Basically, you don't have to cut a thuja at all. However, it is necessary to trim an arborvitae hedge regularly if you want it to become and remain opaque. When is it necessary to cut thuja and when is it suitable?
When should you cut thuja?
Thuja can basically be cut at any time of the year, except when there is frost or strong sunlight. Young thuja hedges should be trimmed twice a year: in spring and summer. Older hedges are trimmed once a year in early summer. In autumn you should no longer cut the thuja to avoid new growth.
When do you need to cut thuja?
- Cutting possible at any time of year
- do not cut in frost
- do not shorten in the sun
- only cut dry thuja
- no more pruning in October
Basically, you can cut thuja at any time of the year. Cutting is only not advisable when it is frosty, as the interfaces will then become discolored.
Cut young Thuja hedge twice a year
A young thuja hedge requires pruning twice. Only then will the tree of life form many small side shoots and become opaque.
In spring, more severe pruning takes place, in which the hedge is shortened from top to bottom. The thuja is cut so that it tapers to a point at the top. In the summer, only cut off a little so that the thuja maintains its shape.
Cut older Thuja hedge only once
An older thuja hedge only needs to be trimmed once a year. The best time for pruning is early summer, at the end of June.
However, you must not shorten the hedge too much, as severe pruning is not permitted in summer due to breeding birds.
If severe pruning is unavoidable, you must postpone it until spring.
The right day to cut thuja
Cut a thuja hedge on a day when the sun is not beating down from the sky. The thuja's interfaces turn brown due to sunlight.
Even if its shoots are completely wet, you should not cut a tree of life. Through the interfaces, fungi can penetrate the shoots and the tree becomes diseased.
Cutting thuja in autumn?
The last cut of the thuja takes place in late summer. If you cut the arborvitae in October or later, you will stimulate new growth. However, the young shoots can no longer harden before winter and then freeze.
Cut thuja as a topiary
When caring for thuja in a spherical or spiral shape, you have to use scissors up to three times a year. The basic cut is done in spring when it is no longer freezing.
A second cut is carried out at the end of June when new growth slows down.
The last topiary takes place at the end of August. Only individual shoots that protrude from the mold are removed.
Never cut thuja behind the green
Never shorten the shoots of the tree of life beyond the green. The tree of life does not sprout there again, but remains bare.
Tip
When cutting a thuja hedge, only use very clean tools that you clean immediately after use. This will prevent you from passing diseases or pests from one plant to another.
