Content of the article:
Small compact types of Tui are extremely in demand in landscape design. Thuja western Danica - a plant with a dense rounded crown up to 80 cm high and about a meter in diameter belongs to dwarf forms.
Such an evergreen shrub is sure to find a place near an alpine slide, in a decorative border, in group plantings among flowering perennials and as a solo plant among stones or ground cover species.
Description of Tui Danika
Slow-growing variety, reaching the maximum size not earlier than 15 years of age, was bred in the middle of the last century by Danish botanists. Since then, the thuja has become one of the most popular in the design of small areas where it is difficult to find a place for larger crops.
According to the description, thuja Danika is a coniferous evergreen shrub whose crown consists of many densely covered with soft needles of shoots. Most of the branches are directed upwards, which gives the small plant additional “fluffiness”.Young needles, covering the ends of the shoots, has a needle shape. Later, it takes on the appearance of scales tightly attached to wood. In summertime, the crown of the western Danica thuja is colored in rich green tones. By autumn, the needles turn brown and remain so until spring.
Plants are durable. With proper care, like other varieties, thuja Danika can reach the age of 150 years.
Of course, there are no such old copies yet. But at the disposal of lovers of landscape design appeared Thuy Danika Aurea, even more original than the traditional plant. This shrub is not green, but bright golden needles. Withstanding temperatures as low as –29 ° C, it is also winter-hardy and more dependent on sunlight. The unusual shade of the needles in the shade fades away, and the crown of both the ordinary and golden ephedra gradually loses its spherical shape, becoming raslapisty, sloppy.
Like all the stalks of this genus, this species of tui blooms almost unnoticed. Occasionally appearing brown-brown cones have a rounded shape and a diameter of not more than 6 mm. However, seeds are not suitable for reproduction. In culture, this compact form is distributed only by cuttings.
Planting and caring for Danica's spherical thuja
For a growing thuja to be lush and bright, it is important for her to find a suitable place. The ephedra feel great in the sun and endure partial shade, but, falling under the thick crowns of trees or in the shade of a house, the plants risk losing their decorative effect.
Therefore, for the shrub of the spherical thuja Danika choose an open sunny place with loose, actively aerated soil. It is important that the root system of the plant does not suffer from close-seated or stagnant waters. Since the young specimens are less resistant to cold and spring burns, the site should be protected from the wind:
- If a thuja is to be planted for a curb, the holes for shrubs are dug 30 cm apart. This will allow the crowns of neighboring plants to cross and form a single low wall.
- In single plantings, the western Danica thou plant is planted at a distance of 50 cm from other plants. Such a measure will help the bush to form a beautiful, smooth spherical crown.
Tui can do without watering for a long time, but grow best on moist fertile soil. A pit for planting shrubs does little more than the root system in a container. At the bottom of the drainage make of broken bricks, stone powder or expanded clay. The soil for filling the landing pit is mixed with minerals and well-decomposed organic matter. After backfilling, the ground is easily rammed and watered, and the circle under the crown is thickly mulched with peat left after mowing grass, wood chips or other composition.
After planting, the care of Danica's thuja, as in the photo, consists in watering, adding mulch and monitoring the condition of the crown.
In the hot season, the bushes should receive water. To soak the roots, 10–20 liters are poured under each plant. The soil under the thuja is gently loosened and covered with mulch. With prolonged drought and heat, the crown can be irrigated with warm water.
In the spring, the hvo подniki are fed with special mixtures, allowing the needles to be as bright as possible.
A characteristic feature of the plant is a low growth rate, leaving only 4–5 cm in width and height. Therefore, fertilizer does not have a significant impact on the growth of the crown.
Usually, when appreciating the landscape design of the thuja Danik, it does not need special formative pruning. However, trimming old, dead or incorrectly overgrown branches is indispensable. Sanitary pruning is carried out in early spring. During it:
- remove dry branches;
- pruned branches broken by wind or snow,
- cut the needles drained by the bright spring sun.
It is better to cover young plants in the autumn with spruce leaves, which will protect them from frost and omnipresent rodents, often choosing a space under their crown for a winter dwelling.
In frost, thuja bushes are covered with snow. To guarantee the bright color of the crown field of a snowless winter will help shelter sacking or non-woven material.
Thuya Danica in landscape design
A low-growing thuja with a crown having a natural globular shape could not help but find its place in landscaping. 
If larger species require a lot of space, complex care and regular haircuts, the dwarf plant of western Danica thuja, as in the photo, can be easily imagined:
- on a rocky hill in the very tiny garden;
- as part of a low dense curb;
- in a container that is easy to put on a terrace or loggia, used to decorate a spacious hall or patio;
- on a flower garden in the frame of creeping perennials;
- against high ornamental deciduous shrubs or bright tall flowers.
An unpretentious ornamental hodgepipe, even with such modest dimensions, invariably becomes an ornament to any garden, and its care does not take much time or strength of a gardener.
