Evergreen thuja will be a wonderful decoration of the garden plot. There are many types of this unpretentious plant. Each of them is beautiful in its own way, exudes a fresh and pleasant aroma. Most often, conifers are grown using cuttings.
But it is not always possible to purchase the required number of young trees, especially since they are not cheap. Therefore, growing thuja from seeds is so popular. To some, this method will seem too laborious, tk. it will take a long time to get seedlings, up to 5 years. But you can grow many strong and healthy plants yourself.
- Selection of a variety;
- Seed collection;
- Sowing;
- Plant care.
Variety choice
There are 5 species of this plant, but only the western one is suitable for the Russian climate. The western thuja has many varieties. Let’s talk about the most common:
- Thuya Brabant. If you want to grow a hedge, you need to choose this variety. The plant grows up to 5 m, its trunk diameter is 1,5 m, per year it increases by 30 cm, becomes wider by 15 cm.
- Tuya Holmstrup. It grows very slowly, in 10 years it reaches a height of three meters. But it is unpretentious, does not require special care. Thuja Fastigiata. It grows up to 6 m in height. Also good for creating hedges.
- Thuya Smaragd. It requires constant care, grows slowly, the maximum height is 5 m. But it is not afraid of frost and strong winds.
- Thuja Wagneri. A low tree up to 4 m, which is best planted in an open place. Does not like snowfalls, but tolerates frosts well.
If you cannot decide on the variety, think about where and how you plan to plant this plant, what shape the thuja crown should be. It can be different:
- Thuja are pin-shaped and umbrella-shaped. From the name it is clear what they look like. Keglevidnye – small, dense plants up to 2 m in height. Umbrella are used to decorate flower beds. Most varieties are miniature in size, and grow up to 1 m in height;
- Thuja pyramidal. Will be an excellent decoration for the site. You can plant both one tree (it can grow up to 20 m in height, there are shrubs no higher than 2 m), and a group of plants;
- Thuja is columnar. Suitable for creating hedges. The average height of plants is 5 m, there are many varieties;
- Thuja spherical. The most popular type, because unpretentious, feels good on any soil, even in the shade. It is a shrub with dense branches. But it grows slowly.
But there is one very important point here. Growing a thuja at home from seeds can lead to unexpected results. If you choose a specific variety, plant shape and harvest the seeds from the desired tree, you cannot guarantee that the thuja you need will grow. Often only species characteristics are preserved, the variety, the shape of the seedlings may be different.
Brief description of the plant and its features
Thuja is an evergreen tree that is loved by gardeners and landscape designers for its decorative properties that give beauty all year round. In addition to the attractiveness, thuja have their own characteristics, which must certainly be noted. They are:
- Thuja belongs to the genus of conifers from the cypress family. In nature, there are varieties of this evergreen tree in the form of a shrub or a small tree.
- In the first years of growth, after sowing the seeds, soft needles grow on the thuja, and over time they become opposite scales.
- In the autumn, on the thuja, seeds can be collected from the formed bumps, which can subsequently be planted either in containers or directly into the open ground.
- The thuja genus consists of 5 species, but such garden forms as western and folded are considered the most common.
An equally significant feature of the presented culture is its high frost resistance, due to which thuja has a fairly extensive growing area.
Seed collection
If you want to grow thuja yourself, you need to collect the seeds. Only freshly harvested are used. To do this, you need to find a thuja and collect a few cones in late summer or early autumn. Be careful, take only those that did not have time to open it. Remove them from the tree, bring them home, and spread them out there. After a few days, the bumps will open. You will be able to collect small brown seeds.
The sooner you sow them, the better. then the germination percentage will be higher. As early as 3 months after harvesting, seed germination can be significantly reduced. Harvest a lot of seeds at once, because in conifers, seeds are often formed even without pollination, it is impossible to distinguish a full-fledged seed with an embryo from a “dummy” in appearance. In addition, you can grow plants with different crown shapes, so there should be a lot of seedlings in order to be able to select the one that you need.
Soil preparation and sowing seeds
To get the desired result, it is worth focusing on preparing the soil directly for sowing thuja seeds. It must be a breathable and moisture-absorbing substrate, which is composed of:
The calculation of the components should be in a 2: 2: 1 ratio. The prepared substrate is poured into the selected container and a depression of about 5 centimeters is made in it.
