How to propagate thuja is quick and easy. Reproduction of thuja is simple and exciting. Instructions for rooting thuja in the standard way

Any conifer tree grown on the site, gives it a unique flavor. Recently, western thujas are in increasing demand. The variety of colors and shapes of these extremely interesting plants allows you to satisfy the most demanding customer. But buying the desired variety of thuja in a nursery or store is not always affordable. And there is a possibility that the purchased seedling will not take root in a new place.

You can grow a vending variety of western thuja from a petiole. Thuja cuttings are considered the most effective and simple method thuja breeding. When thuja is propagated by cuttings, all grown plants receive the same characteristics, which is very convenient when forming thuja alleys. It is possible, of course, that thuja can be propagated by seeds, but the seed propagation method is more laborious and does not make it possible to fully preserve varietal qualities.

Let's talk about timing

To the question of when it is best to cut thuja, even professionals cannot give a definite answer. Here, opinions are divided: some believe that it is best to cut thuja, like all conifers, in winter, others insist that the best time for this is mid-spring, and others are sure that petioles are best harvested in summer. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. General rule cuttings are as follows: petioles are harvested only when the growth period of the shoots has ended.

Most gardeners believe that for propagation by thuja cuttings best time is summer. During the period of warm and long summer days petioles have time to get stronger and securely take root by the next season.

Proponents of thuja propagation by cuttings in autumn point out that summer cuttings may die during the summer drought.

In spring, petioles are harvested in April, at the beginning of the rapid spring growth of the plant. Cuttings harvested during this period may take root by autumn. In early September, such cuttings are planted in separate flowerpots or in open ground. Experience shows that by this time the twig has time to form root system up to 10 cm long.

Basic rules for cuttings

In order to prepare cuttings, you should choose healthy and strong specimens of thuja. Closer to the top of the plant, a fairly branched shoot is selected and stiffened growths aged 2-3 years, 10-15 cm long, are sharply torn off from it. their rooting process. Branches are cut off quickly, if necessary, use a sharp pruner.

It also matters where exactly the cutting is cut from. It is noticed that from the petiole, which is taken from the lateral shoot, thuja grows irregular shape. Plants \ with signs of the disease are not cut at all - a diseased tree will most likely grow from a diseased tree.

It is better to root the cuttings immediately after cutting. It is not recommended to leave them for storage - after a while, the branches may not give strong roots. If the petioles still need to be set aside for a while, they are wrapped in a moistened napkin and cleaned in a cold place.

Preparing the petioles for rooting, the branches are freed from excess needles, cutting it off from the bottom. If the branch is branched, it is partially shortened. The bottom of the petiole is slightly cleaned of the bark. After such machining sprigs are placed in water with the addition of a growth stimulator and left for 10-12 hours.

Prepared branches in order to root are immersed in a special substrate that contains river sand and light drained soil. For rooting thuja cuttings, it is advised to prepare a mixture containing peat, leafy soil and sand in equal proportions. The soil is laid out in small containers - boxes for seedlings are quite suitable.

The presence of drainage holes in the boxes is a must, this will improve the aeration of the roots. Even better, the boxes should be on small legs, which will also provide air access to the growing roots. A layer of expanded clay, gravel, or other small pebbles is laid at the bottom of the containers.

Before the soil substrate is poured into the boxes, it is treated with a 3% solution of potassium permanganate. It is also advised to treat the soil mixture with boiling water for complete disinfection.

The ideal medium for rooting petioles is sphagnum moss. It retains moisture well and acts antiseptically. Sprouting cuttings in this way, you can not worry about the drying of the branches and infection with fungal diseases.

Petioles are embedded in the soil mixture at an angle of 45 degrees no more than 2 cm deep. When planting branches, it is necessary to ensure that the remains of the needles do not come into contact with the ground (otherwise they may rot). When planting, the soil around the handle is compacted with fingers, carefully watered and covered with a film or plastic bag. When thuja is propagated by cuttings in autumn, the cuttings are placed in a greenhouse and created there special conditions: Humidity should be 70% with sufficient lighting. To maintain moisture, a humidifier is used, and the greenhouse is covered with a transparent film. It is also recommended to periodically ventilate the greenhouse and moisten the soil by spraying - it is easier to avoid excess water in the soil and maintain the desired level of moisture.

