Thuja pruning in spring: description and basic rules for crown formation for a lush shrub. We cut the thuja in the summer Haircut thuja smaragd with a pyramid
If deciduous ornamental shrubs all owners regularly cut, then pruning thuja and other coniferous plantations is doubtful for many. Sometimes it is really not necessary to form a crown if the tree naturally has beautiful, even outlines, and you do not need a perfect contour. For example, in a barbecue meadow, you can plant several pyramidal plants - they will fit well into the natural landscape, and small deviations from correct form give the plants a natural look. Only in this case it would be unreasonable to completely refuse pruning. If you do not carry out a sanitary haircut, dried and damaged branches will lead to illness and a deterioration in the appearance of the plant.
Pruning for sanitary purposes
You can shape the crown or leave the trees to grow in their natural form, but the secateurs will still have to be taken every year. In April, inspect your plantings, find any broken, withered and damaged branches and remove them. At the same time, it is necessary to thin out a too dense crown. If the processes are located close to each other, the plant will not be able to ventilate, and pests and fungal infections will settle on the shoots with pleasure.
In autumn, you need to prepare the tree for wintering. Before frost, carefully inspect all the branches, over the summer they could get sick, break off or be attacked by pests. Don't leave diseased fragments until spring, winter cold will not kill either larvae or pathogens. With the onset of heat, all problems will only worsen. If you notice that the bush is overgrown with new shoots very quickly and after spring thinning the crown is again very dense, take note that the amount of top dressing should be reduced next year.
In order to injure the plant as little as possible when cutting, choose the right tools. The blades must be very sharp so as not to crush, but to cut off the shoots evenly. Because the conifers emit a resin that is very difficult to rub off or wash off the skin, wear gloves and an apron or work coat.
Depending on the thickness of the processes to be removed, work with suitable devices:
- thin branches are cut with garden shears;
- for shoots of medium thickness, a pruner is required;
- old thick branches are removed with a lopper or hacksaw.
How to give the crown its original shape?
The first formative pruning should be done in the spring. Since thuja shoots grow very quickly, you may need to shorten the branches every month to keep the trees neat. When pruning, be sure to leave young shoots throughout the crown: this plant does not produce new buds on aged, needleless knots. If in some area there are only old branches, ugly holes form in the green cover. Better delete perennial shoots and give the opportunity to grow new young branches. In autumn, correct the shape, shorten too long shoots.
If you want a wide but low thuja to grow on the site, cut off its top at a given level. Juices tending upwards will go to side shoots, and the crown will quickly increase in diameter.
If you want to give the thuja an original shape, use it for hedges or green sculptures, do not wait for the tree to grow, start shaping the crown immediately after planting. Create desired configuration on a small tree. It's okay if in the first years along the path you get not a powerful green fence, but a thin low curb. Make shaping pruning every season, and over time, the fence will grow to the desired width and height. 
There are varieties, the formation of the crown of which must be done necessarily and constantly. If you plant a thuja Brabant and let it grow as nature intended, the bush will turn out to be loose and sprawling. There will be large gaps between the shoots, and the bush will not look like an even green column, but like a piece of cheese with many large holes. Trim the plant immediately after planting and adjust its shape annually - only with such care will Brabant release right amount shoots inside the crown and will have a solid green surface.
Pruning branches weakens the plant, so don't cut them too hard. In one season, cut no more than a third of the shoots, take care of the rest next spring. In autumn, adjust the shape of those branches that you have already cut this season. When working, do not rely on your eye. To give the crown the correct even shape, use templates with the outlines of a triangle, circle, square.
Proper care of trimmed trees
Sanitary pruning of thuja is done to protect plants from diseases and pests, but with the wrong approach, after any haircut with trees, problems can arise. When you remove extra branches, resin flows from the wounds, the plant weakens. We need to help him quickly heal the damage and recover.