Next, you need to spread the seeds into prepared pots and sprinkle with a thin layer of soil. If the soil is slightly dry, then it is imperative to moisten it, but if wet or cloudy weather is foreseen, then further watering will be required as the substrate dries.
Planting seeds in the country
Experts advise planting seeds in the fall, immediately after you have collected them, in your country house or garden plot. Why is such growing on the street thuja from seeds better than at home? Because they undergo natural stratification, the seeds germinate better. Already in the spring, friendly seedlings will appear, which will be less demanding to care and will more easily endure the cold. Plants will hatch in 2-3 weeks after the ground warms up. In appearance, they resemble dill shoots. The first branch will grow in about 6 months and will be covered with needles. For a year, the seedling will stretch by 7 cm.
How to care for seedlings in winter and summer
It is necessary to take care of thuja all year round. In the summer, the seedlings in the container can be transferred to the balcony and by all means take care that the sun’s rays do not fall on the plants.
On summer days, it is extremely important to water frequently and to spray the leaves in the morning and evening. In this case, the water should be warm.
In winter, care is also necessary, but not as intense. The main task is to control the air temperature. It should not exceed +12 degrees. It would be best to leave the seedlings in containers on the balcony or loggia, if they are glazed.
If you have to keep the thuja seedlings in the room, then you need to ensure the optimal temperature regime and set them away from heat sources.
And do not forget about watering, it should be infrequent, since this shrub is dormant in winter. Therefore, abundant watering can cause the death of the plant, or a prerequisite for the formation of root rot.
Planting seeds at home
If you are not looking for easy ways, you can plant seeds at home. But then stratification by cold is necessary, otherwise thuja from seeds may not grow. The seeds of some plant species do not germinate without stratification, their germination rate drops sharply, sometimes to zero.
What can you do to avoid this? Take a container, fill it with sand or sawdust, moisten it. Place the thuja seeds in it, close the dishes and put them in the refrigerator, on the lower shelf. Leave the seeds in this container for 2 or 3 months.
In February, you can plant them in the ground. Take a container for plants (wooden box) and fill its bottom with drainage (expanded clay or crushed coal) with a layer of 2-3 cm. Then fill the container with soil mixture, leaving a little space. You can cook it yourself. Mix 2 parts sand with 1 part peat and 1 part turf. But it is better to buy ready-made land for conifers.
Make shallow grooves 5 or 6 cm apart and spread the seeds. Sprinkle with a layer of earth (up to 1 cm). From above, they must be closed using film or glass. Place the boxes of seeds in a warm place (from +20 degrees).
Care during germination
As soon as the first shoots have appeared, you will want to feed them, but you need to refrain from over-worrying for a week or two. If the soil has been prepared with high quality, then there are enough nutrients in it for the first days of life, but it is dangerous to stimulate a fragile sprout that has not formed a minimum root system. This can lead to stretching and death. For the same reason, it is important for seedlings to spend the first weeks away from direct sunlight, in an evenly shaded place.
Important! Thuja is quite sensitive to various diseases. For disinfection of ordinary soil and peat base, it is necessary to use a strong solution of potassium permanganate.
Already after 10-15 days, when you see that the shoots have settled evenly in the ground, you can start regular feeding once every two weeks. Only mineral fertilizers are acceptable, namely nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The ash, loved by all conifers, will also be optimal.
But even with feeding and observing the temperature regime, the newly-baked seedlings will not grow above 8-10 cm per season. This is a feature of conifers that you need to take for granted and not try to argue with nature.
Plant Care
Growing a thuja from seeds at home is a troublesome task that requires a lot of patience and strength. What kind of care should be taken for thuja so that the plant gets stronger and takes root? Let’s talk about this in more detail. When the first shoots appear, the box with plants must be moved to a lighted and cooler place. Make sure that the ground does not dry out.
It is better to leave the film or glass. The shelter is removed only when the seedlings are a little stronger, i.e. after 1 -1,5 months. Every 14 days, seedlings need to be fed using mineral fertilizers (“Solution”, “Agricola”). In winter, she needs a backlight. You don’t need to dive it this year.
The next year, in spring, the seedlings must be planted in separate cups or other containers. In summer, it is better to keep them outdoors, in partial shade. Sunburn is very dangerous for conifers. The seedlings should also spend the second winter at home.
