For decorative landscaping of their plot, many gardeners plant a small evergreen tree - thuja. It is widely used in landscape design, and due to the variety of varieties, this plant can be grown in regions with different climatic conditions. The main features of growing thuja from the cuttings, as well as recommendations for planting and caring for the crop, helping to propagate it yourself - later in the article.
Benefits of Cherenkovanie
At home, thuja can be propagated in two ways - by germinating seeds or using cuttings. But the second method is simpler, therefore it is used more often.
- Thuja propagation by cuttings has a number of advantages:
- the tree grows faster than from seeds (in 2-3 years);
- the process of growing young thuja from a branch does not require specific knowledge;
- decorativeness of the maternal specimen is preserved;
- planting material can easily be prepared independently.
The disadvantage of growing a young tree from cuttings is that the seedlings are less hardy, and their survival rate is 70-80%.
Best time to grow
To cut the branches safely rooted, you must choose the most successful season for planting.
Did you know? Thuja wood is very fragile, but it is widely used in carpentry to create fine-carved furniture.
You can propagate the tree by cuttings at this time of year:
- from late March to the first half of April - in the spring sap flow begins in the shoots of trees, so rooting is faster;
- in June - in the summer, the tree continues to grow actively, but the probability of defeating the seedling by spring frosts disappears;
- in October - In autumn, the probability of survival of a seedling is much higher, as the sap flow in the shoots slows down, and cool and humid weather contributes to the formation of young roots.
Harvesting cuttings
Thuja propagation by cuttings begins with the correct preparation of planting material. This process is not particularly difficult, but requires compliance with certain rules.
When harvesting tree cuttings, follow these recommendations:
- take planting material is necessary only with a healthy thuja;
- It is best to use strong lignified branches cut from the top of a 2-3 year old tree;
- the length of the handle should be no more than 0.5 m, and the diameter - about 7 mm;
- cuttings are best done early in the morning in cloudy weather;
- the branch must be sharply torn from top to bottom or cut off with a knife obliquely, leaving a small piece of bark up to 2 cm long on it (the “heel”);
- to stimulate the growth of roots on the surface of the handle, cuts must be made and needles removed, leaving only a small amount at the end of the branch;
- freshly cut shoots before planting for 12 hours are placed in a solution of a root growth stimulator (for example, “Kornevina”);
- prepared cuttings need to be rooted immediately, as as a result of storage they become unsuitable for planting.
Landing site preparation
Before planting young seedlings in open ground for them you need to prepare a suitable place.
Important! If thuja cuttings cut from the side of the tree were used as planting material, then a curved seedling can grow from them.
The selected site must meet the following basic requirements:
- in the first half of the day it is good to be shined by the sun, and after lunch to be in partial shade - only in such conditions normal growth and beautiful appearance of a tree are possible;
- to be protected from drafts - in a cold wind, thuja is more often affected by diseases and grows worse;
- to have loose and moderately acid fertile soil, well permeable to air and water;
- lack of groundwater lying close to the soil surface.
A few days before the transplantation of young trees to a permanent site, they dig up the land on it. The soil surface is loosened, eliminating large clods of earth.
Did you know? The Russian name of thuja comes from the Greek word “thuja”, which translates as “incense”. The branches of this tree used to be used for sacrificial fires.
Step-by-step instruction
Most often, the rooting of the cuttings is carried out in water or in a pot with a substrate. The second method is used more often, as it helps to get a stronger seedling with a branched root system.
To plant the cuttings, you need to step by step follow these steps:
- Prepare a wide wooden box of small depth with drainage holes at the bottom. You can use plastic containers for growing seedlings.
- Prepare a loose substrate, mixing in equal amounts garden soil, clean river sand and peat.
- Pour boiled water over the soil mixture, and then treat it with a 3% potassium permanganate solution for disinfection.
- Put a drainage layer of expanded clay or small stones on the bottom of the container.
- Fill the container with a disinfected substrate, leveling its surface with your hands.
- Using a finger, make a small hole 1.5–2 cm deep on the soil surface in the container. If several cuttings are rooted in the same container, the distance between adjacent holes should be 5–6 cm.
- Immerse the lower end of the branch in the hole, placing the stalk at an angle of 45 ° to the soil surface.
- Sprinkle the seedling with earth, lightly tamping it with your hands. Pour a little warm water.
After planting, a container with dug up branches of thuja is kept in a greenhouse. If there is no greenhouse or the gardener decided to plant the stem in the fall, then rooting can be done in the room. During the spring planting of cuttings, they can be left on the street, after having previously installed a wire frame over the container with a plastic film stretched over it.
Important! To remove shelter from the container or to take it out of the greenhouse is possible only after the stalk has taken root. At the same time, new buds and branches appear on it.
Rooting care
Planted cuttings require proper care. It will not take much time from the gardener, but it will help the branches quickly take root in the substrate and grow stronger for further transplantation. The rooting process of thuja branches in the substrate lasts about 2 months.