Immediately after pruning, water the plant, fertilize and treat with a growth stimulator. Special attention give the thuja from which you removed a lot of branches: in case of great damage, it needs good care. Fertilize, but don't overdo it. With excessive nutrition, the plant will begin to produce a lot of shoots, and the crown will again become too dense. The first time after the haircut, watch your pets - if you notice diseased areas or an invasion harmful insects take steps to save the plant.
To work, you need to choose a cloudy day. When pruning under the scorching sun, yellow or brown patches appear on the needles, the bush will lose decorative look. In rainy weather, a haircut is also not recommended, it should not be sunny outside, but dry. Do not run to the thuja with a pruner immediately after the rain: high humidity will provoke the development of diseases and the appearance of pests. Wait for the drops to dry, and then take care of the haircut.
What types of thuja to choose for site design?
Do not buy seedlings until you have decided exactly what function they will serve. Beginning gardeners often prefer pyramidal varieties. For beginners this right choice: a beautiful even cone will decorate any flower bed, lawn or porch area. It is easier to decorate their crown than for species that have the shape of a column or ball.
When the florist masters the techniques of a simple haircut well, he will want to decorate the site with hedges, green sculptures. At this stage, it is necessary to approach the choice of varieties rationally so as not to create unnecessary difficulties for yourself and not to exhaust the tree with a large amount of pruning. If you need a rounded surface, why plant a pyramidal thuja and turn it into a sphere through complex haircuts? After all, there are spherical types. For an even column in a living fence, a columnar thuja is more suitable.
Breeders have bred many varieties with a crown of various configurations:
- pyramidal - Smaragd;
- columnar - Brabant, Columna, Fastigiata;
- spherical - Danica, Woodvari, Globozum.
These trees lend themselves very well to pruning, and if you wish, you can give any shape to each of the species, but it will take a lot of work and time to form a crown. The thuja trimmed with a spiral looks very beautiful (in this case it is better to take pyramidal varieties). In the center of the flower garden, plant a Danica or Woodvari variety, which is easy to turn into a large green ball.
If you want to create a complex composition, one tree will not be enough. Draw your idea on paper and think about the types of plants you need. It is better to cut a doll in a magnificent dress from a pyramidal tree, and a Kolobok or a hedgehog from a spherical arborvitae. To simulate the walls of an ancient fortress, you will need thuja different forms and sizes - calculate the required number of seedlings so that you can fully reveal your idea.
If you want to create live compositions of the most various forms, use thuja. These trees have a dense crown, lend themselves well to shearing. At correct pruning your dacha will be decorated with even green balls, cones, spirals. Of course, you will have to keep an eye on the plantations, in the summer you will have to pass through the territory several times with a pruner and cut off the branches that break out of the main contour. Do not be alarmed, this work will not take much time, and the result will please both the owners and all visitors to your dacha.
Thuja is a coniferous tree belonging to the Cypress family. Lush beauty immigrated to our personal plots from eastern North America. Due to its structure and various colors thuja is often used to decorate the landscape as a hedge. A coniferous tree is quite unpretentious, however, so that it has beautiful view, the plant needs to be provided with thorough care in preparation for winter during the autumn period.
The quality of the autumn care for the thuja depends on how the coniferous tree will endure the winter. To help the plant survive until spring, it is important to water and feed it on time.
Regular watering should be provided with thuja growing in a region characterized by dry autumn. Before the coming frosts, watering should be especially plentiful: the roots will be saturated with moisture for a long time, and the wet earthen ball will freeze longer, which will protect the rhizome from sub-zero temperatures. If autumn turned out to be abundant in rains, the coniferous tree is not watered.
Unlike deciduous trees feeding thuja is not recommended. The thing is that any supply of concentrated fertilizers can push the tree to a new round of crown formation. The shoots that have grown on the eve of winter will die under the influence of sub-zero temperatures, thereby greatly worsening the condition of the tree.
Coniferous trees growing in a pot can be fertilized with diluted micronutrient fertilizers.
