock garden:

1. Dannika variety. Its spherical crown grows very slowly, reaching a height of about one meter, while its width is 50 centimeters. This type of thuja will look great in small gardens and areas like decorative element rock garden that does not require special care.
2. Little Dorrit. It also looks like a ball, the crown dimensions are 80*60 centimeters. It is distinguished by good frost resistance. Planting locations are similar to the thuja variety Holmstrap.
3. Hosery. A spherical shrub reaching a height of fifty centimeters and a width of sixty centimeters. Designers prefer to use this variety as an element of low decorative hedges and rock gardens.

Reingold

Thujas used for single planting or group planting consisting of separate trees:

1. Reingold. It is growing slowly. Its maximum height is one and a half meters. But it is distinguished by a spherical crown, which has a golden-yellow and even brown color. Thujas of this species are indispensable for solitary planting and creating a group of plants.
2. Sunkist. The crown of this tree has the shape of a cone and a rare golden-yellowish color. Within 10 years it grows up to three meters and reaches a crown width of one meter. No pruning is required to shape this type of thuja.
3. Thuja Kornik. Very quickly reaches a height of 300 centimeters, the width of the tree is 150 centimeters. This tree is best planted in damp places on fertile soil. This plant attracts the eye with its bright green needles.

Using thuja as an element decorative design justified due to the beauty of this tree, especially in the winter months, as well as due to the unique aroma of the needles and the variety of species that can be used in all types of landscape design. The plant itself improves the microclimate of the site and plays the role of protection from wind and dust.

How coniferous plants are used in landscape design, including thuja, see the following video: