Thuja is a favorite plant of gardeners, often used in landscape design. For central Russia, the most suitable are varieties of the western representative of this genus, resistant to its climatic conditions. One of the popular varieties is the thuja Woodwardi (Thuja occidentalis Woodwardii), bred at the beginning of the twentieth century. and came to Europe, and later to Russia, from East Asia.

Description

This dwarf coniferous tree can grow in the shade and is resistant to frost, very well takes root on any soil.The main advantage of the Woodwardii thuja is its spherical dense bright green crown. The needles of this variety are saturated light or dark green in color. The branches are flat, have the same color on both sides. Fruits are cones in which seeds are found.

Did you know? Giant sequoias (sequoiadendrons) are considered the oldest and largest conifers on Earth. Their height reaches 120 m, and the trunk diameter is 23 m.

Thuja Woodwardi is growing quite slowly. By ten years of life, the plant reaches no more than half a meter in height and width. With the growth of the crown, it becomes an egg-shaped, the diameter of which can reach three meters. The adult thuja Woodwardi has a height of 2.5 m. The life span of the plant is about 150 years.

In landscape design

Today, in landscape compositions, conifers are used almost everywhere. They can be seen in parks and in private areas. Thuja Woodwardi (vital tree) takes an honorable place among representatives of a kind. Due to the spectacular appearance (compactness, bright greenery), as well as the simplicity of cultivation (resistance to frost, drought, diseases and pests), the plant is a frequent participant in design compositions.

Hedge

Recently, the use of thuja for creating live fences in garden plots has become increasingly popular. The vital tree is suitable in order to get a low hedge of bright green color that will please the eye all year round. Thanks to the dense dense needles, a very effective composition is obtained. Thuja of this variety can be used for planting along walls and paths. Woodwardi is also planted near other, taller trees, which creates the effect of a natural landscape.

Songs

Alpine slide is a composition that simulates a mountainous area. In the center of it is set one or more stones. Next is a slope where small shrubs and flowers are usually planted. Western Woodwardii can perfectly coexist with other conifers on alpine slides or in the garden. This species is usually made up with bright colors (roses, irises, gerberas). Often, gardeners personally equip beautiful flower beds. The dwarf thuja well enlivens the traditional flower garden.

Did you know? Thuya is considered to be the homeland of North America, more precisely - the border regions of the United States and Canada. Currently, five main plant species are known: thuja Korean, western, giant, Japanese and Sichuan.

In pots on balconies or verandas

A vital tree is also very convenient to grow on balconies and gently sloping roofs. The one can be purchased in a tub or pot (it should be done by trusted sellers). It is decorated with a veranda, hall or placed at the entrance to the building. You can also put tubs with thuja in different places on the site, changing the location of the tree at the request of the gardener.

Landing

Thuja, like all conifers, is propagated by seeds, cuttings and layering. Most often, ready-made seedlings purchased in the nursery are used. You need to choose plants with a closed root system in containers, but if it is open, then it should be in an earthen coma, which is wrapped with breathable material. If the roots look out through the drainage holes from the container, it is undesirable to acquire such a plant, it has grown for too long in the pot and may not subsequently take root in the open ground. The crown of a healthy seedling should be saturated green and fairly dense.

Important! Experienced gardeners recommend digging a planting hole and placing drainage there at least a day before planting a plant. This is done so that the soil is enriched with oxygen and the seedling is better taken root.

To land a thuy Woodward in the open ground:

1. Select a site in the sun or in partial shade.
2. To prepare the soil mixture, which is covered with a planting pit. Mix peat, turf, coarse sand (2: 1: 1).
3. Make the landing hole larger than the root system of the seedling itself (20–30 cm deep and 30–45 cm wide).
4. The bottom of the pit shall be lined with broken brick, expanded clay, crushed stone or pebbles as drainage (layer 15 cm).
5. Trim the roots by 5 cm (this will improve the development of the root system).
6. Then pour out the soil mixture, approximately 1/3 of the height of the hole.
7. Set the seedling in the middle of the pit and sprinkle with the remnants of the fertile mixture, lightly tamp it.
8. The root neck should be at ground level.
9. After tamping the soil, the plant must be watered with a bucket of water.
10. When it is absorbed, the trunk circle should be mulled with peat, sawdust or spruce needles with a layer of 7 cm (this will help to avoid drying out and overheating of the root system).

Landing should be carried out in early spring (March), or in late autumn (second half of November).

Care

This variety has excellent survival rates, is slightly sick and tolerates severe climatic conditions and the scarcity of soil. However, in order for the plant to please with rich greens and decorate the site all year round, it is necessary to know and follow some rules for caring for it.

Watering and feeding

In the first month after rooting, you should especially monitor the soil moisture, as drying of the root system can lead to the death of the seedling. Water the plant once every 7 days with 10 liters of water. If the weather is especially hot, then watering is carried out more often. In order to determine the need for moisture, you need to dig the soil to the depth of the bayonet of the shovel. If a lump of earth crumbles in the palm of your hand - it's time to water. Particularly beneficial effect on the needles - sprinkling (pouring warm water from a watering can on the crown). The vital tree grows best in humid air. In nature, it chooses places near water bodies.

Video: caring for spherical thuja

A tree under five years old should be watered once a week with 10 liters of water. Watering an adult plant is carried out once every 14 days. In drought, sprinkling is carried out until dawn and after sunset every day. Because when planting a vital tree, fertile fertilized soil is used, this is enough for the first 24 months of growth. Starting from the third year after landing, they begin to feed the thuja.

