Thuja propagation by cuttings in autumn or spring is considered the most convenient and effective way. The main advantage of this method is the ability to preserve the varietal qualities of the plant and get small full-fledged trees in just 2 or 3 years. Of course, growing thuja from cuttings has its drawbacks. This plant can not be called hardy, therefore, the percentage of survival in seedlings is not too high. But other methods of breeding thuja have their drawbacks.

How to choose branches for cuttings?

To grow thuja from a branch, you need to select the right material. It should be remembered that it is best to use cuttings from actively growing young arborvitae at the age of 4–9 years, since the ability to form a root system decreases over the years in cut branches. Interestingly, at home, branches from cultivated specimens better take root.

You can cut the plant at different times of the year. If this is done in the spring, then you need to start immediately after the snow has melted, but before the kidneys wake up, that is, if you take the climatic conditions of the Middle Band, then this is approximately the end of March-mid-April. It is also possible summer cuttings, but this is rarely done in June, usually experts recommend postponing the procedure until August, when it is already possible to germinate woody shoots. When grafted in spring, roots form fairly quickly, within three months. But in autumn works, only characteristic growths can appear before the end of the year, and rooting will occur only next year.

It is believed that thuja branches are best harvested in the fall, because at this time of the year the movement of juices slows down and therefore there will be less seedlings dying from a moisture deficit. But then, and rooting will be slower.

October is usually chosen for picking branches. This is best done when foliage has already fallen from deciduous trees. In addition, experts argue that it is advisable to harvest branches not on a sunny day, but on a cloudy day. Shoots are recommended to gently pinch off from the top. It is best to take those branches that are already 3-4 years old, but a layman is unlikely to distinguish them in appearance. So in this case, it is better to select those that seem strong enough and healthy.

Experts believe that even for indoor thuja the weather for the selection of cuttings is of fundamental importance. It is best to cut branches in cloudy weather. In this case, lateral shoots are usually chosen, if it is a pyramidal thuja, but if the tree is spherical in shape, then this does not matter.

For breeding in the future, only lignified branches should be used, their length should be no more than 50 cm. But too small branches should not be taken, since their rooting will take quite a lot of time. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the tip of the future cuttings. It should be green, there may be yellowish areas under it.

It is necessary to carefully examine such an escape. At its end, the so-called “tree heel” should be preserved - this is a piece of bark, which becomes the basis for the development of new roots. The larger and longer it looks, the better for rooted plants. Before proceeding to the next step, you need to remove the leaf plates at a height of about 3-4 cm from the end of the shoot.

Is it possible to grow cuttings in water?

Some gardeners believe that the easiest answer to the question of how to propagate thuja is to grow them in a jar of water. They claim that this is the fastest way to activate the roots of the plant.

Before you grow thawed by the method of cuttings, you need to prepare planting material. To do this, use a sharp knife to trim the long tail of the tree “heel”, on which the bark is still preserved. The secateurs clean only relatively small lower parts of the shoot - up to 3.5-5 cm so that no random needles remain on it, then lower the end of the twig into water and root powder.

Growing thuja cuttings in water and using a wick design

To do this, you need to take a small container, fill with water, then set the shoots so that the water covers their ends by about 2 cm. There should not be more than 3-5 cuttings in a jar or other container so that it is not too crowded.

With this cultivation, in no case can it be allowed that the rooted cuttings begin to rot. Therefore, it is necessary to control that their green parts do not come into contact with water. This is exactly what causes the rotting of planting material. To make the plant feel comfortable, the container must be rearranged in a bright place where it will be cool, but not cold.

The most important thing in caring for such seedlings is to change their water in a timely manner, without waiting until it becomes cloudy. At this time, cuttings should be removed from the container, and the roots should be wrapped with a clean, damp cloth. Water is pre-disinfected, for this you need only a couple of potassium permanganate crystals.

At the same time, with a peg you need to make a vertical hole in the ground. Its depth should be about 30-40 mm. Holes are made as many as there are cuttings. The distance between them should be at least 60-80 mm. As soon as the roots appear on the cuttings, they can be transplanted into the prepared container.