Video: preparing conifers (including thuja) for winter
Branch removal is a very important step in autumn care behind the thuja, since her well-being and beauty depend on garden manipulation. As in any business, during pruning, you need to stick to the golden mean so that the plant can recover before the onset of frost.
Depending on the variety, the thuja can have the shape of a ball, column or pyramid, so in most cases it is not necessary to form a crown of a coniferous tree. Why then cut the thuja?
- To improve appearance tree. During pruning of an evergreen tree, dried, diseased and insect-infested branches or parts thereof are removed from the crown. If the branch is still alive, and the affected area is very small, run your hand along the branch and remove the dried needles. In some cases, instead of the affected needles, healthy ones grow on the shoot, and there is no need to remove it.
Important! Sick branches should be pruned as soon as they appear. This will help prevent infection of the entire tree.
- For shape correction. Cut off too long shoots that stand out noticeably from the crown. And also during trimming, the top is removed if it has dried out or has become too elongated. As a result of cutting off the top, healthy shoots will receive more useful elements, and the tree will activate the growth of side shoots, which will give the thuja even more splendor.
- To prevent pest attack and better breathability.
When is the best time to prune - in spring or autumn?
Coniferous tree perfectly tolerates pruning at any time of the year. Some varieties are sheared 3 times a year. Because of this, we can say that the main thing in the cultivation of the crown is not the time of pruning, but its consistency and correctness. Therefore, pruning of thuja can be carried out in the fall.
Terms of pruning thuja in the fall
There are no specific deadlines for carrying out manipulations aimed at thinning or forming a thuja. The main conditions in choosing the right day for pruning are cloudy, dry weather and temperatures above +4 C. If you do not follow this rule, the wounds will heal for a long time, and the needles around them will turn yellow.
How to cut thuja in the fall - instructions and diagram
Trimming the thuja is a very delicate matter, therefore, in order for it to be useful for the plant, the manipulation must be carried out especially carefully.
Thuja is cut as follows:
- Dry, diseased, sun-damaged or insect-damaged shoots are removed from the crown.
- Inside the bush, some of the branches are removed. The thinning significantly improves breathability. And also manipulation is a precautionary measure against the attack of pests.
- To promote growth in width, cut off part of the top. To achieve the formation of a tree in the form of a ball, the removal of branches protruding from the crown will help.
- In order to maintain the chosen shape, a part of last year's shoots is cut off from the crown. Please note that you can not cut the tree too much - it can lose its decorative beauty for a long time.
- If it was not possible to cut the thuja on time, the manipulation is transferred to spring or summer. For several approaches, the tree is relieved of frozen and extra branches.
The most common thuja haircut patterns: topiary, spherical, spiral.
Topiary haircut is the formation of a crown in the form of any figure or object. In special stores, metal forms of various figures are sold, which must be installed above the plant. After some time, the thuja will fill everything free space forms. Those shoots that will bulge should be cut off.
In a similar way, a crown is formed in the form of a ball or spiral: all excess shoots are gradually removed until the tree takes on the desired shape.
According to experienced gardeners, crown formation is best done a year after thinning. During this time, the tree will fully recover and will easily endure large-scale formative pruning.
Video: how to cut thuja autumn, spring or summer
Care after pruning, top dressing
For a week after sanitary or formative pruning, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the thuja, since after active intervention the plant weakens and is highly susceptible to diseases and attack by false scale insects and aphids. In the event of a problem, the thuja is sprayed with special preparations.
Immediately after the end of the cultivation of the crown, the thuja is abundantly watered and fed. Complex mixtures for conifers, diluted manure, green manure are used as fertilizers.
By nature, thuja is endowed with high frost resistance and the ability to endure the coldest winds. However, recently breeders have bred decorative varieties that do not have these characteristics. Also, young trees that are not yet strong enough need shelter for the winter.
Video: how to cover thuja seedlings for the winter
How to cover the thuja for the winter?
