Content
- 1 Is it possible to grow thuja from a branch?
- 2 When can thuja be grown from a twig?
- 3 How to plant a thuja from a twig
- 4 Cutting and preparing thuja branches
- 5 Preparing containers and soil
- 6 How to root a thuja sprig at home
- 7 Planting rooted branches
- 8 How to plant a thuja from a twig without roots
- 9 How to grow thuja from a twig at home
- 10 How to grow a tree from a thuja branch
- 11 Conclusion
Experienced gardeners know how to grow thuja from a twig. For a tiny shoot to turn into a beautiful coniferous tree, you will need patience and simple agrotechnical requirements.
Is it possible to grow thuja from a branch?
The easiest way is to buy a thuja seedling you like at a garden center and plant it on your site. For those who want to save money on decorating their landscape design with conifers, there are other ways, for example, find an adult thuja of a suitable variety in a friend’s garden and try to propagate it.
Propagation by seeds is rarely used - it is a long and labor-intensive process. It is more effective to root a thuja from a branch; the seedling will completely repeat the shape of the crown and the color of the needles of the mother plant.
The advantage of vegetative propagation is the ability to obtain a large number of seedlings for hedges. Other coniferous plants take root with twigs worse than thuja. To do this, you need to break off the shoot with the “heel”.
There is only one drawback to growing thuja from a twig yourself - you need a lot of patience to get a new adult plant to decorate the garden.
When can thuja be grown from a twig?
You can harvest twigs at any time of the year. They cannot be stored for a long time; it is advisable to immediately put them in water or plant them in the ground. In indoor conditions it is possible to carry out rooting even in winter. If you maintain the required air temperature and humidity, your efforts will be crowned with success.
According to experienced gardeners, the best time to root thuja branches is late spring or June. At this time, root regrowth occurs more uniformly, and the survival rate of seedlings increases.
When rooting shoots in spring and summer, roots form quickly. In autumn or winter, the process may take three months. Therefore, you should not rush and throw away a twig if it does not begin to grow for a long time.
How to plant a thuja from a twig
To propagate thuja from twigs, they need to be prepared correctly. For this, 2-3 year old shoots, fully matured, approximately 15-20 cm long, are suitable. The harvested branches are prepared for planting, a suitable container and soil are selected. You can carry out rooting in the garden by building a small greenhouse. When the branches take root, they are transplanted into the schoolhouse.
Cutting and preparing thuja branches
Having chosen a beautiful adult thuja and armed with sharp scissors, you can begin preparing future planting material.
Scissors will be needed if a broken branch has pulled along a too long piece of bark. It needs to be cut carefully.It is advisable to immediately put the harvested shoots in a plastic bag so that they do not dry out.
Before rooting, thuja branches are prepared:
- Trim off all small needles at the bottom.
- Gently round the heel of the bark at the base using scissors.
- Shorten the needles at the top to reduce the area of moisture evaporation.
When planting thuja branches, not all seedlings take root, so it is better to prepare several pieces.
Preparing containers and soil
Any plastic container with holes in the bottom is suitable for rooting. One seedling at a time is planted in small pots with a diameter of 8 cm; several can be placed in a large tray at once.
To grow thuja from a branch yourself, it is best to buy good quality soil. When using garden soil, you need to add peat and sand to it in a 1:1:1 ratio. You can mix vermiculite into the soil; it provides good loosening. The soil mixture should be loose so that it is easier for the resulting roots to spread in it.
How to root a thuja sprig at home
If you have no experience in growing flower seedlings and caring for seedlings at home, thuja can be rooted in water:
- Pour a little water into the jar so that the needles do not get wet.
- The water is changed several times a day. It must be clean, preferably boiled, then the shoots will not rot.
- No more than four branches are placed together in one half-liter jar.
- When the roots appear, plant them in containers with loose, fertile soil.
Having prepared the soil mixture and suitable containers, proceed to planting:
- The needles are cut off from the bottom of the branch so that it does not come into contact with the soil or water during rooting.
- The upper needles are also shortened to half their length with scissors.
- A thuja sprig is stuck into the soil mixture to a depth of 4-5 cm.
- Moisten with a spray bottle and cover with film, a plastic bag, a jar or a cut plastic bottle.
