Each summer resident seeks to make rational use of the territory of his plot and at the same time make it beautiful and comfortable. Many people are thinking about planting perennial conifers, which will decorate the yard and are not particularly whimsical in caring. An excellent solution in this case will be the Danica thuja.
Did you know? The variety was bred in Denmark in 1948. The name comes from the country of origin.
Description and features of thuja "Danika"
Tui "Danica" - evergreen shrub of the cypress family, dwarf form of western thuja. It has a spherical shape. Thuja "Danica" grows to 60-75 cm in height. The krone reaches in diameter to 1 m.
The culture is characterized by slow growth, because in one year it grows only up to 5 cm in height and 4 cm in breadth. The crown of the tree is dense. The needles are painted in green color, soft to the touch, scaly. All the branches are directed upwards, which gives the plant an attractive look.
The plant does not bloom profusely. It is extremely rare to see small (up to 60 mm in length) rounded nodules of brown color. Seedlings of thuja "Danika" are small (up to 10 mm in length) needles. They are called juvenile. Then they turn into flat scales, tight to each other.
Did you know? With proper care, the plant can live up to 100 years.
Retains its decorative appearance throughout the year. It tolerates winter cold.
How to choose thuja seedlings when buying
Before you plant thuyu "Danica", you should carefully select the seedlings and use these tips:
- Buy material only from proven gardeners or in nurseries. This ensures its viability, purity of the variety, zoning.
- Seedlings should like the shape and appearance.
- If you buy thuja in the nursery, you need to ask for a plant growing far from the road.
- For specimens brought to our latitudes, the presence of a small amount of weeds is considered a good sign. This means that the tree has already wintered in our country and has remained healthy.
- Very important transportation Tui "Danica" to the country. When transporting should be ensured that the branches and roots are not broken.
The best time to plant Tui "Danica"
Each gardener independently decides when to plant Danica on his plot. According to experts, this can be done from March to November. But spring planting is considered more preferable, because if the plant is planted in the fall, he may not have enough time to adapt to winter.
The choice of location and soil for planting thuja seedlings
The optimal soil for planting "Danika" will be turf soil with sand and peat. It can also grow on poorer lands — swampy, clayey, etc. Acidity does not matter.
It is desirable that the plant was in the penumbra, since in direct sunlight it dehydrates and tolerates wintering worse. In addition, the culture reacts poorly to drafts.
Preparatory procedures and planting seedlings Tui Dani
The pit for planting "Danica" is dug 30-40 cm wider and 20-30 cm deeper than a clod of earth with seedling roots. At the bottom pour a little rotted manure or ordinary compost.
Before planting, the roots of the thuja are dipped into water and kept there until the air stops bubbling.
Tuya put in the middle of the pit, gently straighten the roots, make sure that the root collar is located a few centimeters above ground level. Then fall asleep tree universal soil mixture, carefully compacted the ground at the base.
Water thawed at the rate of two watering cans per plant. After the liquid is absorbed, peat, pine bark, compost, or simply splinter mulch the tree trunk to help protect the roots from drying out.
Important! It is impossible for the lower shoots or the trunk to be under the mulch, because they will keep them that way.
When planting a thuja, the distance between the trees should be at least 1 m. If an alley is planted, observe a distance of 3-4 meters.
Care and cultivation of Tui Dani
Sunburn Protection
In early spring, when the snow melts during the day, and an ice crust forms on the needles at night, the tree may suffer from sunburn. Frozen water acts as a lens that refracts the rays of light, so it is better to shake it off immediately.
In the risk zone are also young Tui, planted in white fences, on the sunny side, on heavy ground.
To prevent damage to the tree, it is advisable to sprinkle it with earth, peat or sand. Then the ice will melt without damaging the plant.
To protect against sunburn, you can also use pritetnye mesh or burlap, which are sold in specialized stores. They cover the plant or stretch the fabric on the frame or frame so that the plant is in the shade.
Watering, loosening and soil mulching
Thuja responds positively to additional moisture. In the first 14-15 days after planting, 10-50 liters of water are poured under each seedling daily, depending on its size. On hot summer days, additional watering is also required at the rate of 15 liters per plant.
