Thuja diseases
Content:
Despite the fact that it is quite widely believed that thuja is extremely resistant to all kinds of plant diseases, this is not at all the case. Thuja, like any other plant, is susceptible to external factors that cause diseases, and therefore, if you decide to plant a thuja, you should familiarize yourself with what kind of attack can attack your plants, and how to deal with it.
Sign of the appearance of pests and diseases in Tui
However, what is really true, thuja is a rather unpretentious plant that does not require too much attention from the gardener. However, this does not mean that it is not at all necessary to care for the shrub, because it is this attitude that most often leads to a loss of decorative qualities and a weakening of immunity. A weakened plant is a feast for disease. Therefore, you always need to carefully monitor these factors: slow growth, slow blackening of needles, death of young shoots, excessive dropping of needles, falling off of the bark, curvature of shoots, softening of the trunk, the appearance of unusual plaque on the branches and trunk, as well as the keen attention of caterpillars to the plant.
If you find that at least 2 of them are observed in your thuja, you must immediately take action: take very careful care of the plant for the next week and monitor its condition. If it does not improve by the end of the week, then your plant has been attacked by a disease that could be caused by insects, fungi or bacteria. In this case, you will need to determine what kind of attack it is, which will help you with our article and the list of the most common diseases below.
Important!
Needle discoloration can also occur if your pet chooses thuja as its permanent toilet. In this case, you need to wean him from this as soon as possible or build a fence through which the pet will not get through.
The main diseases of thuja: definition and treatment
Despite the fact that there are a huge variety of tui diseases, most of them are diseases caused by various fungi. Such diseases are not difficult to determine, because their external negative influence is noticeable even in the early stages. However, finding the disease is only half the battle. The most difficult thing is to determine what kind of disease it is, because many of them have not only similar, but also exactly the same symptoms. Nevertheless, the definition of the disease is extremely important for the further correct irradiation of the shrub.
Phytophthora
Phytophthora among experienced gardeners is considered one of the most dangerous diseases that can occur in thuja. It is not difficult to determine it: due to the destruction of the root, the needles begin to acquire a gray color, and the trunk softens, becoming covered with a painful coating. From the plant begins to bear rot. Slowly it starts to die. Most often this happens due to the fact that the drainage was done incorrectly, which is why moisture began to stagnate in the soil.
If the stage of the disease is not too late, it can be saved by spraying with fungicides, but if the disease goes too far, there is nothing you can do. Tuya will have to be dug up and destroyed. However, the soil in which it grew is unsafe.It will have to be completely replaced in order to prevent diseases of other plants in this place in the future.
Important!
Familiarization with the instructions before spraying the thuja with any drug is mandatory, because improper actions on the part of the gardener can lead to even more dire consequences.
Fusarium
Fusarium, in comparison with the previous disease, is much less dangerous for thuja, if, of course, you take up the treatment on time. Most often, it is caused by the lack of sufficient sunlight. The roots become brown during the disease, since the fungus clings to them and blocks the flow of nutrients from the soil into the plant. If you do nothing, the plant will gradually begin to dry out, the needles will turn yellow, then turn red and eventually dry out too.
When treating, it is also recommended to treat the thuja with any antifungal drug. Fundazol is perfect for this role.
Brown shoots
Many inexperienced gardeners often underestimate the symptoms of this unpleasant disease, however, in vain, because without treatment, brown shoots can not only deprive the thuja of its decorative appearance, but also completely kill the shrub.
However, if you are careful, it is not difficult to notice this disease: thuja shoots begin to turn yellow, and they begin to turn yellow from their upper part. If you do not take care of the treatment of the disease in time, the yellowness can completely capture the shoots, and then they will die off.
Good feeding of thuja and enrichment of the soil with various lime mixtures can serve as a good treatment. From mid-summer to mid-autumn, you can also spray the plant with some kind of fungicide, for example, the already mentioned Fundazol. This will protect the thuja not only from brown shoots, but also from other fungal diseases.
Important!
If you managed to find only 1-2 infected shoots, you can get rid of the disease quite easily. It is enough to cut them off and destroy them so that the fungus cannot infect new ones.