During the preparation of the thuja for winter, care must be taken not only to cover the roots, but also to protect the evergreen crown, which during the winter cold can suffer from cold winds, a lot of snow and bright sun at the end of winter.
Thuja shelter for the winter is carried out as follows:
- First of all, warm the soil around the perimeter of the root system. To do this, lay the mulching material in a layer of 10 to 30 cm. A more accurate thickness of the mulch is determined based on weather conditions region of growth of overseas beauty. The best covering material for arborvitae is peat, rotted manure, straw, compost, earth from under coniferous trees, dry leaves.
- Small trees are covered with 5-liter plastic bottles: the bottom is cut off at the tank, and then the resulting cap is erected on top of a young coniferous tree.
- The crown of adult trees is wrapped thick paper, lutrasil or agrotherm, which are fixed with a rope or wire.
- To prevent branches from bending and breaking under the weight of accumulated snow, the shelter is regularly cleaned from precipitation.
- Under the influence of bright sunlight the bark of trees is covered with severe burns. To prevent such damage, in the second or third decade of February from sunny side install shields.
- Shelter is gradually removed only after the established spring heat.
From how well they were produced preparatory work thuja for winter, the level of decorativeness in the next season completely depends.
Video: how to cover a thuja for the winter
How to keep thuja in a pot?
Conifers up to two years old are often grown in pots or containers. Before the arrival of winter, the plant is fed, and then transferred to unheated room, where the temperature ranges from +4 to +10 C. Thuja, pre-wrapped with paper, will winter well in a bright pantry or on a balcony.
What are the features of preparing for winter in different regions
Due to different climatic conditions the rules for hiding thuja are slightly different from each other.
In the middle lane
In the Moscow region, thujas are covered according to the usual scheme: first, a 15 cm layer of mulch is spread, and then the crown is wrapped with material.
In the Volga region
The trees growing in this region prepare for winter in the same way as in middle lane. The main difference is that the thickness of the mulching layer increases by 5 cm.
In the Urals and Siberia
Already from the beginning of winter, a lot of snow falls in the northern regions, the severity of which can harm young and thinly branched trees. Therefore, it is very important to build a wire frame in the shape of a cone before sheltering the thuja. This design will allow the snow to slide down easily and protect the branches from the remaining precipitation.
Typical mistakes of leaving in the fall and preparing for winter
Due to ignorance of the technology of growing an evergreen tree, novice gardeners make unacceptable mistakes when preparing arborvitae for winter, namely:
- The crown is not covered for the winter.
- Feed with fertilizer for deciduous trees.
- Do not install screens sun rays.
- The crown is cut on a sunny day, which causes the needles to turn brown near the cut.
Autumn care for thuja will not cause difficulties for the owner of this evergreen, the most distant from gardening. So that after wintering the coniferous tree does not lose its decorative effect, it must be watered abundantly, cut off, and also cover the soil around the trunk.
Thuja belongs to the evergreen cypress family. The plant is very often used by gardeners and landscape designers to decorate various areas. Its popularity is due to the fact that the perennial tree has beautiful shape crowns, undemanding in care. Also, thuja is distinguished by a variety of varieties. Trees can be planted both in groups and individually.
An important point in basic care is pruning thuja. On the territory of Russia, as a rule, grows western grade. To form a thuja crown, you need to purchase a high-quality garden pruner or scissors, as well as growth stimulants.
- pyramidal;
- columnar;
- spherical.
- Before proceeding with the procedure, it is necessary to study the outline of the perennial and focus on them.
- To keep the tree from getting too stressed, cut only one-third of all branches at a time. In autumn, you need to remove a third of the branches that have grown over the summer in order to correct the already formed crown.
- If a spherical pruning is carried out, then in this case it is highly undesirable to leave "bare" branches, since the perennial does not have dormant buds, and such branches will simply dry out.
- When pruning a tree, it is important to remember that its cut stems emit resin, which is very difficult to wash, so it is recommended to wear gloves before pruning.