Growing cuttings in the substrate

You can grow thawed cuttings in different ways. One of the simplest options is the use of substrates. The fact is that the above method using water has one significant drawback - in its pure form, the liquid does not contain any nutrients, in contrast to the substrate.

Before rooting the thaw, you need to prepare boxes for seedlings and make sure that holes are made in them for aeration of the soil. At the bottom there must be a drainage hole and a layer of fine gravel. As the soil, either ready-made store compositions or a home-cooked mixture of deciduous humus and peat are used, and all components are taken in equal proportions. The resulting soil must be disinfected, and for this it is necessary to calcine it in the oven. If the house has potassium permanganate, you can make a fairly strong dark solution (the color indicates a high content of active substance in the water).

Previously, cuttings need to be placed in water for 10-12 hours. Before this, the biostimulating drug Kornevin is added to the liquid. If a person is interested in how to grow thaw in this way, he must prepare in advance everything necessary, including sufficiently spacious, but not too large containers that fill the substrate. Recesses for cuttings are made according to the above scheme. Saplings are deepened by 1.5-2 cm and sprinkled with sand on top. It also needs to be preliminarily calcined.

Then containers with seedlings are covered with plastic wrap and left where it will be sufficiently light, but without direct sunlight. The air temperature should be in the range + 18 ... + 22ºС. When condensation appears on the film, it can be opened for ventilation. It is very important not to overdo it with watering, but you must not allow the soil to dry out. Humidification is carried out exclusively from the atomizer, since a more powerful stream of water can crush the soil and expose the “heel” necessary for the development of a full-fledged seedling.

Growing cuttings in sphagnum

Cuttings can be grown in an environment from sphagnum, that is, peat moss. In this case, the procedure involves the formation of a kind of cocoon from clean tissue and wet moss, so this method is sometimes called reproduction in diapers.

At the initial stage, cultivation by cuttings in sphagnum resembles cultivation in ordinary soil. In the same way, the twigs must be properly prepared and held in water with a root stimulant for about 10-12 hours. But sphagnum needs additional processing. It should be poured with boiled water for about 3 hours so that it is properly saturated with moisture. A rather wide piece of fabric is laid out on the table, mentally divide this width in half, wet moss is placed along the entire length on one of the halves. The second strip remains free so that later it can be covered with moss and cuttings.

On a sphagnum at a certain distance from each other, thuja branches are laid out so that their "heels" are surrounded by moss. Then the cuttings are covered with the bottom of the strip so that the green tops are free. After that, the fabric is rolled up. There is a bundle that needs to be laid inside a plastic bag. Then it is suspended in a well-lit place, but so that direct sunlight does not fall on it.

Growing thawed cuttings in sphagnum is even easier than in the ground, since moss allows you to maintain the desired level of humidity for a long time. If, however, moisture becomes insufficient, this can be easily determined by the fact that condensation will not collect on the inner walls of the bag and they will become dry. In this case, humidification from the spray gun is necessary.

The advantages of the vegetative method

Despite the fact that propagation by seeds allows you to get more hardy specimens, growing from cuttings has many advantages. Firstly, this is the only way to preserve the specific appearance of the plant. When propagated by seeds, this is not always possible.

Secondly, thuja seeds, like the seeds of other conifers, need stratification, that is, a procedure in which they simulate natural conditions to ensure germination. In this case, this is a procedure in which both cold and humidity are created. As a result, you can get quite hardy trees. But such a process takes a very long time. To get seedlings suitable for planting, you will need to wait an average of 6 years. Propagation by cuttings can significantly reduce this time. With this method of cultivation, you can get a plant suitable for planting in open ground in literally 2-3 years.

Or, as they are also popularly called, "Life tree" – evergreen plant of the cypress family.  Tui are unpretentious to the soil and climate, so it is easy to get along in large cities. Widely used not only for landscaping megacities, but also in gardening. It is good for shrubs to mark the territory and plant live corridors from them. Cultivation of the plant is often done by cuttings. We will tell in this article how to root a thuja from a twig.