Rust
A disease called rust affects the crown of the thuja. Over time, after infection, it begins to darken and takes on a characteristic rusty tint. It is worth treating this disease as soon as possible, if you do not want your bush to lose too much needles. It is known that the cause of the disease is most often a lack of nutrients, prolonged drought or excessive humidity.
For treatment, you will need to remove the infected parts of the crown and then treat all the needles with HOM. To dilute the solution, use 40 g of the drug and 10 liters. water. Fundazol is also suitable, but half of it will be needed for the same amount of water.
Schütte
This disease also primarily affects the crown of the tui. Even in spring, the needles begin to noticeably lose their decorative qualities, and over time, the mushroom completely envelops the infected areas, gradually killing the plant. In order to prevent and defeat this disease, you should more carefully look after the crown of young thujas and spray it with copper sulfate. Bordeaux mixture is also suitable for processing.
Important!
Do not leave too old branches in the crown of the tui, because they are the best medium for the appearance and spread of the disease. It is better to get rid of such branches and then burn them as far as possible.
Tinder fungus
The tinder fungus is a dangerous disease that penetrates the thuja and infects it from the inside through broken branches and scratches on the trunk. The infected plant becomes covered with dry yellow growths, and the needles begin to fade slowly. Soon after infection, thuja can lose all its decorative effect, so you should act quickly. All infected areas on the body of the shrub must be destroyed, and all scrapes and scratches must be "healed" with a resin-based ointment. Also, spraying with Bordeaux mixture in spring and autumn will not be superfluous for prevention.
Root rot
Also quite dangerous for your plant. In the absence of timely treatment, it can deprive you of thuja.The symptoms of root rot are as follows: The bark on the trunk near the branches begins to flake off, the shoots are painted in a brown or dirty yellow tint. White spots appear on the affected wood and the plant stops growing.
Unfortunately, this disease is dangerous because it cannot be cured, but prevention is possible. Strong fungicides cope with the protection of thujas from this terrible scourge.
Gray mold
This disease also refers to those that first spoil the appearance of the tui, and then destroy the plant from the inside. With this disease, brown spots may appear on the needles, which later turn gray. Over time, if you do not take action, the situation becomes critical, and the only way to save other plants is to destroy the infected ones.
For prevention, it makes sense to use one of the many existing fungicides.
Important!
For more convenient spraying, do not plant thuja too close to each other. The ideal distance is 80 cm or more.
The most common pests of thuja
In addition to fungi and bacteria, various pests can harm your thujas. Since they affect the plant in a slightly different way, there are many different approaches to them in treatment, of which there are many, and you need to know them if you want to keep your plants healthy and strong.
Weevils
Meeting weevils is a rather unpleasant experience for a gardener. These small pests can be troublesome in both adult and larval forms. They appear with increased acidity of the soil and eat it from everywhere: both young shoots and roots suffer. To get rid of these pests, it is necessary to spray the tree with some kind of insecticide, and in very serious cases, liming the soil.
Thuvaya signet moth
The ringworm moth is not difficult to find. Adults are similar to any other moths: the wingspan is a maximum of 2 cm, the head is slightly scaly, the eyes are large and round, the body is narrow, has dark wings, decorated with black and white patterns.
However, adults do not pose any threat to thuyas. On the other hand, their larvae are a real danger. They gnaw through the thuja needles from the inside, because of which it turns yellow, and the growth of the shrub slows down significantly. It is extremely difficult to completely get rid of these parasites, however, as far as possible, it is advisable to spray the thuja with some kind of insecticide in order to prevent it.
Thuvaya miner moth
Thuvaya miner moth is also a rather unpleasant pest. However, in appearance, it does not at all look like a signet mole. The color of the insect is brown-silver. This coloring allows them to successfully remain unnoticed against the background of the tree bark. These moths reach their peak of activity at the end of spring, when their larvae mercilessly begin to eat thuja needles before pupation. Affected needles turn yellow and the shoots are infected.
Destroying these pests is not easy. However, various insecticides have to deal with this. The main thing is not to forget to carry out the treatment in early spring (before the start of the period of activity) and at the end of summer (to consolidate the effect).