In the case of using sphagnum, the petioles are simply wrapped in moss, then wrapped in gauze and placed in a plastic bag.

How to care for cuttings

A container with petioles or a bag of sphagnum is placed in a warm and well-lit place. For sprouting branches, diffused light is important. The action of direct sunlight is extremely dangerous for thuja cuttings - the branches wither and die.

The soil mixture is moistened as the top layer dries. Excess moisture for germinating branches is also undesirable, as well as its complete absence.

The formation of roots in petioles can be judged by the appearance of new shoots. If germination was carried out in a greenhouse (as they do with autumn cuttings), then rooted seedlings at this time gradually begin to harden.

If the rooting of the thuja cuttings took place in a sphagnum or seedling box, then 14 days after the formation of the roots, they are planted for further growth in separate pots or in a garden bed, where they will grow before planting on permanent place growth. The soil mixture must necessarily contain additives of peat and leaf humus.

Caring for the cuttings in the future, they are regularly watered, fed and weeded. By winter, young growth is covered with spruce branches or fallen leaves. In the spring, young arborvitae are freed from covering material and continue to care according to the previous scheme. Young thujas are planted at a permanent place of growth at 1 or 2 years of age.

Let's draw conclusions

There are quite a few tips on how to propagate thuja by cuttings. And regarding when to select the petioles, opinions are very different.

If the cuttings are cut in the spring, during the period of the first wave of growth, the development of cuttings captures the entire cycle of plant development. But here there is a danger that the cuttings planted for germination will fall under spring frosts. To do this, boxes with cuttings are placed in a mini-greenhouse and covered with a film.

Summer cuttings are important to cut during the second wave of growth. When germinating, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture and the frequency of watering. Future seedlings can be seriously affected by the summer heat. At this time, the plants are periodically sprayed with a spray gun 2 times a day - in the morning and in the evening.

It is also possible to propagate thuja cuttings in autumn. Petioles cut at this time can be considered the strongest and hardiest. But for their germination, a greenhouse is needed - for stable weather in the autumn it is sometimes difficult to calculate.

As you can see, any time of the year (except winter) is suitable for cutting thuja. The choice of the period depends on whether you can then create optimal conditions for sprouting branches. strictly observing simple rules leaving any petiole, you can grow a beautiful thuja tree.

Coniferous plants may have once been associated only with the forest. Today they honorably occupied the niche of summer residents and even settled in apartments. Thuja is often planted. It takes up little space, requires almost no maintenance, and multiplies easily.

Growing thuja from cuttings: process features

There are 2 possibilities for propagating thuja: cuttings and seeds. The second is much more convenient. From seeds, seedlings are obtained with a much greater probability. But a similar method of growing thuja, if you want to use it as a hedge, does not always give the desired result. Often this leads to deformation of the entire structure. Yes, and with a variety it is not always possible to guess.

If it is required, for example, to create a whole alley of identical trees, they must be grown and planted using the vegetative method. Another nuance is stratification. Each coniferous crop requires a certain period of time for this, and in the case of thuja, sometimes you have to wait as long as 6 years. During the entire period, at first the seeds will live under the snow, and then the seedlings will slowly begin to stretch, gaining strength. But their endurance in the end will greatly please. They will become stronger than those that were planted vegetatively. And yet, propagation of thuja by cuttings is more profitable and reasonable, although somewhat more costly in terms of effort.

It is possible to develop the root system of thuja cuttings not only in various special formulations, but also in a bank with clean water. Its volume should be such that the height does not exceed the phalanx index finger. More than 3 cuttings are not placed in the jar at once. If cuttings have to be carried out for more trees, a greenhouse will help. It must support certain humidity(70%) and enough light. In the absence of a natural source, fluorescent lamps are used.

In addition, the cultivated cuttings need constant ventilation so that its root system does not rot. The rest of the needles should not touch the substrate. The optimal depth is no more than 3 cm: this value is sufficient for the competent development of the roots.

How to propagate thuja cuttings?

