Thuja in a pot: planting and care at home.

Thuja is a coniferous plant with a bright smell. In general, this plant grows in open ground, but it can also be grown at home in an ordinary pot. True, it will be very difficult, but worth it. When growing a thuja on a plot, it grows quite large, and has recently become very often used in landscape design. Of course, you cannot plant such plants in a pot, so after a while decorative ones appeared varieties.

All about the plant

Thuja themselves belong to the cypress family. They have a very strong coniferous aroma and just look very beautiful both outdoors and indoors.

Thuja originally came to us from North America. And it grows in two species, either a bush or a tree. Both options can grow up to 2 meters high.

At the moment, there are just a huge number of varieties of decorative thuja. Moreover, there are both shrubs and trees. They very often began to grow in order to decorate loggias, balconies or just rooms. Decorative thuja is always a green plant, quite lush, small cones actively grow on it. They are oblong in shape and only 1 cm long, and they begin in the fall and remain hanging until spring, and in some cases even until summer.

In a young plant, the branches themselves are always light green, and over the years they darken and turn brown.

Indoor thuja have a strong coniferous smell due to the fact that they emit a lot of essential oils. They are very useful, not only do they only benefit the body, but also cleanse the air well. This plant generally works as a filter and has antibacterial properties.

It is possible to grow thuja just at home in an ordinary pot just like any houseplant.
In order for the thuja to grow correctly and delight with their beauty and benefits, too much effort and time will not be needed, all that is needed for this is to fully observe the climate that is necessary for these plants and always take proper care.

Types and varieties of tui

Tui has many types, and here are the most popular of them:
Chinese and Korean, Japanese, Western, Eastern.

As for the Chinese and Korean thuja, they mainly grow in their historical homeland. Their needles are always dark green, soft and very spreading. The leaves are quite small, grow only up to 2 cm, and the cones are elongated, always half the length of the foliage, which has a triangular shape.

In Russia, these types of thuja are actively grown in the southern regions, both on the street as landscaping and at home for decoration and aromatization. And it is grown in these regions because it is always warm.

But the Japanese thuja easily grows up to 2 meters in height. This species grows well in absolutely any region. It takes root very well in any climate due to the fact that it tolerates both drought and frost well. This species is also good because it is practically not whimsical and is able to grow in almost any conditions. The height in the open field and in the pot is the same. Shrubs grow up to 1.5 meters, but trees grow up to 2.

Eastern thuja can grow in pots of almost any size. And in this they have the main advantage over the rest. In general, breeders were able to bring out just a huge number of decorative varieties of thuja. All dwarf varieties differ from each other in color, height and leaf size.

The most popular varieties of decorative thuja are: "Folded Vipcord", "Eastern Aurea Nana"," Miriam "," Eastern biota ".

By itself, the eastern thuja grows very slowly.all thuja that grow at home begin to bloom in May, and bloom throughout the month. Initially, its cones are green-blue in color, but already in the second year of life they turn brown. But the seeds of the cones outwardly somewhat resemble wheat grains. In general, such forms of thuja as cone-shaped, spherical, triangular or willow-shaped are suitable for home cultivation.

As for the conical shape, it grows slowly and can easily grow up to 2 meters in height. Its shape is slightly oval. The crown is very soft in summer, bright green, and in winter it has a shade of bronze. The most famous varieties of this thuja are: "Golden Tuffet", "Mr. Bowling Ball", "Filiformis" and Teddy.

If you decide to grow a spherical thuja, then it also grows slowly and can be up to 1.5 meters high. Outwardly, it lives up to its name and grows in the shape of a ball. Its color changes every season. In summer, it always has a dark green color. The most famous varieties grown in pots are: "Danica", "Globoza"," Hozeri "," Stolvik "," Little Champion ".

If the thuja grows in the form of a triangle, then it grows up no more than 2 meters. And by the way, she grows throughout her life. It looks very original due to the fact that while the plant is young, they have a golden color, but as they grow slowly, they gradually turn green in accordance with age.

But the willow-shaped thuja look very original and beautiful. The most popular of all varieties is the Weeping Willow. Her color has its own peculiarity in that in the warm season it stands brightly green, but with the onset of cold weather it gradually brightens and fades. Thuja grows to a height of no more than 1.5 meters, and the branches are bent down and hang down to the floor. Also, in addition to this port, such as: "Pendula", "Umbrakulifera" and others like them are also often found.

Features in growing plants

Having chosen the variety you like for planting, you need to think in advance about the size of the pot in which the plant will grow. And also a very important step will be what kind of land you choose for planting. A special composition of the earth can be bought ready-made, it is sold in any gardening store. But if you simply cannot purchase it, it is not difficult to make it yourself, you need to take sand, coniferous soil and leafy soil in a ratio of 1: 2: 4 and mix it all thoroughly.