Important! The concentration and frequency of the fertilizer applied should be observed, as too much minerals can lead to the burning of the roots and death of the plant.

In the spring (April), a solution of ammonium nitrate (1 tbsp. Per 10 liters of water) is used to increase green mass. In the summer (July, August), Florovit granules are used for top dressing, which are laid out in a trunk circle and dug with soil before watering. Dressing room thuja is carried out in the warm season with complex fertilizers for conifers, but with a highly diluted solution (three times more water than according to the instructions) so that the plant does not grow too quickly.

Also, once in July and August, you can fertilize the soil with a solution of ash (300 g per 10 l).

Trimming and shaping a bush

Thuja Woodwardii has a dense rounded crown from nature. However, without leaving, the greens will be loose and the shape is not ideal, scruffy. To ensure the most effective appearance, it is necessary to trim.

It happens:

• sanitary;
• forming;
• anti-aging.

During the warm season, the tree is sheared several times. The first procedure is sanitary. It is carried out after winter frosts (March), in order to remove dead, dry, frost-bitten and damaged branches.

Forming haircuts can begin when the average temperature per day is not lower than + 10 ° C (April). Woodwardii is sheared since the age of six, when she is actively growing green mass. Trimming the apical shoot gives the direction of growth to the horizontal. This will further allow you to form a perfect circle or oval. An overly thickened crown and branches growing inside the bush are also thinned out.

Anti-aging pruning is performed in adult plants after 10 years of growth. Its goal is to prevent premature aging of the tree. Perform the rejuvenation procedure in the second half of November or early March. For Thuja Woodward, for this it is necessary to cut 2/3 of the length of the branches. Woodward pinch the room and cut it so that the tree remains dwarf (50–75 cm) and has the necessary shape.

When trimming use the following tools:

1. Mechanical (secateurs, clippers).
2. Power tools (brush cutters of various sizes).
3. Rechargeable (the same brush cutters, but powered by rechargeable batteries).

Shelter for the winter

An adult plant of the Woodwardii variety tolerates wintering very persistently in central Russia and does not require additional warming. Young trees need to be covered during frost. This can be done using coniferous spruce branches or covering material that transmits sunlight.

Important! For insulation, you must choose exclusively natural «breathing» material. Polyethylene cannot be used because the plant will not receive the necessary oxygen, which will lead to the development of diseases and possible death.

A natural burlap with rare weaving or paper is suitable. Thuja is an evergreen and for life it needs sunbeams both in summer and in winter. It is necessary to remove the shelter at the first thaw, otherwise the plant will overheat and decay.

Diseases and Pests

Thuja Woodwardi can be affected by such diseases:

1. Brown mold - an infectious lesion, manifested by yellowing and dying of the green mass, a black coating on the needles, the appearance of mycelium under the crown. For the prevention and treatment, the drug “Fundazole” is used (according to the instructions).
2. Rotting root system - the process of development of putrefactive bacteria caused by excessively moist soil (flooding of the roots with groundwater or as a result of heavy rains). It manifests itself as a softening of the lower part of the trunk and a change in the color of green mass. Most often, the plant dies. In order to avoid rotting, it is necessary to plant thaw in places where the soil is not swampy and groundwater lies no closer than 1 m from the surface of the earth.
3. Late blight - an infectious disease that occurs when the soil is excessively moistened. The affected tree begins to fade, the needles become gray, the lower part of the trunk becomes soft. To eliminate the disease, watering should be reduced, and if possible, a plant should be transplanted to a place where the soil is less moistened by groundwater. At the same time, it is worth taking care of better drainage of the landing hole.
4. Schütte - fungal disease. Manifested by yellowing of needles and the death of branches. For treatment using "Carcocide".

Video: thuja disease

In conifers, incl. and Woodward's arborvitae, it is often difficult to detect early disease damage. In order not to miss the disease, it is necessary to carry out regular inspection of plants in their area.

Did you know?Wood of this kind is appreciated for the fact that it practically does not decay. It is used for decoration of ship holds, residential premises, as well as for the manufacture of furniture.

Pests of thuja woodwardi:

1. Aphid - Damages the needles, it turns yellow and falls off. It is destroyed by a concentrated solution of laundry soap.
2. Speckled Moth - attacks the branches, while they acquire a brown hue, and young shoots do not develop. To get rid of the larvae, the Fumitox solution is used.
3. Spider mite - entangles with coniferous cobwebs, subsequently yellow spots appear on it and shedding occurs. Kills the insect from colloidal sulfur or treatment with acaricides.

To avoid defeat by diseases and pests, in the first half of May thuja is sprayed with a 2% solution of Bordeaux fluid. It is also possible to carry out preventive treatment with Karbofos and Fufanon (according to the instructions).

Important! It should be remembered that it is always easier to prevent the defeat of harmful bacteria, fungi and insects than to fight them.

Thuja Woodwardii - unpretentious plant that does not require particularly careful care. Well adapted for growth in the middle latitudes of the country. A slow increase in green mass does not often produce forming crown pruning. Excellent decorative indicators make it possible to use the plant both in personal plots and in municipal park zones, as well as in the territories of rest houses, sanatoriums and public institutions. Having planted this variety on your site, you will not devote much time and effort to leaving, but you will be satisfied with the result.