Thuja or vital tree is an evergreen coniferous plant with soft needle leaves. Indoor thuja grown at home is a representative of the thuja variety Oriental. It is unpretentious, aesthetically pleasing and has a beneficial effect on the microclimate of the apartment. With the right approach, the reproduction of this plant does not cause difficulties.
Thuja propagates in two ways: by seed and cuttings.
Seeds
To prepare the seeds for planting, the cones are cut from a tree and placed in a warm place to dry. As a result, the seeds fall themselves. Growing thuja from seeds is a very time-consuming and time-consuming process, so it is rarely used. The algorithm is as follows:
- Dry seeds for a day are wrapped in a damp cloth, which from time to time is nourished with water, preventing drying.
- Drainage and ready-mixed soil mixture are poured into the pot, watered, one thuja seed is placed there (without deepening) and sprinkled with sawdust. From time to time watered again.
- Seed sprouts in about a month.
- A sprout will turn into an adult bush only in five years.
Cuttings
This is a much faster way, besides guaranteeing the preservation of varietal traits, while during seed propagation they are often lost.
Cutting time
In spring, thuja shrubs emerge from winter suspended animation, and the branches receive a signal to the beginning of enhanced growth. Therefore, it is best to harvest cuttings for propagation from the end of March to the end of April, when the branches are ready to take root.
The second option is cuttings in the fall. You should choose a cloudy day in mid-October, when the juices in the trunk slow down. Such processes take root longer, but more reliably, they will not have a shortage of water.
Proper cutting of cuttings
For harvesting cuttings, the upper part of a healthy strong plant is suitable. It is undesirable to cut them at the bottom: this is fraught with curvature of the trunk of the future seedling.
Suitable shoots 10-15 centimeters long are located at the ends of the shoots, and their stems are covered with young bark.
If the bark is old and rough, such a stalk will not take root. Sprouts with smooth stems, without bark, are not yet capable of rooting.
Tear off the twig by hand, moving from top to bottom, together with a strip of bark - “heel”. It has accumulated useful substances that will feed the stalk for some time to come.
With proper execution and subsequent care, the rooting of the thuja does not present any special difficulties.
Preparation of cuttings
Cut cuttings are undesirable to store for a long time. If the need nevertheless arose, you need to place them in a dark room, previously wrapped with a damp cloth. But it is better to start landing as early as possible, before preparing them correctly:
- To clear the lower part of the stem from branches and a layer of bark - they can begin to rot.
- Treat with a root growth stimulator - place cuttings in it for 12 hours.
Soil preparation
For rooting cuttings, clean river sand or loose ground mixture is suitable, which can be purchased at the store or obtained by mixing sand, peat and leafy humus in a 1: 1: 1 ratio.
Disinfection is necessary: a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate is added to the soil, and sand is boiled.
The soil is placed in a shallow pot for seedlings with openings for air inlet and water outlet.
Rooting process
Provided that both the soil and the cuttings themselves are ready, you can proceed with planting:
- Twigs are placed in the ground for a couple of centimeters, but not directly, but at an angle of 45 °.
- The distance between the cuttings should be at least 5 centimeters.
- The earth around the base of the cuttings is slightly compacted and moistened.
- The pot is covered with plastic wrap or plastic lid.
- Signs of successful rooting are new shoots on cuttings.
Potato rooting
Among plant growers, a non-standard way of rooting thuja cuttings is also common - in a potato tuber:
- Healthy medium-sized potatoes are washed and peeled.
- With an awl or a nail, a hole is pierced with a depth of about four centimeters, where the end of the twig is pushed.
- Potato is placed in nutritious soil in a wooden box.
- The process is covered with a dome of half a plastic bottle.
- When watering, the dome is not removed, and the bottle cap is unscrewed.
Care for planted cuttings
Thuja seedlings should preferably be kept at a temperature of + 18 ° to + 23 ° C and an air humidity of 70%. In this case, the room must be systematically ventilated.
In addition, it is necessary to provide diffused lighting, but in no case should direct sunlight be allowed to enter the seedlings.
In bright light, the plants begin to dry out, their needles turn yellow and fall off.
Watering is done as the soil dries. Excessive moisture is not recommended. It is advisable to water with a spray gun to prevent the needles from getting wet and the "heel" of the stem to get wet.
After the appearance of the first young shoots, it is necessary to begin to open seedlings access to fresh air, gradually increasing the airing time. Thus, young plants get used to new growth conditions.
Transplant into a pot
For transplanting thuja to a permanent place, a pot of any type is suitable.
Do not take too small a container, which can limit the growth of the root system. You also need to make sure that there are enough openings in the bottom to allow water to pass through.
Algorithm:
- Drainage, for example, expanded clay, is poured at the bottom.
- The transplant is performed along with a radical lump.
- A slightly acidic land mixture falls asleep. It can be prepared independently by mixing sand, coniferous earth and leafy soil in a ratio of 1: 2: 4, respectively.
- The soil level in relation to the stem should remain the same. Also, do not tighten the soil around the stem too much.
It should be borne in mind that for subsequent transplants (and they need to be done once a year or two) it is better to use soil of a different composition. For adult plants, a mixture of sand, peat and turf soil in a ratio of 1: 2: 2 is recommended.
Thuja care at home
Thuja is a unpretentious plant and does not require special care, but some nuances should be taken into account.
Temperature
A thuja pot is best placed in partial shade, in that part of the room where direct sunlight does not fall. A good position is on an elevation (for example, a flower stand) at the east or west window, provided that the glass shades on sunny days.
Optimum indoor temperature + 20 ... + 25 ° C. In the warm season, the plant can be taken out into the shade to fresh air. In winter, it is advisable to provide a slightly lower temperature (+ 14 ... + 16 ° C), for example, place the pot on a glazed balcony.
Humidity
The humidity level in the apartment should not fall below 40%.
If the air is dry, it is necessary to spray the plant with warm water.
Watering
Water thawed several times a week with settled water at room temperature, avoiding either drying out or excessive moisture in the soil.
Top dressing
Soil fertilizer can be produced in the warm season up to two times a month. Complexes for conifers should be selected, but only half the dose indicated on the package should be applied. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are used for feeding, and in the summer - potash.
The benefits of room arborvitae
Thuja is not only a spectacular houseplant, it brings practical benefits by releasing volatile products into the air. These essential oils have a pleasant smell, reminiscent of the aroma of spruce resin, and have an antibacterial effect, killing harmful microorganisms in the room.
