Content
- 1 Why do you need to feed thuja?
- 2 What fertilizers are suitable for thuja
- 3 Method of application
- 4 How to feed thuja for growth after planting
- 5 How to fertilize thuja in spring
- 6 Features of summer feeding of thuja
- 7 How to feed thujas in the fall in preparation for winter
- 8 How to apply fertilizers correctly
- 9 Conclusion
Evergreen coniferous trees, which include thuja, are widely used in landscape design. During the long winter, they acquire a sloppy appearance, partially losing their decorative effect. Therefore, it is very important to feed thujas in the spring; this will provide the trees with adequate nutrition for the entire season, as well as quickly restore strength after the cold season.
Why do you need to feed thuja?
Thuja prefers loose, fertile soil, but not all summer cottages can boast of it. Over time, the composition and structure of the soil in the tree trunk zone changes quite a lot; some of the nutrients are absorbed by the plant, while unassimilated minerals, on the contrary, accumulate. Negatively affects soil fertility and spring snow melting. At this time, a significant part of the nutrients and minerals is simply washed away by water into lower horizons.
You can restore the balance of microelements and enrich the composition of the soil with the help of root and foliar fertilizing, which is an important part of thuja care in the spring.
What fertilizers are suitable for thuja
To feed thuja, you can use both organic and mineral fertilizers. Some gardeners use special complex fertilizers produced specifically for feeding conifers. Their price, as a rule, differs greatly from conventional fertilizers, but the effect of use is much higher.
Mineral
The basis of mineral fertilizers for thuja in the spring are preparations containing potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. This is the main difference between feeding coniferous trees and deciduous trees, the main element of which in spring is nitrogen. Nitrogen stimulates shoot growth and rapid growth of green mass. In early spring this is very important for the growth of young leaves, but for needles the presence of nitrogen does not have any significant effect. Moreover, conifers perfectly absorb this element from the air.
However, it is still possible to feed the thuja in the spring for growth with nitrogen-containing fertilizers. However, this must be done extremely carefully. Most often, urea, ammonium nitrate, and nitroammophosphate are used as such fertilizers in early spring. They are introduced into the tree trunk circle, often in dissolved form. Some gardeners embed granules into the soil, combining fertilizing and loosening the tree trunk circles. Dry fertilizer dissolves and is absorbed much more slowly, so repeated fertilizing is no longer necessary.
From the beginning of summer, the application of all nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be stopped. Excessive shoot formation at this time of year is no longer necessary and will only weaken the plant. Non-lignified shoots will simply freeze in winter.
Organic
Organic fertilizers are best used to feed thuja in the spring in dry form. In this capacity, you can use humus, compost, old rotted manure. All these fertilizers are simply incorporated into the soil at a shallow depth in the root zone of the trees.
Complex
You can fertilize thujas in the spring for growth using complex fertilizers. Such formulations are sold in concentrated form in gardening stores. Such fertilizers include the following:
- Needle.
- Green needle.
- Aquarin.
- Fertika-Lux.
- Hello for conifers.
Complex fertilizers contain a large number of essential elements. The concentration of such fertilizers allows them to be used once every 3-5 years.
Method of application
Most gardeners apply groundbait using the root method, embedding granules or watering the tree trunk circle with liquid fertilizer. However, this is not the only way to feed thuja. The foliar method, which involves spraying the crown with special compounds, has also proven itself well. The needles absorb nutrients much faster and more completely than the roots, so with this method the decorative appearance of the thuja is restored much faster. It is estimated that foliar fertilizers are absorbed by 80%, while the effectiveness of root fertilizers does not exceed 20%.
There are quite a lot of foliar fertilizers for thuja. The most actively used for this purpose are chelates - complex compounds that include metals in ionic form.Here are some of the drugs:
- Quantum.
- Aminomax-N.
- Kafom Mg.
- Brexil Combi.
Chelates are used for foliar feeding of thuja in spring and summer with a frequency of approximately once every 2 weeks. It is better to start spraying at the beginning of May and end at the end of August.