Important!
If you want to protect your thuja from pests as much as possible, you can use special pheromone traps.
Thuvaya aphid
This is who can really damage the appearance of your thujas. This small parasite is drawn from young shoots of vital sap. It would not be so dangerous if there were not such a huge number of aphids. Insects reproduce extremely quickly and can cause considerable damage to your shrubs.
Important!
In just one summer season, 5 generations of aphids can be born.
Due to these parasites, thuja is deprived of nutrients, which leads to the imminent death of the plant.
As with other pests, insecticides cope with thuja aphids. The ideal time for spraying is mid-spring and late summer. In addition, a soap solution can be used as a medicine.However, be extremely careful: the soap should never get into the roots. This will lead to unfortunate consequences of the code faster than eating a bush with aphids.
Thuvaya falseflower
This insect is extremely small and annoying. At first glance, you can't say that this is a small pest, but it can easily destroy your thuja. Spoonflower is a sucking parasite. It sucks nutrients out of the bush, which leads to yellowing of the plant, its exhaustion and further death. If you find that something is wrong with the thuja, immediately treat it with an insecticide, and the result will not be long in coming. Actellic or Antio can be used as an ideal product, but do not forget to read the instructions very carefully before spraying. With your careless actions, you can harm the tree more than any pest.
Juniper scabbard
This small insect acts and looks about the same as the false flower. Consequently, the methods of dealing with it are not much different. However, the striking difference between the scale insect and the false flower is that the former is not capable of causing the same serious harm to the plant. However, this does not mean that you can not fight it at all: under optimal conditions and without resistance, a swarm of these parasites can kill the thuja. So do not forget to carry out preventive spraying and kill pests at the first symptoms.
Thuja / juniper bark beetle
This pest really gives gardeners a lot of trouble. Unlike all previous parasites, the bark beetle feeds on thuja wood, gnawing tunnels in its bark like a termite. Most often, bast beetles appear on those plants that are not well looked after. However, young, just planted tuika can fall under the attack of these nasty beetles. The best treatment against bark beetle is treatment with insecticides already familiar to us. Also, do not forget about the Bordeaux mixture, which will only increase the resistance of your plant to various misfortunes.
Spider mite
The spider mite is a parasite that especially dislikes moisture. He prefers to settle down on those thujas that grow in dry soil and insufficiently humid air. Unlike previous pests, these rapidly multiplying parasites cannot be taken with insecticides. If you see that your thuja are overgrown with a "forest" of cobwebs, resort to acaricides. In addition, folk remedies such as tincture of garlic or dandelion can also help.
Important!
Mites do not like moisture so much that regular sprinkling of the thuja will help you ward them off the plant.
How to treat thuja in spring for prevention
As we have already found out, prevention is much better than cure. You do not need to look for the symptoms of the disease or frantically search in the directory what kind of parasite is sitting on your thuja. It is much easier to take preventive measures and prevent the appearance of unpleasant symptoms at all. For this, the drugs that we have already mentioned more than once in this article are best suited. For example, a solution of 10 liters of water and 40 grams of the effective preparation "HOM" will ensure the safety of your thuyas against countless diseases. The well-known Fundazol has the same effect.
Important!
Fundazole is not used for spraying the crown: it can be dangerous for the plant! Use it exclusively for soil cultivation.
Bordeaux mixture is also an excellent candidate for the role of a preventive agent that saves from thousands of diseases. In addition, it is very popular and is recommended by many professional gardeners, because it is extremely versatile. The best time for spraying is spring, when the needles of the thuja begin to grow. Thuja sprayed this season will almost certainly not be susceptible to any disease.
However, do not forget about the correct agricultural technology. She is half of your success as a gardener and the health of your plants.Carry out regular examinations of your thujas and carefully cut off those shoots that seem sick to you and can become foci of disease.
Conclusion
After reading this article from A to Z, you can not fear for the health of your tui... After all, now you know what kind of diseases they can trap in your garden, and what measures you need to take to successfully overcome them. No more fungus or parasite will catch you off guard, even if you are just a beginner.