?landscape design. Thanks to the dense crown, the needles remaining throughout the year and the unpretentiousness enough, the thuja hedge is one of the most popular applications of the plant. Which Tui varieties are better for hedges
Planting evergreen shrubs along the border of the site will protect the territory not only from the access of outsiders and indiscreet looks, but also gusts of wind, dust, polluted air from the road and even noise. At the very site of thuja will help to distinguish functional zones, low-growing varieties will be the basis for borders. A perennial plant is universal, the main thing is to choose the right varieties and organize planting.
Which Tui is Better for a Hedge? The number of varieties of this evergreen plant today is in the tens. Climatic conditions in Russia are diverse. If in the southern regions gardeners can focus only on the decorative properties of thuja, then in the middle lane and to the north it is important to remember the frost resistance of the future hedge. Most often, the choice for a living fence falls into two varieties: Brabant and Smaragd.
Hedge of Thuja Brabant
One of the most winter-hardy species is Thuja western Brabant( T. occidentalis Brabant) with a crown in the shape of a wide column with a diameter of about one and a half and a height of up to 5 meters. Like all related plants, the beloved landscaper variety perfectly tolerates being under the sun and in a transparent shade. In addition, the shrub is undemanding to the composition of the soil, easily tolerates a haircut and can do almost without care for a long time.
Read also: Learn to make fences for lawns and flower beds with your own hands
Thuja Brabant is a great choice for a hedge. However, do not forget about the characteristic features of the plant. Thuja needles do not remain green all year round. In winter, it acquires a brownish-brown hue, but does not crumble, maintaining the opacity of the hedge. In the spring, an early awakening shrub can suffer from draining and sunburn.
In the spring, after the haircut, the crown is actively restored. Typically, coniferous crops used in landscape design do not give a large annual increase. However, there are exceptions. The Brabant variety is a fast-growing thuja for a hedge, which increases in height to 35 and 15 cm in width during the growing season.
If large bushes lack nutrition or moisture, the thuja gradually loses its coloring brightness. One of the signs of nutritional deficiency is the appearance of numerous light brown cones.
A thuja hedge in this class is a solid wall that perfectly cuts haircuts and maintains a given shape. When planting evergreen shrubs take into account future growth. Between saplings in a trench make an interval from 50 to 70 cm.
The supporting pruning is carried out twice a year. In early spring, before the awakening of growth points begins, the thuja is sheared for the first time, then the procedure is repeated in August. Usually, a landing is chosen at the age of 3-4 years. If you do not hesitate with pruning and treat it carefully, you can grow a living 2-meter wall no thicker than half a meter.
Read also: A special place in the landscape design of Tui Khozeri
Living fence from Tui Smaragd
Tui of various varieties differ not only in appearance. The variety Smaragd( T. occidentalis Smaragd) is no less popular than Brabant. It is the same large, up to 4–5 meters high plant, but with a conical crown and needles, never losing a green shade.
A rare feature for thuja makes a variety in demand not only as a tool for hedge. Gorgeous shrub rarely subjected to winter draining:
- grows very slowly;
- does not require frequent cutting;
- looks great in the composition of a living wall, and solo.
The lower part of the hedge from Tui Smaragd has a high density, rich green color and with a minimum cut keeps a flat surface. Due to the natural conical shape of the crown, the upper part of the hedge retains its natural shape. This feature is very useful when it comes to fences at the border of the site. The jagged edge is harder to overcome and man and animals.
Before planting a thuja for a hedge, they dig a trench about 50–60 cm wide and deep. The density of the green fence depends on the interval between the bushes. The average landing distance is half a meter.
It is good if the thuja seedlings have a closed root system. In this case, they easily take root, and the fence of them can be planted not only in the spring.
For a hedge of a thuja, sufficient food and regular watering are important. Drought makes the needles turn pale, the already slow growth stops, the young shoots dry out. Plants do not tolerate stagnant moisture and the proximity of groundwater. Therefore, it is useful to make a drainage layer about 20 cm thick at the risk zone in the landing trench.
Read also: Which plants are better for choosing a hedge in the
section? Thuja varieties for a hedge
The choice is not limited to the plants described above. No less impressive wall of greenery can be created by dropping along the border of the section of Tui Kolumna. A perennial plant up to 7 meters high with a dense cylindrical crown up to 130 cm in diameter. Like Smaragd, the shrub does not change the color of the needles, but it has high growth rates and increases in size by 20 cm per year.
Tui Holmstrup up to three meters high has a unique crown, which looks curly or frilled from the side. A dense column with a diameter of about one meter tolerates winter cold, unpretentious and does not change color throughout the year. To the beginner's question: “Which tui is better for a hedge?”, We can safely point to this variety. The plant with a small annual increment costs hairstyle 1 time per two years.
Canadian thuja varieties Sunikist has a height of 3 to 5 meters. The crown in the form of a wide cone with a diameter of 1-2 meters is distinguished due to the beautiful color of golden needles, which become brownish-bronze for the winter.
Which Tui varieties are better for a small height hedge? The choice of plants to create borders is quite large. Species with a naturally compact crown, more winter-hardy than tall plants, and not needing frequent time-consuming pruning are especially popular. An example is the thuja Danica not more than 60 cm in height.
Video about planting hedges from thuja western