How to feed thuja for growth after planting
For several years after planting, there is no need to feed the thuja, since the nutrient soil with which the planting hole is filled contains all the necessary nutrients. However, after 2-3 years, a significant part of them is either washed out of the soil or absorbed by the plant. You can quickly restore the nutritional value of the soil using humus, which must be incorporated into the soil around the tree trunk. It's very easy to do. 1-2 buckets of old humus must be scattered in an even layer around the thuja trunk, and then carefully dig up the trunk circle to a depth of 5-10 cm.
How to fertilize thuja in spring
Spring is the main time of the season, during which most of the thuja feeding and other care activities are carried out. At this time, you can use any fertilizer with any method of application, but you should strictly adhere to the recommendations of the fertilizer manufacturer in everything related to the application procedure and recommended dosage.
How to feed thujas after winter
Winter is a rather difficult time for coniferous trees and for thuja in particular. All processes at this time slow down greatly, although they do not stop altogether. In most regions, thujas overwinter under cover, and after its removal, the appearance of the tree often leaves much to be desired.You can quickly restore decorativeness using special multi-component preparations, for example, Pro Bio Tech Reanimator. This drug can be used not only in the spring to accelerate the restoration of appearance, but also for the rehabilitation of thuja after illness or transplantation.
In the first year after planting, problems may arise with the rooting of thuja seedlings. If there have been disturbances, the root system of a young tree may be damaged and unable to fully ensure normal growth. After winter, this will be clearly noticeable by the color and condition of the crown. To help the root system, in the spring you can use root formation stimulants, such as Agrecol or Kornevin.
How to feed thujas in spring for rapid growth
Nitrogen is a stimulant for rapid growth. Therefore, the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers in spring is completely justified, but only in small doses. Excessive amounts of nitrogen will lead to a loss of decorativeness of the thuja, the crown will be looser. You can also feed thujas in the spring for active growth using multicomponent preparations, such as, for example, Megafol.
Features of summer feeding of thuja
Most gardeners do not feed thuja in the summer, limiting themselves to applying fertilizers in the spring. If work was not carried out in the spring, in the summer it is necessary to limit oneself to foliar fertilizing that does not contain nitrogen. Spraying the crown should be done on a cloudy but not rainy day, early in the morning or late in the evening. This is due to the fact that sunlight can be focused by water droplets, which will lead to crown burns.
How to feed thujas in the fall in preparation for winter
In autumn, thuja can be fed only in the southern regions.In September, you can apply a little superphosphate at the roots or treat the crown with preparations from the Fitosporin series.
The subtleties and nuances of fertilizing thuja and other coniferous plants are in the video:
How to apply fertilizers correctly
All root dressings are applied directly to the thuja tree trunk. If the fertilizer is granular, then it is spread evenly over the surface of the soil, and then the soil is carefully turned up using a small hoe or rake. This way the granules are embedded into the soil to a shallow depth. It is not recommended to use a shovel, since there is a high probability of damaging the thuja roots located close to the surface. Organic matter is also incorporated into the soil in the same way: humus, compost. If the fertilizer is applied in dissolved form, then it is dissolved in water to the required concentration, and then the root zone is evenly irrigated with the composition. In this case, you need to try not to get the mixture on the needles.
After applying dissolved fertilizers, it is advisable to mulch the tree trunk circles. Peat, dry pine needles or bark, or colored sawdust can be used as mulch. Mulching prevents the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil, helps maintain the breathability of the top layer of soil, and also serves as a protective barrier against weeds.
Foliar feeding is done by irrigating the crown. To do this, you can use a spray bottle or spray bottle. The required amount of the drug is dissolved in water to the required concentration, and then the crown is evenly irrigated from all sides with the resulting composition.
Some gardeners believe that feeding thujas is not necessary. Indeed, fertilizing is not always necessary. If the thuja grows well and does not lose its decorative effect from year to year, then there is no point in further stimulating its growth.However, if there are negative changes, such as discoloration of needles, shedding of needles, weak annual growth, diseases, then feeding is necessary, since they can have a significant impact on the quality of the restoration process.
Conclusion
In most cases, if you feed thuja in the spring, then you can refuse any feeding at other times of the year. Especially if you use modern complex preparations for this purpose, specifically designed to stimulate coniferous plants. Their use is justified in most cases, since such compositions allow you to quickly restore the decorative properties of the thuja, give it a healthy appearance, and strengthen the tree’s immunity.