How to prepare cuttings

The correct selection of cuttings and their preparation is the most important stage. Most of the evergreens are propagated by cuttings, and thuja is no exception. The best time for harvesting cuttings is autumn, it is during this period that the progress of juice in the plant slows down. The likelihood that the bush will take root increases. You need to choose twigs closer to the crown or on it itself.

   It is advisable to stay on a bush, whose age is 2 to 3 years. Tear off the branches should be a sharp movement, so that at the end there was a kind of "heel", the remainder of last year’s bark. And the longer the remainder, the better. Another important point: you need to cut off the bark, which began to exfoliate. The lower part of the branch must be cleared of needles by about 3 cm. The leaves of the needles should be healthy 15-20 cm long (no more than 50 cm).

Methods of rooting cuttings

There are several ways to grow thuja from a twig. The most common methods are: using ordinary water, preparing a special substrate, or growing roots in a film. Each method requires a specific approach, time and resources.

How to root autumn cuttings in water

The easiest way. To do this, you need a water tank and the twigs themselves. It is necessary to pour water into the prepared vessel, put the cuttings into it, immersing only a heel. The leaves should never touch the water. This can lead to decay of the needles, and the stalk will deteriorate. In one container with water, you can immerse no more than three branches. Put the cuttings in a cool but sunny place.

Changing water during rooting is not recommended.It is best to add a little fresh water. With a complete replacement of the liquid, the drink of the roots may be disturbed, and the stalk will slow down or completely stop growth. In ordinary water there are not so many nutrients, so cuttings often weaken and subsequently poorly take root in the ground.

Rooting cuttings in the film

Breeding thuja using a film will be a little more complicated than the method with water. To do this, you need a film, a small piece of fabric and peat moss or, as it is also called, sphagnum. First, we breed any growth stimulant in water and lower the harvested branches there for about 10 hours. Pour moss with warm boiled water, leave it to be saturated with water for several hours.

After this, you can begin to root the thuja cuttings. We spread a wide flap of fabric and mentally divide it in half. We put moist moss on the entire section of the upper length, and leave the lower part free, it will need to cover the cuttings themselves. Spread thuja branches not far from each other. Diligently cover with a sphagnum the place of breaking the cuttings. We take the lower part, cover the cuttings and, leaving free needles, we turn everything into a neat roll. What happened, we wrap in a plastic bag and hang in a bright place, but away from direct exposure to the sun.

   The film with which the branches are covered will serve as a specific hygrometer. If the polyethylene is covered with strong condensate, you need to slightly raise it, thereby ensuring a good air flow. And if the film is dry, you should moisten the fabric with a sprayer. This method is good in that the moss will retain moisture for a long time, feeding the cuttings and having bactericidal properties, thereby saving the roots from decay.

How to prepare a rooting substrate

And the best way to root thuja from a twig is with a substrate. The substrate is a breeding ground for plants, and it is not so difficult to prepare it. We mix peat, leafy humus and sand in equal proportions. We place the mixture in the oven and properly calcine at maximum temperature.

We dilute a saturated solution of potassium permanganate and pour over the resulting mixture. As in the case of the film, you need to place the cuttings for 10 hours in a solution that stimulates growth. Capacities for rooting thuja cuttings in autumn need to be selected with several holes from the bottom for better oxygenation. We lay out the drainage on the bottom - fine gravel. We fill the containers with the substrate and make small indentations for the twigs. The cuttings themselves are placed about 2 cm and sprinkled with sand, which would not hurt to pre-calcine as well.

   Tamping the sand lightly, cover with a plastic film and put in a bright place, but protect from direct sunlight. If condensation appears on the film, slightly raise it on one side for fresh air. One of the important points of such cuttings is watering. It is best to carry it out using a spray gun.

Did you know?If the thuja began to appear new needles, then the plant is well rooted.

Rules for caring for cuttings

  Once you have rooted thuja cuttings in the fall, they need care before planting in the open ground.

