Find a place on your site for western thuja Danica
Small compact varieties of thuja are extremely in demand in landscape design. Thuja western Danica - a plant with a dense rounded crown up to 80 cm high and about a meter in diameter belongs to dwarf forms.
Such an evergreen shrub will surely find a place near an alpine slide, in a decorative border, in group plantings among flowering perennialsc and as a solo plant among stones or ground cover species.
Description of Tui Danica
According to the description, thuja Danica is a coniferous evergreen shrub, the crown of which consists of many shoots, densely covered with soft needles. Most of the branches are directed upward, which gives the small plant additional "fluffiness". Young needles covering the ends of the shoots are needle-shaped. Later, it takes the form of scales tightly attached to the wood. In summer time crown thuja western Danica is painted in rich green tones. By autumn, the needles turn brown and remain so until spring.
Plants are durable. With proper care, like other varieties, thuja Danica can reach the age of 150 years.
Of course, today there are no such old copies yet. But at the disposal of amateurs landscape design thuja Danica Aurea appeared, even more original than the traditional plant. This shrub has not green, but bright golden needles. Withstanding frosts down to –29 ° C, it is just as winter-hardy and at the same time more dependent on sunlight. The unusual shade of needles fades in the shade, and the crown of both the usual and the golden ephedra gradually loses its spherical shape, becoming loose, sloppy.
Like all conifers of this genus, this variety of thuja blooms almost imperceptibly. Occasionally emerging brownish-brown cones are rounded and no more than 6 mm in diameter. However, seeds are not suitable for reproduction. In culture, this compact form is only propagated by cuttings.
Planting and caring for the spherical thuja Danica
In order for the growing thuja to be lush and bright, it is important for it to find a suitable place. Conifers feel great in the sun and endure partial shade, but when they fall under the dense crowns of trees or in the shade of a house, the plants risk losing their decorative effect.
Therefore, an open sunny place with a loose, actively aerated soil is chosen for the spherical thuja Danica shrub. It is important that the root system of the plant does not suffer from nearby or stagnant waters. Since young specimens are less resistant to cold weather and spring burns, the site must be protected from the wind:
- If thuja is to be planted for a curb, holes for bushes are dug at a distance of 30 cm from each other. This will allow the crowns of neighboring plants to intersect and form a single, low wall.
- In single landings thuyu western Danica is planted at a distance of 50 cm from other plants. Such a measure will help the bush to form a beautiful, even spherical crown.
Tui can do without glaze, but grow best in moist, fertile soil.A shrub planting hole is made a little larger than a root system in a container. At the bottom, drainage is made from broken brick, stone chips or expanded clay. The soil for filling the planting pit is mixed with minerals and well-rotted organic matter. After backfilling, the ground is easily rammed and watered, and the circle under the crown is thickly mulched with peat left over after mowing with grass, wood chips or other composition.
After planting, caring for Danika's thuja, as in the photo, consists in watering, adding mulch and monitoring the state of the crown.
In the hot season, the bushes should receive water. To wet the roots, 10–20 liters are poured under each plant. The soil under the thuja is carefully loosened and covered mulch... In case of prolonged drought and heat, the crown can be irrigated with warm water.
In the spring, conifers are fed with special mixtures that allow the needles to be as bright as possible.
A characteristic feature of the plant is its low growth rate, leaving only 4–5 cm in width and height. Therefore, fertilizers have no serious effect on crown growth.
Usually, the thuja Danika, appreciated in landscape design, does not need special formative pruning. However, you cannot do without pruning old, dead or incorrectly overgrown branches. Sanitary pruning is done in early spring. During her:
- remove dry branches;
- cut branches broken by wind or snow,
- cut off needles, dried up by the bright spring sun.
It is better to cover young plants in autumn with spruce branches, which will protect them from frost and the ubiquitous rodents, which often take a fancy to the space under the crown for a winter home.
In frosts, thuja bushes are covered with snow. Covering with burlap or non-woven material will help to guarantee a bright color of the crown for a field of snowless winter.
Tuya Danica in landscape design
A low-growing thuja with a crown that has a natural spherical shape could not help but find its place in landscaping.
If larger species require a lot of space, complex care and regular haircuts, the dwarf plant of thuja western Danica, as in the photo, can be easily imagined:
- on a rocky hill in the tiniest garden;
- as part of a low dense curb;
- in a container that is easy to put on a terrace or loggia, used to decorate a spacious hall or patio;
- on a flower garden framed by creeping perennials;
- against the background of tall ornamental-deciduous shrubs or bright tall flowers.
An unpretentious decorative ephedra, even with such a modest size, invariably becomes an adornment of any garden, and its care does not take much time or effort for the gardener.