• First of all, you have to wait for the onset of autumn, since at other times of the year the vegetative propagation method for thuja is not suitable. Attempts to do this during the warm period lead to the rapid drying of the cutting. The root system simply does not have time to develop. At young tree(no more than 3 years) are selected side shoots. The length should be 50 cm. To get the correct lower edge, the stalk breaks off with a sharp movement or is cut off obliquely.
• Part of the shoot to the width of the palm from below is deprived of all existing needles. After that, for 3-5 hours it is worth sending it to a container with water. During this time, another vessel will be prepared, filled with turf and peat, as well as river sand. The proportions between the components of the substrate are equal. The soil is treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and cuttings are planted in it. They will be in a transparent greenhouse with the previously indicated conditions for humidity and light.

• Watering gardeners recommend replacing spraying. As for the moment of transplantation, it occurs only after the tree is fully rooted and hardened. AT warm days containers are taken out to outdoor balcony. The time of their stay in the air gradually increases. Gardeners recommend starting from 15 minutes, leading up to 10-12 hours.
• Only after hardening and strengthening the root system, the thuja is transplanted either to a summer cottage or to a more spacious pot. This is done using the method of closed roots, when there is still enough land around them. If the plant is transplanted into open ground, then with the onset of cold weather, the soil around it must be insulated with spruce branches and leaves. After that, the tree itself is protected by covering material. So it will be necessary to take care of it for the first 2-3 years, if it is winter-hardy.

Thuja: planting, care and reproduction

Particular attention is paid to landing on suburban area. The depth of the hole dug under a strengthened seedling should reach 70 cm. Let such a figure not be intimidating, especially if the tree itself is not yet 1 m in height. When filling the recess, part of the depth is leveled. Drainage is poured at the very bottom. It will prevent stagnation during the rainy season. Then water is added there. The plant "shrinks". Its root neck will not go low after subsidence of the substrate, but it will not be exposed either. It is this factor that will guarantee the correct and long growth of the tree.

Those who are going to create a landscape composition from thuja should know that it is not worth planting several trees close. They are growing very fast. Already on next year they will be tight. The halo around each of them is within 1-2.5 m. As a result, the distance between adjacent specimens will be 2-5 m.

Asian beauty with a dense crown, different high density, in the last 15 years it has been actively grown in the middle lane. This tree can even be dwarf - from the strength of 30 cm in height. This allows him to "seat" on the windowsill in the apartment. Larger specimens are easily mastered on garden plot. There, after simple manipulations, they become one of the best decorative elements. Due to the ease of cutting and shaping the crown, the number of landscape compositions in which thuja can be used is growing inexorably.

She has many varieties. Even especially frost-resistant ones have been bred, tolerating temperatures down to -45 ° C. Therefore, the issue of planting thuja in the middle lane has been resolved. The same species that do not like the cold too much are initially grown by enterprising gardeners in large portable containers. They are brought into a heated room for the winter. More resistant varieties allow you to either bend the trunk to the ground so that it is completely covered with snow, or wrap them with a cloth and tie them. The latter is required to preserve the tender twigs in their original state. From the falling snow, they can simply break.

In addition, too bright sun, characteristic of spring in some regions, also requires covering material for arborvitae. Here it goes white cloth which has the ability to reflect rays. And it is for this reason that in the apartment the thuja should not live on those window sills that are too much lit. In the country, you should identify a tree in partial shade.

Tuyu loves abundant watering. It is recommended to carry it out not too often, but with high quality. Optimal daily watering in the morning. Thuja will not refuse a shower from a hose that affects the tree from the crown to the base of the trunk. This will not only refresh her, but also deprive her of dust, small insects and other troubles. If it grows in an apartment, then you can bring a container with a tree into the bathroom and pour it from the shower. It is also worth spraying it abundantly from a spray bottle.

Feeding, unlike watering, is not as relevant. For the purpose of prevention, gardeners recommend introducing a little complex fertilizer. But basically, this is required for a plant located in an apartment where the earth does not have the ability to renew itself, and there is nowhere to draw nutrients from. At their summer cottage, there is no particular point in working with fertilizers for thuja.

Reproduction of thuja cuttings - not so difficult task. Even if this is your first year as a gardener and you have never tried the vegetative method before, don't expect bad results. If you follow all the above tips, the process will go smoothly.

