How to distinguish thuja from juniper

Not all land owners use them to grow vegetables for food. Many gardeners experiment with design. And their garden plot is a way to prove itself. Therefore, ornamental plants, including conifers, are planted. For many, thuja and juniper are one and the same plant, therefore, when choosing conifers, many of them.

Thuja and juniper: similarities

Thuja Juniper

Thuja with juniper are relatives. They belong to the same family - cypress. This explains their visual similarity. Inexperienced gardeners often do not distinguish between these plants.

However, if you carefully examine the needles of each plant, you can notice the difference between them. Juniper has needle-like needles that do not change with age. In thuja, over time, the needles become scaly.

The shape of the crown of both thuja and juniper can be different. Therefore, it is very difficult to distinguish them on this basis. That in a thuja, that in a juniper, the crown can be both spherical and conical. There are a lot of varieties of both of these plants, from indoor to park.

Cypress is one of the oldest plant families. Shrubs and trees of this family have a very long lifespan. They can live peacefully for several centuries. This is one of the reasons why they are so loved to be used in landscape design.

Also, representatives of this family, like other conifers, are valued for their pleasant aroma and ability to purify the air. Where they grow the air is cleaner than in other places. They also have many other beneficial properties. The composition of all representatives of the cypress family is very similar.

How to distinguish thuja from juniper

No matter how similar thuja and juniper are, they also have a considerable number of differences. If you know the characteristics of each plant, it becomes easier to choose which one to plant on your site.

Thuja

Thuja tree... This is a very tall plant. It can grow up to 70 meters high and its trunk can reach 5 meters in girth. A tree-like thuja grows very quickly.

In parks, squares and garden plots, you can see a smaller species of thuja - western thuja. Its maximum height is only 7 meters. Western thuja is pyramidal or spreading. This variety of thuja can grow in any conditions. It is quite frost-resistant, but despite this, it does not want to take root in the Far North.

Thuja has a smooth gray trunk. Gradually, over time, the bark begins to flake off in narrow ribbons. Thuja has small scaly needles that fit tightly to each other. Small oblong cones are formed on the branches of the thuja, in which the seeds are located. Usually there are 2 seeds in each cone.

Thuja blooms in April-May. Throughout the summer, from June to September, you can harvest thuja branches as a medicinal plant.

Useful components are contained not only in thuja branches, every part of the plant is rich in them. Thuja needles contain useful essential oils and resins, and are also rich in tannins. Thuja seeds contain concentrated essential oils. Also, useful substances are contained in thuja wood.

On the basis of thuja and its extracts, homeopathic remedies and oriental medicine are created. Healers use thuja to get rid of cystitis, enuresis, rheumatism, prostatitis, warts, acne, papillomas.

Thuja-based preparations have shown their effectiveness in resorption of scars and other formations. From thuja prepare infusions used for skin whitening and treatment of inflamed hair follicles.

Juniper

Juniper strongly inferior to thuja in height. On average, a juniper can grow up to 3 meters. Even though there are plants several times higher, this is an exception to the rule.

Among the juniper, there are also undersized species that practically creep along the ground. There are no such species among the thuja, which is one of the main differences between it and the juniper. The juniper has a highly branched trunk, each branch is covered with tough needles.

Juniper blooms in May. Its flowers are male and female. Male flowers look like earrings, and female flowers look like small round bumps. Juniper begins to bear fruit only the next year. Fruiting occurs in October-November. The fruit is a small cone berry. There are three seeds inside the shigkoyagoda. The fruits of many varieties of juniper can be eaten.

Wild-growing juniper can be found not only in coniferous and mixed forests. It grows on the slopes of mountains and hills, on the banks of rivers, sometimes it is found in swamps. In our country, it is grown everywhere. It has long been cultivated as an ornamental plant. And the medicinal properties of juniper were known even in ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt.

The berries of the plant contain sugars, acids, resins and essential oils; the needles contain several types of useful acids. These acids have bactericidal properties. In this, no plant beats the juniper.

Even the smell of juniper is beneficial to the body. Therefore, this plant is good to have on your site. Juniper berries are used in all areas of medicine. They are used in all forms. In cooking, the juniper berry is known as a condiment. It is used in the preparation of all kinds of food and the production of alcoholic beverages.

How to grow thuja and juniper

Growing conditions for thuja and juniper are very similar. When planting a thuja and when planting a juniper, it is worth following the same rules. It is necessary to purchase only seedlings of plants with an earthen clod. The roots of the seedlings should not be exposed and dried, such a plant may die.

Before planting a plant, it must be watered. The planting hole should have a larger diameter than the earthen ball. There should be a distance between the earthen lump and the walls of the hole. When planting, the root collar of the plant should be exactly at ground level. The distance between the walls of the hole and the earthen lump must be filled with a special soil mixture. Then the plant will feel good and comfortable.

How to plant thuja, juniper

Juniper planting

Despite the fact that for the most part the growing conditions of thuja and juniper are similar, there are differences between them.

Thuja can grow both in the sun and in partial shade. Juniper prefers open, sunny places.

Thuja needs drainage, juniper does not need it. When planting a thuja, broken brick mixed with sand is suitable as drainage.

For different types of juniper, their own soil mixture is suitable. The Siberian juniper loves sandstones, the Virginia prefers clay soils, and the Cossack limestone.

Many varieties of juniper grow where there is coal in the soil. It will be good for them if the gardener adds a few pieces of coal to the bottom of the planting hole.

What care do thuja and juniper require?

The process of growing thuja and juniper is almost identical.

Both plants require glazeif there is no rain for a long time. One plant needs at least five liters of water.

Once a year, cypress need feed... This should be done in the spring; complex fertilizer is suitable for feeding. It is added to the soil when loosening.In the first years of life, plants need weeding. It is also necessary to ensure that a hard crust does not form on the soil surface.

Sanitary trimming should be done if necessary. The right time for this is spring and autumn.

IN the formation crowns neither thuja nor juniper dont need... But for decorative purposes it is permissible to do this. The fruiting of plants is not amenable to regulation.

Conifers rarely suffer from diseases. And cypress, on the contrary, can even protect plants growing with them from diseases from diseases.

Thuja and juniper: what to choose for planting

Juniper

Both thuja and juniper are ideal for landscaping any site. It doesn't really matter which plant to choose. It is only important to choose the right place for the bush, given what height it will reach when it grows up.

Thuja grows very quickly, and its lifespan can exceed a hundred years. Juniper, on the other hand, develops slowly, but its lifespan is longer. He can live up to 500 years.

Both plants have medicinal properties, so it is good if they grow on the site. Juniper has only one advantage - its fruits can be eaten. However, thuja seedlings have a more affordable price, and it is more suitable for creating a hedge.

Thuja and junipers in landscape design

Having found out the rules for planting thuja and juniper, the question of why they are planted is resolved.

Tuyu is usually planted around the perimeter of the site, used to create a hedge.

Juniper can be planted singly, can be used in group plantings. An alpine slide with creeping juniper in the center looks great. In addition to the decorative function, horizontal types of juniper strengthen the slopes. And the creeping juniper perfectly hides all the imperfections and irregularities of the surface of the site.

And thuja and juniper without decorative, brightly flowering plants look boring.