- Choice the right tool very important. Depending on the thickness of the stems, you can take garden shears, pruners or a brush cutter. It is very important that the blade is well sharpened and sharp. Thanks to this, breaks and dents on the stems can be avoided.
- It is advisable to periodically wipe the garden pruner with resin and plant sap as the blade gets dirty.
- To get started, it is recommended to choose a cloudy day. This will help to avoid the appearance of yellow and brown patches of needles.
- At the end of the procedure, the tree must be watered abundantly.
- 1. Preparation. At this stage, you need to prepare all the tools. These can be garden shears, a sickle and gloves.
- 2. Inspection of the tree. At the second stage, you need to examine the tree for the presence of dry or affected branches, as well as visually give it the desired shape.
- 3. Removal of dry and damaged branches.
- 4. Decorative pruning. At the fourth stage, the selected form is given to the perennial. The best time for this will be the beginning of April or the end of June.
- To cut the plant, it is advisable to choose cloudy weather.
- Trim dead stems. It is desirable to thin out a strongly thickened crown.
- To give the desired height, the upper shoots can be cut off. After that, the perennial will grow in width.
- To create a dense spherical bush, you need to remove all the long stems that differ from the main body of greenery.
- Decorative haircut provides for the periodic removal of young greenery throughout the spring and summer.
- A cut plant should be watered abundantly.
- Before starting the procedure, you must carefully examine each branch. Then it is necessary to visually give the desired shape and, based on it, proceed to the procedure.
- It is advisable to remove unnecessary branches on a cloudy day. The weather must be dry. This will avoid the appearance of yellow and brown spots on the green needles due to the active evaporation of moisture.
- Do not cut branches immediately after rain. In this case, you can provoke the appearance of pests and various diseases.
- Both professionals and beginners are advised to use special blanks for shaping in the form of arches or rectangles. In addition, you can use a special twine. With it, you can determine the level of formation of the crown.
- Variety "Brabant" the first time you need to cut very hard to prevent subsequent strong thickening of the crown. In case if this species do not cut at all, the branches of the tree will be loose and sparse.
- To form the crown of the "Smagard" variety, one should adhere to its natural pyramidal shape. It is desirable to remove only those stems that go beyond the main contour.
- Varieties "Danica" and "Woodwardy" are undersized. In this case, it is also recommended to adhere to the natural shape of the crown. You need to remove only those branches that go beyond the main contour.
Show all
When to prune a tree?
You can cut thuja both in spring and in autumn period time. Any tree variety should be pruned immediately after planting. It is necessary to give the necessary shape urgently, without waiting until it grows up. Subsequent cutting procedures are carried out in such a way that the tree can grow calmly. Lateral branches are pruned depending on the selected crown shape.
To make the tree more bushy, you need to pinch upper shoots.
There are several common crown shapes:
The choice of time for a haircut depends on the goals. Spring is carried out mainly for sanitary purposes, to remove dry and frozen branches. Autumn - to prepare the tree for winter.
Trimming types
Haircut Evergreen coniferous plant There are two types: forming and sanitary.
Sanitation is carried out, as a rule, twice a year: in spring and autumn.
Forming begins in the spring and is held until the fall. In summer, you only need to thin out the crown and adjust the shape already given.
The first formative haircut is not carried out in the first year after planting the seedling. The most acceptable will be the third - fourth year after planting the seedling. During this time, he will gain strength and get stronger, take root in a new place. It is best to start the procedure in the middle of summer and right up to the fall.
In one season, the plant needs one shaping pruning and two or three corrective ones. Corrective pruning is carried out in the autumn.
Many gardeners and landscape designers are interested in the question of how to cut thuja. In order for the procedure to be successful, you must follow simple rules:
How to prune branches in spring?
Spring pruning of thuja is preferable, because it is during this period that you can give the evergreen perennial the desired shape and cut off all dried branches.