- Place in diffused sunlight.
In order for the plant to take root and take root, it needs to be provided with normal care:
- Every day for 10 minutes the cover (film, bag or jar) is removed to ventilate the branches,
- moisten as needed, the humidity inside the greenhouse should be 100%;
- maintain the temperature in the room with seedlings above +20°C;
- make sure that mold does not form; this often happens if it is too cold and damp.
You can plant a thuja from a branch at home in winter, but it will take longer to take root than in summer.
Planting rooted branches
In the spring, rooted thuja branches can be planted in a garden bed for later growing. And after another year, the young coniferous tree can be transplanted to a permanent place.
How to plant a thuja from a twig without roots
You can propagate thuja with twigs directly in the garden. Freshly cut shoots are planted in a bed with good soil, stuck into the prepared soil at an angle of 45°. The branch is buried 4-5 cm, the stem is crimped, compacting the soil around it, and the top is covered with film or a jar.If many branches are rooted at once, they make a greenhouse - a small tunnel made of wire arches, covered with film or spunbond.
Rooting is carried out in the shade, because under the cover of film on a hot day all the shoots will burn. For additional protection from the sun, a two-layer greenhouse cover is made - the film is covered with spunbond on top.
How to grow thuja from a twig at home
At home, it is convenient to grow thuja from a branch in a plastic bottle with the top cut off. Holes are made in the lower part to drain water, soil is poured, compacted a little, a depression is made in the center, and the shoot is planted.
The seedling is watered, sprinkled with dry soil to prevent excess evaporation, and covered with the top of a plastic bottle with a stopper. High humidity must be maintained inside for the branch to take root.
Without watering, such a shoot can last a month in a bottle. The optimal air temperature for its rooting is +22…+25°C. The seedling is placed in a place with diffused light, since under direct sunlight a lot of condensation will form and the trunk may rot.
How to grow a tree from a thuja branch
A two-year-old thuja seedling is transplanted to a permanent place, choosing a suitable site for it in the garden, without stagnant water. If the groundwater is high, plant on an embankment. The place for planting thuja should also not be dry, because its root system is superficial, and if there is a lack of moisture, it dries out quickly, so you will have to water it frequently.
Thuja is a sun-loving crop, so choose an open area of the garden for it, where there will be direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.If you plant a tree in a shaded place, it will lose its decorative properties - the crown will become loose, the branches will stretch out, the shape will fall apart, and the decorative coloring of the needles will disappear.
The planting hole is dug twice wider and deeper than the size of the seedling’s root system. In order for the plant to develop as best as possible in the first two years after planting in a permanent place, a large hole is made. It is filled with a fertile and loose earthen mixture of the following composition:
- 2 hours of fertile soil;
- 1 tsp sand;
- 1 tsp peat.
Such soil is quite fertile, light and loose, it will allow moisture and air to pass through well.
Watering is especially important during the first month. Once a week, at least one bucket of water is poured under the seedling. During the dry period, the amount of moisture can be doubled - water twice a week or pour two buckets under one tree at a time.
The tree trunk circle must be mulched. Peat, compost, wood chips, and pine needles are used as mulch. Mulch will cover the root system of the thuja, it will not allow weeds to grow, and moisture will not evaporate quickly. The mulch layer should be thick, at least 8-10 cm, this is the only way to ensure good conditions for the rooting and growth of a young plant.
For the first five years, until the thuja seedling has matured, it is provided with special care. The tree is periodically checked and inspected. This allows you to identify diseases, pests or care errors in time and help the plant. Young thujas are prepared for winter:
- multi-trunked specimens are tied with twine so that the branches do not break under the snow;
- the needles are covered from winter sunlight, which leaves burns on the plant;
- For protection from the sun, corrugated cardboard, white calico, and burlap are used.
To maintain decorativeness, some varieties require regular pruning. This is done in dry weather twice a year - at the beginning and end of summer, using sharp and clean pruning shears.
Additional information on how to grow thuja seedlings from cut branches is shown in the video.
Conclusion
Growing thuja from a twig is free and easy. They are rooted in water and in soil, at home and in the garden. At the age of two, the thuja is transplanted to a permanent place and carefully looked after. Thanks to this method, a large number of thuja seedlings are grown.
