How do you plant Thuja occidentalis in Emerald?

Steps to plant thuja occidentalis emerald

1. Use a shovel to dig into the soil about 1 ft deep. Create a hole that is large enough for thuja’s root ball.

2. Mix thuja’s potting soil with some of the native soil you have dug out of the planting site.

3. Place thuja in the middle of the hole and fill it in with your mix of potting soil and native soil until thuja is buried at its present level where it was planted when purchased from a garden store or nursery. There should be plenty of black dirt showing around the thuja occidentalis emerald at this point. If the thuja tree sits above the soil line thuja tree will not survive.

4. Water thuja tree thoroughly after planting to ensure that thuja roots have plenty of water to help thuja recover from being moved and planted in a new location.

5. Leave thuja alone for the rest of thuja’s first growing season so thuja can establish roots before attempting to prune or shape thuja.

6. Prune thuja only during the dormant season (winter) using hand shears for branches under one inch in diameter and lopping off branches entirely with hand pruners without leaving stubs. If you leave stubs, they will become breeding grounds for disease organisms that thuja is susceptible to catching.

7. Apply thuja’s fertilizing schedule of 1 cup per 10-inch diameter of thuja tree (measured at 6 inches above thuja root ball) onto thuja’s soil surface under thuja canopy in spring, summer and fall before new growth begins each season. Do not use thuja trees or shrubs within 3 ft of thuja if you are planting lawn grasses because thujas will poison things by absorbing the nitrogen in your fertilizer that things need to grow thick and plush as it should be.

8. Protect thuja tree by wrapping burlap around thuja trunk when young to protect thuja from rabbits and deer that will eat thuja’s bark during thuja vulnerable first 3 years of thuja life.

9. In thuja’s fourth growing season, thuja should have been able to grow through thuja protective burlap sleeve by this time or you can remove thuja’s protective burlap sleeve at thuja tree’s 4th-year celebration (northern regions).

10. Pinch off new growth on thujas in the summer when young to encourage strong lower branching for good shape. Once thuja occidentalis emerald reaches 2 ft tall pinch back even more new growth in the summer every 6 inches along thujas stem to increase thujas strength and vigor (width of thuja’s canopy).

11. Prune thuja occidentalis trees in thuja spring to remove thuja deadwood, thuja diseased branches, thujas overcrowded branches and thujas crossing branches. Remove these by cutting off the branches at their point of origin on the thuja trunk or branch (see attached image). Prune upper limbs first then prune bottom limbs.

12. When thujas are young pinch off new growth during thuja summer months to encourage lower branching for good shape (see attached image). Once thujas grow beyond 2 ft tall you can cut back even more new growth every 6 inches along the stem at their thuja summer pruning (see thuja attached images). This thuja will thicken thujas canopy (width) up to 50% over thuja’s first few years.

13. After winter thuja prune remove any dead or diseased branches during thuja dormant season (winter) using hand shears for branches under one inch in diameter and lopping off branches entirely with hand pruners without leaving stubs. If you leave stubs, they will become breeding grounds for disease organisms that thujas are susceptible to catching. Remove crossing branches by cutting thujas through their center at their point of origin on the thuja trunk or branch.