When growing twigs in water, there is only one important factor. This is water care.  There are two ways to look after the cuttings. In one case, water can be completely replaced. To do this, remove the cuttings and wrap them in a pre-moistened rag. Rinse the container well, pour fresh water on the bottom and submerge the cuttings.

You can add a little weak solution of potassium permanganate. The second method is considered more reliable for growth. It consists in topping up water as the cuttings absorb moisture. Thus, without disturbing the root impregnation, the cuttings are more likely to germinate in the area.

   The easiest care for cuttings that sprout in the film. Sphagnum and tissue very well maintain the desired level of moisture. Pre-moistened moss can maintain moisture for a very long time. To understand what the cuttings need now, check the cellophane with which you covered the branches.  If the film is dry, you need to slightly dampen the cloth. This is best done with a spray gun. And if excess condensation has collected on the film, slightly raise it and ventilate the sprouts.

Cuttings in the substrate

The care of cuttings in the substrate must be approached with all seriousness and responsibility. The most important task is to control the amount of moisture. In no case should you water the cuttings from a watering can. A copious amount of water can slightly lower the soil, exposing the heel. This will lead to decay of the process or its roots. You need to use, as in the case of the film, the spray gun.

   Do not allow severe drying out of the soil, but do not overdo it with watering.   In case of early cooling or late rooting, you need to fill up the container with the cuttings with foliage.And if the temperature drops below 5 degrees, it is recommended to cover them with a film, opening it from time to time, giving a stream of fresh air.

Thuja is a coniferous plant that is widely used for landscape design. The hedges and alleys from thuja look very beautiful. Thuja is unpretentious in cultivation and care, successfully propagated by cuttings.

Although with this method of propagation, plants are somewhat less hardy than those grown from seeds, cuttings are used much more often. This is due to the fact that when propagating by seeds, maternal qualities are often lost. In addition, it will take quite a long time, at least 6 years, to wait for seedlings suitable for planting.

The method of propagation by cuttings makes it possible to grow a tree in 2-3 years, suitable for planting in the ground at a constant place.

Regarding the time for the cuttings of this coniferous plant, the opinions of experts are radically different. If some are sure that the cuttings should be carried out in February, others are of the opinion that the best time for this is October, or July, others say. In general, it should be sorted out.

Autumn cuttings

When grafting in the autumn period in a plant, the movement of juice begins to occur more slowly. It follows that the dead plants from malnutrition will be less than in spring. However, there are also disadvantages. Autumn cuttings require more time to take root.

Preparation of cuttings

It is best to harvest cuttings in the month of October, during the most active leaf fall, choosing a cloudy day for this.

For cuttings, branches from the top are chosen, because the lateral shoots can then have a creeping crown shape. In addition, the branches should be selected those that are already lignified, so that rooting is more effective. The length of the branches is chosen no more than 50 centimeters.

It is necessary to harvest the cuttings by cutting off a branch from a tree, and not cutting it off with a knife or secateurs. With this method, a piece of bark — a heel — should remain with the branch. The more you can capture the heel, the better. Last year’s wood contains a supply of nutrients.

First of all, branches of thuja relieve unnecessary needles. First of all, it is cut off on the bottom of the twig. If the stalk is too “lush”, you can also partially shorten the needles on the rest of the twig. The bottom of the handle is also slightly peeled from the bark.

Rooting methods

Having prepared the cuttings, it is necessary to tackle their rooting. There are three ways to root the cuttings: water; substrate; diaper.

The simplest is to root the cuttings in water.

Pour water into a suitable dish no more than 10-15 mm from the bottom, so that the water covers only the heel, while the leaves do not touch the water. Capacities are determined in a fairly bright and cool place.

Care of the cuttings will consist only in a timely replacement of water in order to eliminate rotting of the heels. When taking twigs out of the water, it is necessary to wrap them in a damp cloth. When changing water, do not forget to rinse the container.

But this method has some disadvantages. There is no set of nutrients in the water, so the plant will be weak, it will be difficult for it to take root. To obtain more viable seedlings, a substrate is used.