Thuja coniferous evergreen, which can decorate your site, because with the help of various kinds these trees can create a great composition. And if you consider that with the help of a haircut you can create the most beautiful corners, arches, various landscape compositions, thuja can undoubtedly become a favorite in your garden. Many gardeners plant thuja on their plots, as the tree is unpretentious. She does not require special care. With pruning, you can give any shape to the trees on your site. pruning coniferous plants one of the interesting and exciting activities for both beginner and experienced gardeners landscape designers. Thuja is one of the most preferred plants in design. We especially note that the more often you cut the thuja, the more interesting, more beautiful and more magnificent its shape will be. In arborvitae, the needles do not consist of needles (like those of a Christmas tree and pine), but of scales that overlap each other.

Thuja is unpretentious in reproduction, there are several ways to propagate it at home.

Reproduction by seeds

You can propagate the plant by seeds, cones and cuttings. When growing a plant from seeds, the same variety of arborvitae will grow, but a different variety may grow. At the same time, seedlings grow much more slowly, usually it takes about six years. With such cultivation, the undoubted advantage will be that when planted with seeds, the seedlings will be more hardy than when propagated by other methods.

Reproduction by cuttings

One of the faster and more commonly used methods in thuja propagation is propagation by cuttings. This method is less laborious and it takes much less time for the plant to germinate. When cutting, after 2-3 years you can get a full-fledged plant that can be planted in open ground for the design of your site. For cuttings, you need to choose a tree from which you will take cuttings. It depends on the choice of tree how good your cuttings will be, whether they will take root. Take cuttings from the top, greener part of the plant, which has a beautifully formed crown. The place where you will pinch off the sprouts is also very important. If you take side branches, then there is a chance that the plant may grow crooked and ugly. In order for the cuttings to be good, we recommend taking them not from annual plant, and from a tree of two or more years. Thuja of the first year has not yet managed to accumulate enough nutrients, they may not be enough to grow cuttings.

Prepare cuttings for propagation better in autumn. At this time, sap flow slows down in plants. It is desirable to start harvesting branches during leaf fall. It is necessary to cut off branches from the shoots, while trying to make the heel longer.

After harvesting, determine which rooting method is more reliable for you. Can be rooted

• in water;
• in the substrate;
• in a diaper.

Rooting in water

The easiest way, in our opinion, is to root in water. You need to take a jar and lower several cuttings into it. No need to put them in the bank a large number of, left 3-4 pcs. There should not be much water in the jar, it should slightly cover the heel. Place the jar in a well-lit area. Make sure that the leaf blades do not touch the water, as they may begin to rot. When propagating in this way, there is a high probability that the cuttings will take root poorly, since the water contains insufficient nutrients for full growth.

In order to change the water in the jar, you need to pull out the cuttings. wrap cuttings damp cloth while changing the water. Some gardeners recommend not pulling the cuttings out of the jar, but adding water.

Rooting in the substrate

Many experienced gardeners recommend the method of rooting: in the substrate. To do this, you need to choose a special container with holes. In thuja cuttings, scaly leaves are cut off, then the cut is treated with Kornevin. A little gravel is placed at the bottom of the prepared container, equal parts of river sand, peat and leafy soil are laid out on top. Pour a mixture of peat, sand and earth into a container with holes on top of the gravel. At an angle of 60%, place the thuja cuttings at a shallow depth, pour water and sprinkle with calcined river sand. Next cover everything plastic wrap or a bag and place in a well-lit area. Condensation often forms on the bag, in which case just slightly open the bag. Use a spray bottle to moisten the twigs to prevent rotting.

Reproduction in a diaper

When propagating in this way, we place the cuttings for a day in Kornevin or another growth stimulator. We take a baby diaper, sphagnum moss and a bag. Pour sphagnum moss for 2-3 hours with boiled water so that it has time to soak. Next, in the middle of the oilcloth, we spread the moss in full length, on top of the moistened moss, lay out the cuttings. We fold the diaper so that the heels are inside, and the tops of the branches are outside. We put the roll in the bag and put it between window frames, can be hung on the window. Moss has bactericidal properties, so the risk of rotting branches is significantly reduced. Watch out for condensation, if there is not enough moisture, you can slightly moisten the diaper.