The main recommendations for caring for cuttings during rooting are listed below:
- the air temperature in the room with seedlings should be +18 ... + 23 ° С;
- the optimal level of humidity is about 75%;
- the container with the cuttings must be kept in a well-lit place, but not allowed in direct sunlight - they can cause burns of seedlings;
- regular ventilation should be performed - use the ventilation system in the greenhouse or briefly lift the film stretched over the container;
- seedlings are sprayed from the spray gun with a small amount of warm water as the surface layer of the soil dries in the container;
- Before planting in open ground, rooted seedlings are tempered for 7–10 days - for this, a container with cuttings in warm and clear weather begins to be taken outside for several hours.
Transfer to a permanent place
After the cuttings have taken root and released 1-2 new shoots, they are planted from the container in the open ground on a temporary bed in the garden - a school. At the same time, the soil is dug up on it with the addition of one bucket of peat per 1 m², and then small holes are made in it. The ground in a container with rooted cuttings is well watered to facilitate the removal of seedlings.
Important! Autumn cuttings are transplanted to the school the next year in spring, and rooted spring twigs - in the fall of this year.
After this, the handle is carefully removed and placed in a hole with an earthen lump, placing it in relation to the soil surface at the same level as in the container. Neighboring seedlings are located at a distance of 25 cm from each other. Further care for thuja at the school consists of watering and removing weeds, and in winter the plants are covered with a layer of mulch and spruce branches. At school, the seedling must grow stronger and grow, and after 2-3 years it is transplanted to a permanent place.
Step-by-step algorithm for replanting young trees:
- Prepare holes in a selected section of a width and depth of about 1 m. Between adjacent recesses leave a distance of 2-5 m (depending on grade).
- Put a small layer of stone or gravel drainage on the bottom of the hole.
- Mix the earth obtained by digging a hole in equal proportions with peat and sand. Fill each depression with a small amount of the obtained soil mixture.
- Carefully remove the thuja seedling from the schoolhouse along with an earthen lump formed around its roots. Transfer the tree to the prepared hole - while the root neck should be at the same level with the surface of the earth.
- Fill the remaining space of the planting pit with loose nutritious soil mixture. Tamp the surface of the earth around the thuja with your hands a little.
- Lightly water the trees with a little warm water, moistening the ground around them.
- After complete absorption of the liquid, the surface of the soil around the trunk is mulched with dry sawdust.
Follow-up care
After transplanting young seedlings to a permanent place, the trees need to provide appropriate care. Thuja negatively reacts to a lack of moisture, so when growing it, the main attention should be paid to proper watering.
Did you know? The aroma of thuja essential oil in aromatherapy is the base note. He dominates elite male colognes (such as Hugo Boss).
To grow with a decorative purpose, the tree needs to be formed by annual pruning of its branches. And so that in winter the seedling does not die from frost and snowfall, you need to arrange shelter for it.
Watering
During the watering of the arborvitae, it is necessary to maintain a balance so that the tree receives an amount of liquid sufficient for growth, but at the same time does not begin to rot from overmoistening of the soil.Drop watering thuja.
Key recommendations for irrigation:
- watering is carried out as the soil surface dries around the tree (about 1-2 times a week);
- for each thuja you need to spend about 10 liters of water;
- in hot weather, the tree branches are sprayed from the spray gun to wash off the dust from them and improve the appearance of the plant;
- watering is best done in the morning or evening hours to reduce the evaporation of moisture from the soil;
- For irrigation of thuja, only settled water of room temperature is used.
Winter preparations
Thuja does not “love” frost and cold winds, therefore, before the onset of winter, the tree needs to be covered. A protective shelter is built in late October or early November, and removed in the spring - with the onset of sustainable heat.
Important! When growing a tree in areas with a mild climate for the winter, it is enough to mulch the soil around the thuja. But when snow falls, you need to carefully sweep it off the branches manually so that they do not break.
The basic rules of shelter for the winter are:
- the soil around the trunk is mulched with peat, fallen dry leaves and coniferous branches - at the same time, you need to make sure that the lower shoots of the thuja are above the layer of mulch and do not stop;
- in regions with frosts below –40 ° C, the tree trunk is bent to the ground and covered with spruce branches, and after the formation of the snow cover, it is additionally sprinkled with snow;
- to protect from the bright winter sun and wind, the trunk can be wrapped in white cloth, fixing it with a rope.
Video: preparing thuja for winter
Pruning
Most gardeners cultivate thuja on their sites as decorative ornaments. In the process of growth, they give the tree the desired shape with regular pruning.
Did you know? Thuja essential oil is used as a natural flavor during the production of some brands of shoes.
This procedure is carried out according to the following rules:
- thuja formation begins from 2-3 years of age;
- pruning is done in early spring, as well as during the summer (if necessary);
- without fail cut damaged and dried shoots;
- excess shoots are removed with a sharp pruner so that the cut is even;
- unnecessary shoots are removed in small "portions", but often - so the thuja is easier to tolerate the "haircut";
- healthy tree branches are shortened depending on what shape the gardener wants to give the crown.
Thuja can become a bright and unusual decoration of any garden plot, and with the help of pruning the tree gives various bizarre shapes. Even a novice gardener can grow an adult tree from a handle. The information presented in the article will help to properly prepare planting material, perform rooting and planting of seedlings in open ground, as well as provide them with the necessary care.