The substrate is prepared from equal parts of peat, sheet land and sand. A pot for cuttings is chosen with many holes for ventilation, and a drainage pillow made of gravel or expanded clay is laid at the bottom.

After holding the cuttings for 24 hours in a root solution, the cuttings are buried in the prepared substrate by 15 mm, at an angle of 60 degrees.

Top soil is sprinkled with sand.

After that, to root the branches, you need to make a greenhouse, covering them with suitable material.

Care of cuttings consists in timely watering of the soil. So that the soil does not sag and the heels are not exposed at the same time, it is better to water with a spray. At the same time, it is important to find a compromise when moisturizing, trying not to flood the plant, but also to prevent the drying of an earthen coma.

Rooting in the diaper. Prepared thuja branches are soaked in root for 12 hours. In a children's disposable diaper, a sphagnum soaked in water is placed in the center, mosses are placed on the moss, bending the diaper so that the heels fall between the layers. The diaper is twisted with a roll, which covers only five heels of branches.

The bundle is placed in a film or bag and left for germination between the frames or suspended on a window.

This method of rooting thuja cuttings is most effective and does not require special attention and care. Moss and the absorbent layer of the diaper hold moisture. Cuttings do not lack water, and sphagnum also reduces the possibility of decay.

When checking the moisture content of the cuttings, one should focus on the presence of condensate inside the package, which will serve as a signal for moistening the diaper.

Cuttings thuja in spring and summer

The most favorable time for spring thuja grafting is April. It was during this period that thuja growth intensified. Cuttings are harvested from a 2-3 year old tree. For better plant survival, cuttings are torn off the plant in the same way as in autumn rooting. It is necessary to tear off the branch with a sharp movement so that a piece of bark is preserved on it.

In exactly the same way, thuja can be propagated in the summer, in June or July. But in this case, it must be borne in mind that in summer the plant begins a second period of growth. Consequently, the cuttings will be ready for planting a season later, as they will skip the harvesting season.

Thuja propagation by cuttings:

Propagation Features

Reproduction of decorative thuja in the spring has some features. Spring is the period of mobility of the juice and the beginning of the growth of new shoots. In the spring, rooting is faster, but there are some risks. Rapid growth and development require additional nutrition and hydration. Having missed at least one watering, you can never wait for rooting ever.

The most suitable method for spring and summer rooting of thuja is reproduction in the substrate. Cuttings need a lot of moisture and nutrition. Rooting in water or film is not suitable for this.

The instructions for rooting in the substrate do not differ from the rooting procedure in the autumn.

One has only to add that in early spring the weather is pretty cool. Therefore, for rooting cuttings, it is better to determine in a greenhouse at a temperature not lower than +17 degrees. But plants do not like heat above +23 degrees.

During this period, it is necessary to provide the necessary humidity for the cuttings. To do this, you need to spray plants daily, and in hot weather do this twice a day. In addition, when the temperature rises, it is also necessary to moisten the soil twice a day. But wet leaves must not be allowed so that they do not begin to rot. Only after a couple of months, when the roots appear, the risk of drying out will decrease.

Care during spring and summer breeding is quite troublesome, so many gardeners prefer to deal with this fall.

Growing thuja in school

After rooting the cuttings, they are planted in the school.

The school is a specially prepared garden where plants will live for 2-3 years, the field of which they are determined in a permanent place.

The cuttings that were rooted in the fall are transplanted the next year, and the spring ones are sent to the school in the same year, in September.

In preparing the site for the school, you need to add a little peat to the soil. It is better to choose a place for a bed in partial shade.

Plants are planted on a bed at a distance of 25 centimeters from each other.

After a couple of years, the plants will grow and get strong enough. They can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Not sure how to cut and root cuttings of conifers? We will tell you how to turn a sprig of thuja into a strong, healthy seedling.

Cuttings are the most effective way to get new thuja plants. Unlike seed, vegetative propagation does not take much time and allows you to save varietal characters.