As soon as you see that leaves are about to appear, or if they have appeared while the cuttings are in a jar of water, place the cuttings in the shade. In the light, a bare stem develops well, and in the shade, the root system of plants develops better.

A little patience, and with proper and not very painstaking care, the thuja you planted will soon grow on your site.

Growing thuja cuttings at home helps gardeners preserve the properties of mother plants for future trees.

Self-breeding thuja on adjoining territory- The event is not difficult and very exciting. However, it is necessary not only to propagate correctly, but also to correctly plant the conifer.

The benefits of autumn propagation of thuja cuttings

The main advantage of breeding conifer in autumn period is the possibility of obtaining a full-fledged plant in three years. Such a plant will fully comply botanical characteristics maternal culture, but the survival rate is not on high level.

It should be noted that cuttings grown at home are quite difficult to tolerate the process of transplantation, they do not have a very high resistance to pathogenic flora and sudden temperature changes. However, it is autumn reproduction that is most often practiced by gardeners and flower growers in our country.

When and how to properly carry out thuja cuttings in the fall

slicing planting material carried out only from branches that have reached the age of two and are well developed. When cutting, remember that the length of the shoot should be about a quarter of a meter. Best Option is not cutting the cutting with a pruner or knife, but breaking off from a branch mother plant, which will make it possible to obtain planting material with the presence of a characteristic “heel” from the bark.

All harvested cuttings of the conifer must be placed for several hours in a container filled with water with the addition of a growth stimulant and a bioroot. It is advisable to carry out the main process of germinating cuttings inside a special greenhouse, which must first be filled with clean river sand, peat chips and soddy soil, mixed in equal proportions.

Thuja breeding methods (video)

It is important to remember that the nutrient soil mixture, before filling in without fail must be disinfected, using for this purpose enough strong solution based on potassium permanganate.

Prepared and passed pre-processing in growth stimulants, cuttings should be planted in a moist nutrient substrate, keeping a distance of 50-70 mm. The penetration into the nutrient substrate should be approximately 20 mm. Landing in a greenhouse must be covered with a transparent plastic wrap, which will allow the rooted cuttings of the conifer to be shaded from direct sunlight.

Why you can not store thuja cuttings

Cuttings can be done in spring or autumn, but such planting material is not subject to storage, since extremely rapid dehydration and death of wood occurs. This vegetative method, compared to seed propagation, is the most convenient in the conditions of indoor and garden floriculture.

Cuttings from spring or autumn harvesting need proper growing. For this purpose, it is necessary to form special ridges, which are called "shkolka". Under such conditions, the planting material will be for a couple of years, after which the coniferous seedling is transplanted to a permanent place. The planting material cut in the autumn is planted on the ridges of the shkolka only next year.

Rooting technology of thuja cuttings at home in autumn

At home, the rooting of the conifer for autumn propagation is most often performed using sphagnum peat moss. It is also necessary to prepare a plastic film, a clean cloth and a growth stimulator, including Epin or Kornevin. The technology of this method of rooting conifer at home is not complicated, but must be carried out taking into account the following recommendations:

• place the thuja shoots in a container filled with water with the addition of any root stimulant for about twelve hours;
• moss-sphagnum pour boiled warm water approximately three hours, which will allow natural material increase in size, and also well saturated with moisture;
• decompose into flat surface a wide fabric strip, visually divide the width of the strip in half, and evenly distribute moistened sphagnum moss over the entire upper part;
• with a slight distance from each other, it is required to lay the cut cuttings of the conifer, and then cover them with wet sphagnum.

On the final stage it is necessary to cover the cuttings with the lower part of the fabric strip, and roll it into a not too tight roll, which is placed in polyethylene. The workpiece must be placed in a room with sufficient natural light. If necessary, the moss must be periodically moistened with clean water. room temperature from a household spray bottle.

How to cut thuja (video)

What you need to know about planting thuja cuttings in the fall in open ground

Thuja is photophilous plant, and on shady areas such an ephedra is able to quickly lose its natural splendor and all decorative appeal. The site should be represented by fertile and well-permeable soils. with enough moisture. Before you start planting a coniferous plant, you need to prepare a good planting hole, the size of which depends on the parameters of the development of the roots of the culture. To the bottom landing pit falls asleep drainage layer as broken brick or expanded clay. A nutrient substrate based on sand, peat and garden soil is poured from above.

