Thuja belongs to evergreen conifers and is used by gardeners in landscape design for decorating personal plots. For good growth, it is recommended to feed the thuja 3 times - in spring, summer and autumn. This will provide her with active development and prepare for the coming winter.
How to choose a top dressing for the rapid growth of thuja
What food to choose
After planting in open ground, the thuja is not fed for several years, because ash, organic matter, etc. introduced into the planting pit at the initial stage are the source of obtaining all the necessary useful elements.
They usually begin to fertilize trees after 2-3 years.
The main components that are required by conifers:
- nitrogen - in small doses, it serves as a growth stimulant for young seedlings, however, its excess leads to the loss of decorative culture and makes the crown loose;
- phosphorus and potassium provide full development and are the key to the bright color of the needles and the density of the shoots, stimulate the growth of the root system and increase the plant's resistance to the adverse effects of environmental factors.
You can determine which element is missing by its appearance:
- iron - the needles become light yellow or whitish;
- phosphorus - in young shoots, the needles are painted in a red-purple hue;
- nitrogen - the appearance of new shoots is suspended, the needles become discolored (chlorosis sets in);
- potassium and magnesium - the upper part of the plant turns yellow.
Terms of introduction
Conifers are fed several times per season.
- Spring. They are introduced immediately when signs of a lack of nutrition become noticeable - the color of the needles and the general condition of the crown change. The introduction of top dressing in early spring acts as a means of quick awakening of thujas, this helps her to recover from cold weather and activates vegetative processes. The suitable period is March.
- Summer. Fertilizers are applied if the tree was not fertilized immediately after winter, while more often they are limited to foliar spraying without nitrogen. The best root dressings for irrigation will be solutions prepared on the basis of vermicompost and complex agents with protective properties against fungal diseases and pests.
- Fall. Top dressing is suitable for thujas grown in the southern regions. The main attention is paid to root fertilization of greenery. The suitable period is September-early October.
Fertilizers
Thuja can be fed with different fertilizers: organic, mineral and complex formulations.
Organic
Such fertilizers improve the structure of the soil layers and activate the vital activity of the beneficial bacteria in them.
Organic matter (humus, compost, rotted manure) for feeding thuja is used mainly in dry form, mixing it into the soil at a shallow depth in the root area.
Conifers are not fed with fresh, unpermised manure and chicken droppings - they have a high concentration and burn the roots.
Finished preparations produced by the agricultural industry on the basis of organic components.
- Biud - it contains waste products of cattle and minerals in an easily digestible form;
- Humvit-eco - made on the basis of biohumus, which stimulates vegetative processes.
Minerals
The health of the tree depends on the correct fertilization.
For conifers in the spring, such mineral complexes are needed, where potassium, magnesium and phosphorus are present in the composition in increased doses.
Ready-made preparations quickly and effectively make up for nutritional deficiencies, eliminating starvation.
Unlike deciduous plants, thujas do not need a lot of nitrogen, which helps to build up green mass, because this component has no significant effect on growth.
It is allowed to feed with minerals only in the dosages indicated by the instructions.
Urea, ammonium nitrate and nitroammofosk help to fill the lack of nitrogen in the soil immediately after planting. They are introduced in dissolved or granular form.
Dry dressing allows you to simultaneously combine the replenishment of missing elements and soil loosening.
The introduction of nitrogen is stopped at the onset of summer, so that new shoots do not grow, which weaken the ephedra, do not have time to lignify by winter and, as a result, freeze.
Fertilizing complexes
Thuja can be fed with complex fertilizers developed for conifers.
They contain a set of useful elements necessary for full development. Their concentration and cumulative effect allows you to save on costs, using them every 3-5 years.
Most popular among gardeners: Khvoinka, Zdraven, Aquarin, Fertika, Green Needle.
Folk recipes
Fertilizer for thuja can be made up by folk remedies.
Herbs
Fertilizing solutions are often made on the basis of herbs, the chemical composition of which contains nitrogen: clover, nettle, euphorbia, wheatgrass, wood lice and dandelion.
To prepare working fluids, the vegetation is harvested until the seeds appear.
The crushed grass is put into a plastic barrel (2/3 full), water is added. Ammonium nitrate or urea is added to the mixture in the calculation of 5 tbsp. for every 50 liters.
The container is covered with a lid or polyethylene, holes are made for the gases to escape and put in the sun for 1-1.5 weeks, stirring occasionally.
Efficiency can be improved by adding wood ash and bone meal.
The ready-to-use herbal solution turns dark brown. The working liquid for top dressing is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.
Yeast
They contain in the chemical composition amino acids and trace elements necessary for ephedra to stimulate growth and increase immunity.
Cooking recipe: 35 g of diluted dry yeast, 2 tbsp. granulated sugar is dissolved in 0.7 liters of water and placed in a warm place.
The liquid is ready for use after the end of fermentation. For irrigation, the concentrate is diluted in water at the rate of 1 tbsp. for every 10 liters.
Basic rules of procedure
The soil must be moistened before feeding
- The interval between the introduction of compositions with different elements should be from 2 or more weeks.
- In autumn, the use of all mineral and organic complexes is stopped, because late stimulation of vegetation processes negatively affects future wintering, with the exception of conifers grown in southern areas.
- A day before the planned date of feeding, the near-stem circle is watered with water in order to moisten; fertilizers are not applied to dry soil.
- Mineral complexes alternate and do not use together those that contain the same components, because there will be an oversupply.
You can feed it in one of the ways - by applying under the root or by spraying over the crown.
Root dressing
Root feeding consists in laying granular preparations or watering with liquid solutions.
Fertilizers are applied to the near-trunk circle, not getting closer than 15 cm to the trunk, after which it is mulched with peat, needles or tree bark.
Mulch additionally serves as an obstacle to moisture evaporation, creates air permeability of the upper layers and protects against the appearance of weeds.
Root application terms:
- in the spring they are evenly distributed over the surface of the moistened soil and dug up, the consumption rate is 30-40 g per tree;
- throughout the growing season, from May to August, 2 times, the standard is 60 g per 1 m².
Foliar dressing
Foliar spraying on the crown helps to quickly and efficiently assimilate nutrients through the needles.
In comparison with the root, the percentage of fertilizer digestibility is 2-4 times higher and is about 80%.
Application time - from May to August, frequency - every 14 days. The number of irrigations per season is 3-4 times.
The crown is sprayed with the help of sprayers and sprayers with preparations based on complex metal compounds - chelates. These include Kvatum, Brexil, Aninomax, Kafom.
Epin and Zircon are growth stimulants that reduce stress conditions in plants under unfavorable growing conditions.
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Typical mistakes gardeners
In the process of feeding, beginner gardeners make typical mistakes:
- do not adhere to schedule and do not observe regularity, which leads to a violation of the growth rate;
- confuse the need of a tree for certain nutrients at different stages of development, so, in the first stage of the growing season, an increased amount of nitrogen is required, and in the second, an increased intake of phosphorus and potassium;
- exceed the dosage prescribed in the instructions, as a result of which the root system is burned, an excess of fertilizers leads to a slowdown in the growth of the ephedra and causes unfavorable changes in appearance;
- do not prepare the soil before using fertilizing complexes and watered with working solutions and bury the granular mixtures in dry, not moistened beforehand, soil, which causes injury to plant roots.