After making water you need to loosen the soil under the thuja to a depth of 8-10 cm. You should not do it deeper, because you can damage the root system. Mulch the tree with humus, peat, crushed bark, small chips during planting and preparing for cold weather.
Fertilization
In the middle of spring, it is advisable to feed Danik with complex mineral fertilizers. They are introduced in the amount of 50-60 g per 1 sq.m. soil. Good effect gives the use of the solution "Kemira-universal". Also, thuja reacts remarkably to organic matter (humus, compost, manure) at the rate of 35-60 g / 1 sq. M
Important! If during planting fertilizers were applied, then the next two years do not need to feed the culture.
Pruning
Culture tolerates pruning. Frequent removal of unwanted branches makes the greens more dense and lush. The best time to trim a spherical thuja is early spring, until the buds bloom. If necessary, the procedure is repeated in August-September.
Particularly important is trimming when forming a hedge. A single plant also needs it to thin out and remove damaged shoots. If you do not, the tree looks sloppy.
For the first time pruning is carried out not earlier than in the second or third year of the plant’s life, when it grows to the required size. Usually remove no more than a third of the branch, so as not to weaken the thuja.
For the procedure requires a quality pruner, which will not damage the thuja, leaving dents and creases on the branches. 
Winter cold protection
Adult specimens of the Dani Tui do not require shelter for the winter. It is enough to mulch the soil under the crop.
Young plants (up to 5 years) must be covered with spruce branches from the cold. Before this, the thuja is highly spud, and the peat is mulched around the trunk.
Hedgehog hedges and use in landscape design
Thuja "Danica" in landscape design is considered a universal plant. It can be used both in large gardens and in miniature plantings at country houses. You can plant as one tree, and combine the culture with other plants.
The style of such compositions can be different - from free to strict and graphic (in Japanese style, at administrative buildings, etc.). The tree will look spectacular in the front garden, mixborder, on the alpine hill. To decorate the loggia, balcony, terrace, you can use the thuja in the container.
"Danica" will be an excellent material for hedges, because of closely planted plants can make green borders. Since culture is malleable, it is not difficult to form different geometric figures, animals, birds, etc. 
Fight against diseases and pests of a tuan "Danika"
Despite the resistance of the thuja spherical to diseases and pests, you should know how to prevent and combat them.
Trunk rot caused by fungus. Symptoms of the disease are browning of the needles, softening of the tissues of the branches. Experienced gardeners recommend immediately removing the diseased tree from the site, destroying all plant debris. This will help to protect from neighboring plants. To avoid the onset of the disease, it is recommended to process thuja with simple fungicides 2-3 times a year.
A serious fungal disease is root decay. Needles acquires a gray tint. The plant begins to dry out gradually, and the trunk at the bottom becomes soft so that it can be pushed through with your fingers. It is necessary not only to urgently remove the diseased plant, but also to try to remove from the site all the soil on which it grew. It is in the land that disease-related disputes persist.
After the snow "Danica" can attack brown mold. With her, the plant is covered with a characteristic cobweb, and individual branches die off. It is necessary to carefully remove all the damaged parts of the plant, carefully collect the entire web so that the disease does not pass to the neighboring trees. It is also useful to process the culture with special preparations that are widely represented in gardening stores.
The most dangerous Tui pests are spider mite, aphid, motley moth, leafworm, scytwalka, tuevoy bark beetles and some others. With the defeat of a tree with aphids or mites, it begins to dry, the needles turn yellow, and soon it may even fall off.
Often there are also pests that eat pine needles. Then the plant becomes brown, the tops of the branches can die off. The most dangerous pests are those that damage the root system.
Important! Best of all in the pest control "Danika" have recommended themselves such drugs as "Fufanon" and "Aktellik".
Dozens of other effective insecticides are offered in specialty stores. To preventive measures include:
- careful inspection of plants several times a year. Since the needles are small, it is quite difficult to notice pests at an early stage of the lesion;
- cleaning of all plant residues;
- periodic digging of soil under the trees.