Ideal timing for planting is September and early October, but always before the appearance of sufficiently strong and stable frosts. The roots of the plant should have time to take root before the onset of winter. The root neck of a coniferous plant when planting should be placed on the same level with the ground.

After planting, watering is carried out, and timely and proper feeding will allow the plant to take root well and easily endure the stress caused by planting. As autumn feeding potash and phosphate fertilizers can be used. After landing, you need to provide ornamental culture daily irrigation activities and conventional sprinkling with a hose.

Subject to the planting regime and the rules of care, you can count on getting a beautiful and strong coniferous plant.

How to root thuja cuttings (video)

Propagation of thuja by cuttings in autumn or spring is considered the most convenient and effective way. The main advantage of this method is the ability to preserve the varietal qualities of the plant and get small full-fledged trees in just 2 or 3 years. Of course, growing thuja from cuttings has its drawbacks. This plant cannot be called hardy, therefore the survival rate of seedlings is not too high. But other ways of breeding thuja have their drawbacks.

How to choose branches for cuttings?

To grow thuja from a twig, you need to select the right material. It should be remembered that it is best to use cuttings from actively growing young thujas at the age of 4-9 years, since over the years the ability to form a root system decreases in cut branches. Interestingly, at home, twigs from cultivated specimens take root better.

You can cut the plant in different time of the year. If this is done in the spring, then you need to start immediately after the snow melts, but even before the kidneys awaken, that is, if you take climatic conditions Middle lane, then this is approximately the end of March-mid-April. Summer cuttings are also possible, but this is rarely done in June, usually experts recommend postponing the procedure until August, when it is already possible to germinate stiffened shoots. When cuttings in the spring, the roots form quite quickly, within three months. But at autumn work until the end of the year, only characteristic growths may appear, and rooting will occur only on next year.

It is believed that it is better to collect thuja branches in the fall, since at this time of the year the movement of juices slows down and therefore the number of seedlings dying from moisture deficiency will be less. But rooting will also be slower.

October is usually chosen for collecting twigs. It is best to do this when deciduous trees the leaves have already fallen. In addition, experts say that it is advisable to harvest branches not on a sunny, but on a cloudy day. It is recommended to carefully pinch off the shoots from the top. It is best to take those branches that are already 3-4 years old, but a non-specialist in appearance is unlikely to distinguish them. So in this case, it is better to select those that seem strong and healthy enough.

Experts believe that even for indoor thuja, the weather for selecting cuttings is of fundamental importance. It is best to cut branches on cloudy days. In this case, side shoots are usually chosen when it comes to pyramidal thuja, but if the tree spherical shape, then it doesn't matter.

For breeding in the future, only lignified branches should be used, their length should be no more than 50 cm. But you should not take too small branches either, since their rooting will take quite a long time. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the top of the future cutting. It should be green, there may be yellowish areas under it.

You need to carefully examine such an escape. At its end, the so-called “woody heel” should be preserved - this is a piece of bark, which becomes the basis for the development of new roots. The bigger and longer it looks, the better for rooted plants. Before proceeding to the next step, you need to remove the leaf plates at a height of about 3-4 cm from the end of the shoot.

Can cuttings be grown in water?

Some gardeners believe that the easiest answer to the question of how to propagate thuja is to grow them in a jar of water. They claim it is the most fast way activate the roots of the plant.

Before you grow thuja by cuttings, you need to prepare planting material. For this you need sharp knife cut the long tail of the woody “heel”, on which the bark is still preserved. Only relatively small lower parts of the shoot are cleaned with secateurs - up to 3.5-5 cm, so that there are no random needles left on it, then the end of the branch is lowered into the water and into the powder of the root former.

Growing thuja cuttings in water and using a wick design

To do this, you need to take a small container, fill it with water, then set the shoots so that the water covers their ends by about 2 cm. There should not be more than 3-5 cuttings in a jar or other container so that they are not too crowded.

With such cultivation, in no case should the rooted cuttings begin to rot. Therefore, it is necessary to control that their green parts do not come into contact with water. This is what causes the planting material to rot. In order for the plant to feel comfortable, the container must be rearranged in a bright place where it will be cool, but not cold.

