Due to its high winter hardiness, thuja is often used in our latitudes to decorate a summer cottage. So that the decorativeness of the plant is manifested as much as possible, it must be properly looked after.

After landing care

The healthy development of thuja depends on proper care immediately after planting, when the foundation is laid. Here lies the first secret: the procedures for young plants and adult specimens are different.

Important! If the roots are bent, there is a risk of putrefactive infection. Root rot is poorly treated, most often, the tree dies.

Watering is carried out with warm water once a week, spending 10 liters under the plant. In intense heat, the soil is irrigated more often, depending on the temperature 2-3 times a week, the amount of liquid is 15-20 liters. Soft needles tend to actively evaporate moisture, so they need to be sprayed every 7 days or daily in the heat.

The procedure is performed in the evening when the sun is less aggressive. Autumn seedlings need the same amount of watering, but, given the natural rainfall at this time of year, the amount of water is reduced.

When planting a seedling in the hole, fertilizers are applied, so the first 2 years it is not necessary to feed the thuja, it is enough, laid in the pit. The only thing that can be done is to nourish the root formation stimulator, for example, Zircon.

For spraying, 4 drops per 1 liter of water are enough. The drug also has a protective, antifungal effect.

For winter, in a summer house, a tree under the age of 3 years needs shelter. The branches are neatly pressed to the trunk in the direction of growth, pulled together by the cord. After that, you need to wrap the crown and trunk with non-woven material. The trunk circle is necessarily covered with a mulch layer of 15 cm, on top of the spruce.

This measure is necessary because root shoots are still close to the surface and can freeze.

Spring care

Care after the winter consists of timely watering, cleaning the soil of weeds and loosening the upper layer of garden soil. The irrigation scheme is the same as for young specimens, only the amount depending on age is increased to 40-60 liters.

Did you know? Thuja essential oil has a pleasant aroma, therefore it is often used in perfumery and cosmetology. And in homeopathy, its healing composition is used in the treatment of skin diseases and the vascular system.

At the beginning of spring, shoots and the trunk are inspected. All dry parts are removed. At the slightest sign of illness - blackening, the presence of growths or ulcers - need to be treated with Bordeaux liquid 3%. Spraying is carried out on a cloudy day. For prevention, use a 1% solution.

Video: Thuja Spring Care

Shelter from the sun

To protect the tender needles from the bright spring sun, in February, thujam need to provide shade. For shelter, translucent gauze-type fabrics are used. Dense material attracts heat and branches will soar. You need to throw in a couple of layers in order to hide from ultraviolet radiation, and at the same time not to block the access of oxygen.

Pruning

In spring, you need to free thuja from broken, damaged by insects or disease branches. After inspection, the gardener cuts off the shoots that have broken out from the general contour of the form to the desired length. It is also advisable to remove areas with yellowed needles, which will give a stimulus to the growth of new needles. You also need to trim the branches growing inward so as not to thicken the crown. Dense foliage are ideal conditions for attack by pests or diseases.

Top dressing

Every spring, fertilizers are applied that stimulate the active growth of shoots. Fertilizers also nourish plant tissues and strengthen protective properties. In the spring, you can use organics, for example, rotted compost or humus.

0.5 kg of agent is scattered on each m² of the trunk circle and embedded in the ground. Mineral complexes for conifers, such as Osmokot, are also popular.

Pellets are scattered in the near-stem circle of 15 g per tree.

How to care in summer

The cultivation of thuja is a painstaking work, because all year it needs the participation of a gardener. In the summer, the work is not less than before planting a seedling. To grow a decorative tree, you need to comply with all seasonal conditions of care.

Features of watering

From mid-July to August, heat sets in, there is not much rainfall in these months, so you need to pay special attention to watering. The number of procedures will depend on the weather: heat - 2-3 times a week, normal weather - once every 7 days.

Important! We must not forget about the irrigation of greenery, in the heat it dries and turns yellow, which affects the decorative effect.

Disease and Pest Prevention

In summer, top dressings for thuja are usually not used, but sometimes they are used to strengthen immunity pointwise, for example, "Kemira station wagon" 100 g / m² planting. As a prophylaxis against insects, planting in the garden is dusted with tobacco dust. Between the trees you can plant repellent plants that repel pests with a pungent odor.

Among them:

• tansy;
• sagebrush;
• marigold;
• garlic.

In August, you can repeat the preventive spraying with a Bordeaux mixture, the drug perfectly protects against fungi and even from some insects.

Video: Thuja care in summer and autumn

Autumn care

Autumn is the time to prepare the plant for the winter period.

The range of activities includes crown cutting:

• grown shoots of the current season are shortened by 1/3;
• branches broken by the wind or dried up are cut into a ring;
• remove old shoots with yellowed needles.

Be sure to cut all the slices with a garden var or a purchased antiseptic. Only those parts of the plant that will weaken it need to be cut. Radical pruning in the winter can turn into a disease for thuja.

Watering

Autumn watering, in principle, corresponds to the above schemes, but in this period closer to winter, the roots need to be strengthened. The drug "Zircon" (40 drops / 10 l of water) is sprayed on a tree in cloudy weather or in the evening. After a couple of days, water-charging irrigation is carried out with 30-50 l of water under one plant. The procedure nourishes the roots and prevents them from getting cold in frozen ground.

Did you know? Thuja wood lends itself well to processing; North American Indians were the first to use it. Wood served as material for light canoes and totem poles.

Loosening and mulching

The peculiarity of the root system of the thuja is in close proximity to the soil surface, therefore, when loosening, do not immerse the tool too deep. It is enough to fluff up the earth to a depth of 12 cm, do it carefully and slowly. Autumn cultivation will saturate the root shoots with oxygen, which will allow the plant to absorb moisture as much as possible and calmly transfer the winter.

Mulch as a protection of the upper soil layers from freezing is vital, especially for young specimens. Before wintering, it protects against overheating, inhibits the growth of weeds. In winter, a layer of 7-10 cm serves as thermal insulation.

Winter preparations

Starting in September, they are not given top dressing to the plant, it is necessary to slow down the growth of shoots for normal wintering. Before warming, you need to properly moisten the soil to a depth of 30 cm from the surface. After watering, a layer of dry foliage, wood bark or straw up to 10 cm thick is raked around the trunk.

On top of this is placed a spruce branch. The branches need to be tied, otherwise the snow layer can break them with their weight. If it is possible to visit the site in winter, it is advisable to remove snow from the shoots, and in the trunk circle, on the contrary, to rake.

Even a beginner can grow an evergreen beauty, special knowledge or skills are not required here. You just need to learn the rules of irrigation in different weather, the frequency of fertilizing and preventive measures.