Also, pay attention to the fact that there must be holes in the pot where the thuja will grow so that excess water can drain. If there are no holes, then after a while the roots of the plant will simply rot. Also, there must be drainage at the bottom of the pot. After the drainage is poured in the pot and the earth can be placed in it, the plant itself can be placed. It must be placed in the center and carefully cover the seedling with earth, gradually tamping it down. A distance of at least 5 cm should remain from the edge of the pot to the ground. After the seedling is planted, it must be watered.

If you want your thuja to grow well and develop correctly, you need to take proper care of it. Firstly, plants should receive a lot of sunlight, but not direct rays, but slightly diffused ones. For the summer, the plant can generally be put on the balcony, just not on the south side. But in winter, thuja should be in a room where the temperature is constant and does not drop below +20 degrees. Air humidity does not particularly affect the development of thuja, but still in the heat it is best to spray it from a spray bottle.

Everyone chooses the irrigation schedule for himself individually, but you still need to ensure that the soil is always slightly moistened. And drying out, and vice versa, high humidity can easily harm your plants.
From the beginning of spring and throughout the summer, plants are best fed. The first spring fertilizer for thuja, as well as for other plants, simply needs nitrogen. But in the summer you need to add potassium and phosphorus.For thuja, it is very important that the temperature in the room is stable, and there are no jumps. It is also very important to exclude any, even the slightest draft. In general, this plant does not really like transplants, but if it happened that it just grew out of its pot, then the transplant should be carried out no more than once a year. The transplant must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the powerful, but rather fragile root system. Initially, the soil in the pot must be well shed with water for easier extraction of the plant. And it is necessary to remove and move it to a new pot together with the old soil, and this must be done so that the roots of the plant are not exposed.

During the growth of the thuja, you can not cut a lot to give it the shape you need, but you only need to prune for those branches that have dried up.

Thuja propagation occurs in only two ways: this is by cuttings and growing a plant from seeds. In principle, everyone knows that the seeds of this plant are in its cones. Therefore, in order to get the seeds, you need to: cut off several branches on which there are cones and put them in a dark, warm place. After some time, the cones will dry and open, and then you can get seeds for planting without any problems.

Necessary care

Before planting, the seeds must be prepared, for this, initially the seeds must be wrapped in a damp cloth for a day and put in a warm place. but do not forget about the fact that it needs to be moistened periodically.

While the seeds are being prepared, you need to prepare a pot, pour drainage and soil specially prepared for thuja into it.
The next day, the finished seeds should be put on top of the earth one at a time and covered with sawdust.

A month after planting, the seeds will begin to sprout. But you can get a full-fledged tree or bush no earlier than in 3 years, in extreme cases, it will take 5 years to grow.

Due to the fact that it takes a very long time to grow a plant from seeds, this method is not popular. Therefore, it is much easier to grow a thuja bush or tree using cuttings. And this method takes much less time.

It is best propagated by cuttings in spring. Cuttings should be cut at least 10 cm long and are best cut from lateral branches. These petioles take root better and are more resistant.

Always remember that cuttings are always cut obliquely from the very base, and the bark that is nearby just needs to be removed.

After the cuttings have been cut, 8 cm above the cut level, you need to cut the bark and remove the needles from the branches. It can be left in a very small amount on top of the cuttings.

As for the incisions, they are made so that the roots can germinate more easily in the future.
It is best to treat the cuttings with stimulants for active growth of the root system before planting.

The pot for planting must be prepared in advance by pouring drainage and earth into it. And initially the cuttings must be planted in a container where peat and sand are mixed. But keep in mind that insects develop very actively in the sand, so initially it must be disinfected. Cuttings should be watered regularly and kept warm at all times. In this case, they will quickly give roots, and in the fall they can be transplanted into pots.

Very often, diseases such as late blight attack thuja - everyone knows how it looks for a long time. And the leaves dry very quickly, and the roots quickly begin to rot. From this disease, the plant can die quickly enough, so treatment should be carried out without delay.

False shield - from this disease, the trunk and branches of the plant are completely covered with brown spots.

Rust - if it attacks, then the plant completely blackens and discards all the needles.

Aphids, moths, etc. - very often insects attack young plants. Until the seedlings take root, they are more vulnerable.At this time, insects actively feed on the sap of the plant, and it, in turn, withers very quickly, gets sick, after which it simply dies.

Of course, this plant itself is simply gorgeous and healthy. Caring for him is not so difficult, the main thing is to do everything on time and correctly, following all the recommendations and advice.