The most important thing in caring for such seedlings is to change their water in a timely manner, without waiting until it becomes cloudy. At this time, the cuttings must be removed from the container, and the roots should be wrapped with a clean, damp cloth. The water is pre-disinfected, for this you need only a couple of crystals of potassium permanganate.

At the same time, you need to make a vertical hole in the ground with a peg. Its depth should be about 30-40 mm. Holes are made as many as there are cuttings. The distance between them should be at least 60-80 mm. As soon as the cuttings have roots, they can be transplanted into a prepared container.

Growing cuttings in the substrate

You can grow thuja cuttings different ways. One of the most simple options considered the use of substrates. The fact is that the above method using water has one significant drawback - in its pure form, the liquid does not contain any nutrients, unlike the substrate.

Before rooting the thuja, you need to prepare boxes for seedlings and make sure that holes are made in them to aerate the soil. At the bottom there must be a drainage hole and a layer of fine gravel. As a soil, either ready-made store-bought formulations are used, or a mixture of leafy humus and peat prepared at home, and all components are taken in equal proportions. The resulting soil must be disinfected, and for this it is necessary to ignite it in the oven. If there is potassium permanganate in the house, you can make a fairly strong dark solution (the color indicates a high content of the active substance in the water).

Previously, the cuttings must be placed in water for 10-12 hours. Before this, the biostimulating drug "Kornevin" is added to the liquid. If a person is interested in how to grow thuja in this way, he must prepare everything necessary in advance, including sufficiently spacious, but not too large containers that are filled with a substrate. Recesses for cuttings are made according to the above scheme. The seedlings are deepened by 1.5-2 cm and sprinkled with sand on top. It also needs to be preheated.

Then the containers with seedlings are covered with plastic wrap and left where they will have enough light, but without direct sunlight. The air temperature should be within + 18 ... + 22ºС. When condensation appears on the film, it can be opened for ventilation. It is very important not to overdo it with watering, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Humidification is carried out exclusively from a spray gun, since a more powerful jet of water can press down the soil and expose the "heel" necessary for the development of a full-fledged seedling.

Growing cuttings in sphagnum

Cuttings can also be grown in a medium of sphagnum, that is, peat moss. In this case, the procedure involves the formation of a kind of cocoon from clean cloth and wet moss, therefore this method is sometimes called breeding in diapers.

On the initial stage growing by cuttings in sphagnum resembles breeding in ordinary soil. In the same way, the branches must be properly prepared and kept in water with a rooting stimulator for about 10-12 hours. But sphagnum needs additional processing. It should be poured with boiled water for about 3 hours so that it is properly saturated with moisture. A fairly wide piece of fabric is laid out on the table, mentally dividing this width in half, wet moss is placed along the entire length on one of the halves. The second strip remains free, so that later it can be covered with moss and cuttings.

Thuja branches are laid out on sphagnum at a certain distance from each other so that their “heels” are surrounded by moss. Then the cuttings are covered with the bottom of the strip so that the green tops are free. After that, the fabric is rolled up. A bundle comes out that needs to be laid inside plastic bag. Then it is hung up in a well-lit place, but in such a way that no direct rays fall on it. Sun rays.

Growing thuja cuttings in sphagnum is even easier than in the ground, since moss allows you to maintain the desired level of humidity for a long time. If, nevertheless, there is not enough moisture, this can be easily determined by the fact that condensate will not collect on the inner walls of the bag and they will become dry. In this case, humidification from a spray bottle is necessary.

Advantages of the vegetative method

Although propagating from seed produces hardier specimens, growing from cuttings has many advantages. First, it is the only way to keep the specific appearance plants. When propagated by seeds, this is not always possible.

Secondly, thuja seeds, like the seeds of other coniferous plants, need stratification, that is, a procedure in which they imitate natural conditions to ensure germination. In this case, it is a procedure in which cold and humidity are created at the same time. As a result, you can get quite hardy trees. But this process takes a very long time. To get seedlings suitable for planting, you will need to wait an average of 6 years. Propagation by cuttings can significantly reduce this time. With this method of cultivation, it is possible to obtain a plant suitable for planting in open ground in literally 2-3 years.