Thuja or arborvitae is ideal as a hedge, but is also popular as a single tree. The care is quite simple. It is more important to find a favorable location and ensure good soil conditions. This is what proper care for thuja looks like.
How do you properly care for a thuja?
Proper Thuja care includes regular watering with rainwater, careful fertilizing with conifer fertilizer in spring, pruning in early spring and summer, planting in a favorable location and monitoring for diseases and pests. In winter, occasional watering on frost-free days is necessary.
What is the best way to water thuja?
- Water regularly
- Always keep the soil slightly moist
- Avoid waterlogging
- Use rainwater if possible
Especially in the beginning, Thuja needs a lot of water without causing waterlogging. So water regularly, if possible with rainwater.
Later, the tree of life always needs water when it is very dry.
What should you pay attention to when fertilizing the tree of life?
When fertilizing, you have to show sensitivity because over-fertilization is harmful. Conifer fertilizers (€8.00 on Amazon) that are administered in spring are suitable.
You can also supply thuja with blue grain and Epsom s alt, but you have to pay close attention to the dosage.
Overfertilization becomes noticeable when the needles become increasingly brighter. You can treat such chlorosis by watering Thuja heavily to better distribute the nutrients.
When and how do you cut thuja?
You can cut thuja all year round, except when there is frost. The best time for cutting is early spring before budding. Now cut Thuja back heavily, but not into the old wood.
A second cut can be made in summer, but this should only be done very carefully. Only remove shoots that disturb the overall appearance or are dry.
Cut on a cloudy day when it is not raining. Exposure to sunlight causes brown discoloration at the interfaces, which looks very unsightly.
Can a tree of life be transplanted?
Think carefully about where you create a thuja hedge or plant a single tree. Once the tree of life has grown, it is very difficult to get it out of the ground again. The roots are very strong and can hardly be dug out without damage. Transplanting older trees is quite impossible without using heavy equipment.
Replant thuja in the pot if the pot becomes too small. The best time to repot is spring.
What diseases and pests can occur?
Fungal infestation mainly occurs when plants are insufficiently cared for and plants are too close together. There are a whole range of fungal spores that cause problems for Thuja. The leaf miner is also more common.
How is thuja overwintered?
Thuja is hardy and does not need any special protection if you grow it in the garden. You should only water the tree of life on frost-free days when the winter is very dry.
Take care of Thuja in a pot, place the pot on an insulating surface and overwinter it in a somewhat sheltered place. Occasional watering is also necessary here.
Tip
Do not plant Thuja too close to roads or paths that are treated with road s alt in winter. The s alt is very hard on the tree of life and causes needles to turn brown.
