Thuja folded: description, features of cultivation and decorative forms

Tui has been introduced into decorative gardening for a long time. These are evergreen and more often thermophilic representatives of the Cypress family. Slender trees and dwarf shrubs are actively used in the greening of parks, urban avenues and private garden plots. Two types are best known : thuya folded and western. It will be a plant of the first species. In nature, it is spread from the sunny coast of California and to Alaska, but in our climate to care it is more demanding.

Botanical description

Folded thuya is also sometimes called gigantic, and from unofficial names, Canadian or western red cedar is especially popular. The natural area of growth is large enough. It is a slender tree with a height of up to 75 cm and with a trunk circumference up to 1.2-2.4 m. The crown shape is conical or pyramidal, the branches are located in a horizontal plane, and the shoots slightly wilt. The brownish-red bark of 1-2.5 cm thick has many cracks. Shoots are flat, covered with leaves with glossy green outer surface and whitish lower. The tree forms large cones up to 12 cm long with an oval-oblong shape.

Place on site and soil

The tree is wind-resistant and shade-tolerant, a long-liver with a life span of 500 to 800 years. Normally, thuja can develop both in sunny areas and in partial shade. In the first case, there is a risk that the tree will suffer from changes in daytime and nighttime temperatures, and dehydration will begin. In natural conditions, thuja folded grows on moist coasts, in marshy lowlands, where it reaches a truly gigantic size. To the soil is not exacting, but for better development, prepare a nutritious soil. Specialists recommend mixing sand, peat, leaf or turf in a proportion of 1: 1: 2 for planting.

Thuja folded: planting and care of seedlings

There is no unequivocal opinion about the time of planting of seedlings, but it should be borne in mind that during the spring planting the plant will have time to grow cold. The size of the landing pit depends on the size of the tree, the minimum depth is 80 cm, the bottom is covered with a drainage layer (15-20 cm). When planting, leave between plants a distance of 1-3 m when forming a hedge and up to 5 m to create an alley. The root neck can not be buried, it should be left at ground level. During the first month after planting, the tree is recommended to be watered once a week, the water volume is 10 liters, and sprinkling (sprinkling) in the early morning or evening hours to avoid sunburn.

Growing of Tui

Further care for the plant consists in weeding the circumferential circle from the weeds, loosening it to a depth of no more than 10 cm, since the root system is located close to the surface, and mulching the soil (bark, pebbles, chips, etc.). Thuya folded (description and photo by text) is sensitive to a lack of moisture. With a constant lack of water, the crown begins to thin out, and the needles become yellow. Therefore, in a dry summer, the tree should be watered abundantly (15-20 liters) 2 times a week. If a complex mineral fertilizer was applied for planting, then the following fertilizing should be carried out only after 2 years. Use, for example, the drug "Kemira Universal" at the rate of 100-120 g per 1 sq.m.

Annually in the spring remove dry shoots and conduct a haircut (if it is necessary) within reasonable limits. It is not recommended to shorten shoots to a length of more than 1/3. Adult plants in the Moscow climate easily survive the winter, the young in the first 2-3 years should be harbored.

Thuya folded: decorative forms

Within the natural species, it is customary to distinguish between the folded mountain (or eastern) and coastal folds. The first prefers a warm climate, and the second - a continental one. In decorative and park culture, plants are divided into three forms depending on external characteristics.

• Thuja plicata f. Atrovirens is one of the most spectacular evergreen pyramidal trees. The glossy foliage of a saturated dark green color is harmoniously emphasized by a reddish-brown wrinkled crust. It grows up to 6-7.6 m, develops slowly, lives up to 80 years.
• Thuja plicata f. Pendula (photo above) - very spectacular thuja (folded), highly decorative form with characteristic weeping crown. The shrub is spreading, grows slowly and by the age of 10 reaches 1.8-4.5 m, for a year the shoots give an increase of up to 30 cm. The branches drooping, arched, needles bright green in summer and with a grayish hue in winter.
• Thuja plicata f. Fastigata - has an even column-shaped crown. In height, the tree reaches 12 m. The spread of the crown is from 2-3 m to 3-3.6 m. The soils are undemanding, relatively winter-hardy.

One of the most decorative varieties, widespread in the park culture - thuya folded Holderland with a cone-shaped fluffy crown. High decorativeness is achieved due to the thick needles of a saturated dark green color and a bright bronze hue in the winter. For 10 years in height the plant reaches 5 m. It is relatively frost-hardy, but in cold regions it requires shelter for the winter.

Tui attracts with its thick crown, the scent of needles and clear forms of the crown. This is a very valuable material for landscape gardening. They are used in single and group plantings, as a living wall, to form alleys. In the garden, thuya folded (photo above) is well combined with other conifers (spruce, larch, European), with cypress, tsugoy.