Dates of cuttings thuja

Perhaps the most difficult thing in coniferous grafting is to correctly determine the timing of this procedure. Experts have several opinions on this issue. Some advocate winter coniferous cuttings in February. Others are sure that thuja is best cut in April. Still others say that the best time for harvesting cuttings is summer.

The main criterion that should be guided in this matter is whether the plant has completed shoot growth. If the answer to this question is yes, then you can safely proceed to cuttings.

Summer thuja cuttings are preferable because it allows the cuttings to gain strength and take root well by the next season.

How to chop the cuttings?

For cuttings, choose a strong, healthy plant. In its upper part, a well-developed skeletal branch is found, and with a sharp movement of the hand, 2-3-year-old lignified growths are located at the ends of the shoot. To cuttings rooted faster, they must be torn off with a small piece of bark ("heel").

Thuja grown from a cuttings taken from a side shoot can grow irregularly shaped. The cuttings of a diseased plant naturally turn into a diseased seedling.

If the “heel” is too long, it is advisable to shorten it a bit so that the stalk does not rot. If tearing a twig, you slightly peeled the bark from the wood, the situation can be corrected with a knife - a little clean out the place of cut.

The ideal length of the thuja cuttings is 10-15 cm.

If the branches are very lignified, and you cannot tear them carefully, use a pruner.

Can stalks be stored?

Thuja cuttings root immediately after cutting. You can not store them, otherwise they will quickly become worthless and will not take good roots.

If you do not have time to prepare everything necessary for rooting, the cuttings can be wrapped briefly with a damp cloth and put away in a dark, cool place.

Preparing thuja cuttings for rooting

First of all, branches of thuja relieve unnecessary needles. First of all, it is cut off on the bottom of the twig. If the stalk is too "lush", you can also partially shorten the needles on the rest of the twig. The bottom of the handle is also slightly peeled from the bark.

Preparation of the substrate for rooting

Pure river sand or light, well-drained soil can also be used as a substrate.

The soil mixture for rooting thuja cuttings is prepared from peat, sheet soil and sand mixed in equal parts.

The soil or sand must be decomposed into shallow containers. For example, suitable containers for seedlings or special cassettes.

Tanks should have openings for drainage and aeration. For one, be sure to lay expanded clay, gravel or other small pebbles.

If you have such an opportunity, use sphagnum as a substrate. This moss retains moisture well and has powerful antiseptic properties. Thus, the cuttings will not be afraid of drying out and fungus.

Rooting cuttings of thuja

When everything is ready for the procedure, remove the cuttings from the growth regulator solution and dip their tips in Kornevin. Immediately after that, insert the cuttings into the substrate at an angle of 45 degrees to a depth of 1.5-2 cm.

Then place the cuttings in a glass or plastic greenhouse or cover them with plastic wrap or plastic bag.

If you use sphagnum for rooting cuttings, wrap the cuttings in it, wrap them with gauze and put them in a plastic bag.

Care for cuttings

Cuttings are stored in a warm and bright place. However, it is important to consider that they need diffused light. Direct sunlight will quickly destroy the thuja cuttings, and they will fade faster than they take root.

Water the substrate only after its top coat dries. Remember, an excess of moisture is equally fatal for cuttings, as well as its lack.

Water carefully so that water does not fall onto the needles. It is advisable to use a spray gun so that a strong stream of water does not expose the ground around the "heel" of the handle.

The emergence of new shoots on branches of thuja indicates that the cuttings are rooted.

If you rooted the cuttings in a sphagnum or common container, two weeks after rooting, you need to plant them in separate containers or a school (a special bed on which plants will grow until planting in a permanent place). Prepare the soil mixture according to the same principle: mix garden soil with horse peat or forest litter.

Subsequent care of plants consists in regular watering, fertilizing and weeding weeds. In November, young seedlings are covered with spruce branches, leaves or sawdust and left to winter under shelter.

In the spring, when frosts subside, the shelter is removed and taken care of by plants, as before. After a year or two, the grown thuja seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place.

We hope that with our tips you will be able to grow healthy and beautiful thuja seedlings. And what to do next, read in our article: Thuja seedlings: how to choose and plant correctly