Then they are planted in a garden bed, i.e. to the school. It must also be placed in partial shade. Previously, the bed is fertilized well: 1 bucket of humus is added per 1 sq. m, 40 g of nitroammofoska and 250-300 g of ash. All this is dug up and the seedlings are planted according to the 30×30 cm scheme. Plant carefully, so that the root collar is at the level of the soil, excessive deepening will lead to the plant turning yellow and dying.
The seedlings are watered and mulched with peat. They are fed every 2 or 3 weeks, watered, weed and loosened. In the third year, if the thuja has grown to 50 cm, it can be transplanted to a permanent place. Then it is already clear what shape of the crown the plant will have, whether it will grow dense or not, i.e. it’s time to think about how to use the seedlings: make a hedge out of them, or create an interesting composition in the garden.
As we can see, it is not so easy to grow thuja from seeds, it will take several years. But on the other hand, you will save on the purchase of seedlings and you can get many plants with different crown shapes. The surplus can then be sold or donated to friends.
Sowing
The land for sowing thuja seeds must be prepared in advance. It should be rich, nutritious soil, flavored with ash and nitrophosphate. You can relieve it with sand or sawdust. If there is an opportunity in advance to enrich the land with humus on the site and let it sit for a season without load, this will have a good effect on the growth of young animals.
The container for planting can be either a pot or a box. The main thing is to provide drainage with pebbles and a thin layer of sand laid out on the bottom. The soil laid out on top must be spilled with water in advance and allowed to dry in order to avoid air nests, which can become a focus of decay.
It is necessary to place the seeds very carefully, since with proper preparation, the root collar at this stage is already fragile and it is important that it is located flush with the soil, not deeper. It is necessary to plant the shoots keeping a distance of at least 5–7 cm. Then you need to lightly water the new bed. It should be noted that there is also a continuous sowing method, when the distance between the holes is not respected, and after the sprouts appear, they are thinned out based on their appearance. This is possible if you have stocked up with planting material and there is no need to save money.
When wetting the planting area, it is important to be careful not to let the water wash out the soil, dislodge and injure the seeds. It is optimal to carry out watering by spraying. The temperature all this time should not deviate greatly from the mark at + 15 … + 18 ° С, cooling and overheating are equally dangerous.
If everything is done correctly, then in a month or two you will see the first confident shoots. You do not need to count on a quick result or artificially stimulate this slow-growing plant, otherwise you will not get a strong, beautiful seedling.
Sapling diseases
Thuja practically does not undergo diseases, but they can occur only with improper care. One of the most common problems when growing thuja at home is the formation of yellowness on the leaves. It can appear for the following reasons:
- excessive heat, in the daytime or due to exposure to sunlight;
- the root collar is either strongly deepened when planting, or is high above the ground surface.
But also homemade thuja seedlings can be exposed to fungal diseases, for example, fusarium or cytospores. To cure the plant, you will need to use specialized drugs.
It is recommended to start the procedure at the beginning of spring and until the tuika is fully recovered. I would like to say that a change in the color of a plant with the onset of a dormant period is a natural process, so you should not immediately panic and start treating the tree.
It should also be borne in mind that an evergreen tree in indoor conditions can be invaded by pests such as aphids, scale insects, and bark beetles.
In this case, you should immediately take measures to treat the plant. It is best to apply special insecticides. You should start treating the plant as soon as possible so that it is easier to deal with the indicated pest.
The benefits of room thuja
Thuja is not only a spectacular houseplant, it brings practical benefits, releasing phytoncides into the air. These essential oils have a pleasant scent, reminiscent of the scent of spruce resin, and have an antibacterial effect, killing harmful microorganisms in the room.
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The profitability of a business on growing tui
The profitability of a thuja growing business will largely depend on the type of products that are offered for sale. At the initial stage, according to experienced gardening entrepreneurs, the profitability can be 250% (of course, if the entrepreneur did not buy expensive planting material). But when the business develops and the entrepreneur moves to the sale of adult plants, ready-made “green” sculptures, design compositions, the profitability of the business can reach all 500%. Of course, this is a very good prospect, but what about while the plants are growing?
It turns out that profitability can be significantly influenced by:
- Having established the cultivation of thuja in a greenhouse or other adapted premises, receiving (in a short term) excellent planting material that can be sold at low prices;
- Gradually expanding the assortment with interesting novelties (they are always sold at a significantly higher price than traditional varieties).
