Thuja western (Occidentalis) Danica varieties - a favorite plant of landscape designers around the world. The form is unpretentious, it tolerates the unfavorable winter conditions of Siberia and the Moscow Region equally well, frosts, summer heat and drought, and is resistant to the gas pollution of the urban environment. In the landscape, it can act as a tapeworm and blends well in groups. Below in the article is a description, especially the planting and care of a thuja variety Danica.
Description of the spherical thuja Danica
Thuja western Danica belongs to the evergreen tree crops of the Cypress family. By origin this plant is North American. Natural thickets of the "vital tree" (as the tree is translated) can be found in southeastern Canada and the northern United States. World breeding of thuja has progressed markedly, among natural forms dwarf species have been noticed, with yellow coloring of leaves, selected and propagated. Later, by crossing, we managed to obtain offspring with a stable inheritance of dwarfism signs. That is how the thuja variety of Western Danica was obtained in 1948 in Denmark by A. B. Jensen. Subsequently, the Royal Royal Society of Gardeners awarded this form with the Garden Distinction Award.
What does it look like
According to the modern classification, thuja Danica belongs to dwarfs according to the size of annual growth, the life form is a shrub. An adult plant reaches a height of 0.5 m, a diameter of 0.7 m and has an almost regular ball shape. The vertical growth for the season is 8-15 cm, the horizontal growth is 12-17 cm. The needles in the form of scales are closely adjacent to each other, their color in the summer is saturated bright green, in winter a yellow and brown color appears. Sprigs have a vertical direction of growth.
Winter coloring needles thuja Danica
The bark has a reddish hue, but does not play a role in the decorativeness of the tree, since the branches grow tight and completely cover the trunk. Seeds in the form of ovoid cones with two light brown leaves are rarely formed.
Thuya Danica in front of a public building
For your information! The needles have a two-year life cycle and at the end of it fall off along with small areas of shoots. This feature of the bush requires regular cleaning of the space under it with a metal panicle.
Use in landscape design
Thuja spherical Danica is widely used in landscape design of urban park areas, plots in front of public buildings and shopping centers, in personal plots.
Thuja Danica in the rockery
Uses of Danica in the landscape:
- as a tapeworm - a plant appears solo in the foreground of the composition;
- for landing on an alpine hill and rockery;
- to create a border.
Border
Thuja Golden Danica: landing and departure
For planting in the household, it is better to choose a plant in a container. This will avoid draining the roots in case of long transportation and will allow the shrub to take root more quickly in the new conditions.
If the plant is not containerized, in any case, the root system should not remain open, but should have a package, be in a layer of wet sand, sawdust or moss-sphagnum.
Note! Before buying, you should touch the twigs to the touch: they must be fresh, give away moisture and coolness. If the needles seemed dry, it is better not to take such a plant.
Danica in the container
Site selection and soil preparation
One or two year old plants are best planted in the spring, and a pit for them to prepare in the fall. Thuja tolerates shading well, so a place in a group of bushes or in a flower bed, in a mixborder is suitable for it. In the open sun, young shoots can get burned. The plant is better protected from the cold northerly winds.
Note! The volume of the landing pit should be approximately two times larger than the volume of the container. Before landing, a layer of humus, peat and garden soil is poured into the bottom in equal parts, mineral fertilizer azofoska (10-30 g) is added, depending on the size of the pit, mix well.
Features of proper planting
The bush is carefully removed from the container and set on fertile soil so that the base of the bush is just above ground level. This is done because after watering the ground under the bush will settle a little and mulch will be used. The ground above the roots must be well compacted and watered with two buckets of water. After complete absorption, the surface of the earth is covered with peat or grass. Sometimes landing on black geotextiles is used. In this case, the fabric is spread on the prepared soil, a cross-shaped incision is made in it and a bush is planted.
Thuja care during the growing season
Despite the unpretentiousness of this decorative tree, we must not forget to look after it. In hot weather, the plant needs watering every week. At sunset, you can apply sprinkling of needles. The space under the bushes is regularly cleaned with a metal panicle, after watering, mulch is renewed. If thuja is planted in geotextiles, sand and garbage from it can be swept away with a broom.
Top dressing
In the spring they give nitrogen fertilizer - ammonium nitrate, 15 g per 10 l of irrigation water. In the midst of summer, to renew the needles and the saturation of its color, potassium humate with microelements is fed.
Note! At the end of summer, you need to give potassium chloride and superphosphate 25 g in the form of fat. If the plant is planted according to geotextile, all dressings are given in the form of sprayings of the crown.
Winter Care Features
Young bushes are covered with dense material for the winter, preferably white. From adult plants, it is necessary to shake off the snow, protect them from ice. Branches under the weight of snow and ice become saggy, and the bush loses its shape.
Pruning
The form has a restrained growth, therefore, pruning is used only on old-growth bushes. Correct the form, making it properly rounded, remove the drying branches. Cutting cuttings with a heel is practiced for vegetative propagation of the form. Before planting in wet sand, the cuttings are kept in the root growth stimulator root.
Possible growing problems
Brown needles can sometimes be a manifestation of a fungal disease - rust. If, after winter, the needles do not return green for a long time, it is worthwhile to spray the drug with scor and add nitrogen top dressing. You need to regularly inspect the bark, pests, for example, a false shield, can settle on it. If they are detected, treatment with Fufanon is carried out.
The characteristics of thuja Danica varieties allow this plant to rightfully take its rightful place in gardens and parks. She is unpretentious in leaving, therefore it will not cause trouble to the gardener.