Pruning is carried out in four main steps:
Tui step-by-step haircut:
In case if evergreen grows very quickly, it is necessary to reduce the amount of organic and mineral fertilizers applied.
autumn pruning
Fall pruning step by step:
Pruning features for different varieties:
After the pruning has been completed, the trees must be treated with a growth stimulator, as well as organic and mineral fertilizers. It can be such top dressing as "Florovit" for coniferous plants.
The main advantage of a perennial is its unpretentiousness. The main thing to remember is the annual pruning. Usually, this procedure wears exclusively decorative function. With its help, the desired shape is given. Another goal of a haircut is sanitary. Such a haircut is carried out most often in the spring. During the procedure, old, dried and pest-infested stems are removed. During the summer, you can carry out corrective pruning.
Tui are familiar to many gardeners as ornamental plants, which are great for "hedges". At the same time, they do not look like a fence, but create the effect of a complete merger with nature. Therefore, the owners summer cottages, on which such plants have already been planted, think about how to properly form their crowns in order to get beautiful element landscape design. From this article you will learn about the features of pruning thuja.
Thuja care in spring
Thuja belongs to the coniferous genus of plants, namely the cypress family. It is popularly called the "tree of life", since its main feature is the ability to survive even in the most unpretentious conditions(including in industrial cities with increased smoke). Tui are not picky in care, but still in the spring they need additional attention.
Mandatory measures for the care of thujas during the spring season are:
- Shading or protection from direct sunlight. This is especially true for plants of the first year; as a result of this procedure, it is possible to avoid the yellowness of tender young sprouts from aggressive burns. spring sun(for this, the crown of the thuja is wrapped with a covering material).
- Feeding or fertilizing. Such an operation strengthens the protective immunity of the whole plant, increases its resistance and resistance to adverse environmental conditions.
- Treatment complex preparations from pests and various diseases. This will help to avoid infection with fungi and false scales ( experienced gardeners it is recommended to use Fundazol, Rogor, Karbofos, etc.), and sprinkling with Cypermethrin or Karbofos in time in the spring will save you from aphids and moths.
- The use of growth stimulants or preventive spraying. In addition to an additional measure to increase the immunity of the plant, its growth is activated (drugs such as Epin and Zircon are intended for this purpose).
- Pruning and shaping the thuja crown is a necessary measure, because after wintering, many plants have significant visual defects (for example, yellowed and blackened branches), which are removed using the pruning method.
When pruning the branches of a plant, at the same time they carry out the formation of its crown.
Is it necessary to cut the thuja in the spring
Some gardeners believe that this plant is beautiful and in its natural form, so the formation of its crown is not necessary. On the one hand, they are right, but on the other hand, over time, the crown can grow, while heavy branches will only interfere with each other. Therefore, in any case, pruning of thuja is needed. Best suited for this spring period, while the tree has not yet fully woken up and has not gone into active growth - the beginning of April.
Step-by-step instructions: pruning thuja in the spring
It is also necessary to be able to trim the crown of the thuja correctly in order to obtain the necessary shape. To do this, experienced gardeners have developed some rules that should be followed when performing this procedure.
- Prepare necessary tools(they must be sharp and clean, since a rusty or blunt pruner can not only damage the plant, but also cause significant damage to it, for example, damage the bark):
- garden shears or secateurs;
- tree pruning sickle special type scissors, which has a curved shape);
- hand protection gloves.
- Conduct a visual inspection of the tree:
- are there diseased or damaged branches;
- outline the future shape.
- Mandatory pruning step:
- cut dry and sluggish branches with garden shears;
- thin out the crown from excessive density, for this they use a special sickle for trimming garden and ornamental trees(this will improve air circulation inside the crown of the plant).
- The stage of decorative (artistic) cutting (using this operation, the crown of a tree can be shaped into a ball, cube, cylinder, pyramid, as well as fix a certain height of the tree):
- if the shape of the crown has already been formed earlier, then in the spring only the branches of the annual growth and the tips of the adult branches are usually cut;
- if you want the tree to grow in width, and not up, then remove the very top of the main stem of the plant.