But let us remind you once again that a full-fledged business selling thuja can be established only 3-4 years after their planting. And if funds were invested in starting a business, then you have to think about what else you can earn in order to recoup these investments.
Finally, we want to draw attention to the fact that thuja grows up to two meters in 6-7 years. Therefore, if the business idea is the implementation of tall trees and bushes, then you need to understand that for the first few years this type of business cannot be considered as the main type of income. But that’s not a problem.
Thuja breeding methods
So, having determined for himself the idea of a business (growing tui), a future entrepreneur, in any case, will need planting material. And as noted above, it can be obtained in several ways. Of course, the easiest one is to buy it in a thuja nursery (if we are talking about a business selling grown trees). But if the financial resource for the implementation of a business idea is limited, and from the very beginning you were interested in the question of what business to do with minimal investment in 2020, then it’s time for you to learn more about how to grow thuja at home. But first, let’s decide on the period when it is better to start breeding, especially if you decide to propagate the thuja by cuttings. The fact is that thuja reproduces equally well both in autumn and spring. Moreover, each period has both positive and negative sides.
For example, when thuja is propagated in spring (March-April), the cuttings are ready to start growing, so they quickly take root. And this is a big plus. But as you know, during the growth period, the plant really needs moisture. Accordingly, he will need constant watering (and this takes time). Otherwise, there is a threat that, due to the lack of moisture, the roots simply do not form. And this is a minus.
In the case of autumn propagation, the planting material has significantly better qualities than the spring one; the number of cuttings that die due to a lack of moisture is reduced, which makes the process of thuja propagation by cuttings at home in autumn more attractive. After all, the gardener will not need to constantly water the garden. But, unfortunately, the rooting process will take much more time in the fall than in the spring (after all, in the fall, nature is preparing for rest) and this is a minus. But, in general, when to start growing thuja from cuttings at home is up to you (it all depends on how much time you are willing to spend on caring for the plants). And we will move on to technology.
What do you need to know about thuja?
Thuja is a coniferous tree that belongs to the Cypress family and has five species. Thuja grows in North America (2 species), East Asia (3 species) and is completely undemanding to living conditions. That is why even a novice amateur gardener can take up the cultivation of thuja in the garden, provided that in the process of work he will take into account some of the features of growing thuja. For example:
- The plant does not tolerate crowding, loves the sun. Therefore, when planting, you need to take this fact into account and plant seedlings at a sufficient distance from each other so that they receive the right amount of light;
- Thuja loves moisture. Accordingly, both during planting and during the growth period, especially in the summer, care must be taken that the plant does not need moisture;
- Adult thuja need pruning. And if you have already decided to start breeding and growing thujas, you should know that pruning of these plants should be done at a certain time, that is, in spring or summer. Otherwise, untimely pruning can negatively affect the development and growth of trees.
If we talk about the timing of pruning, then they can be determined, focusing on the phases of the growing season and the task at hand. For example:
- Spring pruning can be done 10 days after the average daily temperature stabilizes at + 10˚С, and the thuja has entered the budding phase;
- Summer pruning is recommended when the thuja has entered the flowering phase (in the southern regions of the Russian Federation, this period occurs in the first half of April, in the middle lane – in early May, and in the North-Western part – in early June);
- By the way, if you carry out pruning even before the buds open and flowering, the vegetation process in plants, as already mentioned, may stop. However, if the purpose of pruning is to thin out the crown, remove old branches, then pruning before budding and flowering will be just right;
- In winter, snow should be knocked off adult thujas, because under its weight, branches can break, and in general, the tree can lose its beautiful shape. This should be done immediately after snowfall;
- Young plantations in winter require protection from hares and artiodactyls. The problem with raids of animals that are looking for something edible in winter can arise if there is a forest near the site.
Growing thuja with twigs
This method, like cuttings itself, is the most reliable in terms of maintaining the grade. In addition, growing thuja from a twig guarantees a fairly quick way (compared to growing from seeds) to obtain seedlings that can be put up for sale at a good price in a year. Well, the principle of growing and caring for plants is the same as for cuttings. By the way, you can also use the method of branch layering (undersized varieties are suitable for this). To get a new plant, you just need to press the branch to the ground and bury it. Roots are formed within a year, but this method is not very cost-effective for the business.
