In Russia, the western thuja (Thuja occidentalis) is the most widespread - this evergreen tree has more than 120 cultivars or, otherwise, garden forms and is very popular in landscaping. If you want to propagate thuja yourself, you can go in two ways: grow a tree from a seed or propagate vegetatively. Let's consider both options.
Instructions
Step 1
A more difficult, but interesting way is to grow thuja from seeds. True, unfortunately, seedlings grown from the seeds of a varietal plant do not necessarily inherit its decorative and other features. On the other hand, you can get an interesting new garden shape.
So, it is easier to grow thuja from seeds by planting them in the ground in the fall. Planting depth should be 1, 5-2 cm. Please note that the seeds must be freshly harvested. Stratification, that is, the period of the seeds being in the cold, will pass naturally, and in the spring the seeds will germinate. If you want to germinate seeds in a bowl, prepare a mixture of garden soil and half with sand for it. Cover plantings with glass, but ventilate daily. Plant the seedlings after germination. Transplant the grown plants into pots later. Lay drainage at the bottom; use a mixture of turf, coniferous, leafy soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 2: 1: 1 as a substrate.
Take care of the seedlings by shading them from the direct sun, preventing the soil from drying out. Accustom the seedlings germinated in a bowl or box to the sun and fresh air slowly, then transplant them to the garden bed. A thuja transplant is easily tolerated and after 3-4 years you will receive a seedling that can be planted in a permanent place.
Step 2
With vegetative propagation of thuja, cuttings are taken from the upper part of the crown of a sufficiently young plant that has the desired characteristics. Cuttings are carried out either in the spring, before the buds swell, or from mid-June to mid-July, when active growth has ceased.
The stalk, so that it is more likely to take root, must be taken with a "heel", that is, a small piece of wood from the mother tree.
Having received the stalk, treat it with 0.01-0.02% heteroauxin solution, keeping the stalk in the solution for up to three hours and plant it in the greenhouse strictly vertically, pressing the ground tightly around the buried part. The mixture for grafting should be loose, this can be achieved by adding coarse sand, peat, perlite. Avoid waterlogging, spraying planted cuttings, preferably watering.
Temper rooted cuttings by airing the greenhouse, but leave them to winter in the greenhouse for the first year. After they can be transplanted into the beds.
Step 3
Less common methods of vegetative propagation of thujas, horizontal layering, when the branch of the mother plant is bent to the ground and covered with earth, for the vegetative period and division of multi-stem cultivars.
