▷ Thuja SMARAGD: when it is worth buying small ones

Today our topic is thuja SMARAGD and what size to choose. Naturally, the smaller the seedlings, the cheaper they are. And the longer your hedge, the more you want to buy those cheap little seedlings – after all, you can wait a few years, they will grow – you think.

We teach the secrets of landscaping in courses “My garden project”. During these you will learn the laws of design, the design process and finally create directly on your plot plan. And you will see that landscaping project is a difficult but definitely doable and very interesting task.

How old is he really? You’ll have to waituntil the seedlings you purchased reach the desired height? In nursery school “Soltra” I found thuja seedlings of various ages and heights. Watch the video report, where I compare them based on height, so you will know which ones to choose for you:

THUJA SMARAGD AGED 3 AND 5 YEARS

3 year old thuja SMARAGD is approx 0.6-0.8 m tall.

For comparison, a 5 year old thuja is taller, somewhere around 0.9 – 1 m high. Furthermore, the pot in which it is grown is much larger, and this is already half of your success, because the roots are formed in the pot, it is not a plant dug directly from the ground.

How to check if the thuja is really grown in pots?

It’s very simple: remove the seedling from the pot and examine the roots.

If the thuja is grown in a pot, you will see a clear and beautiful root network, the roots will form according to the shape of the pot, the soil will not fall out of them. The probability that such a thuja will grow is almost one hundred percent.

If the soil sags and you can clearly see the loose roots, it means the plant has been dug out of the ground and placed temporarily in a pot. The roots of such a seedling were damaged, so you should plant it in the ground as soon as possible. The probability of success depends on the plant, the season and the quality of the transplant.

THUJA SMARAGD, 7-8 YEARS

An emerald thuja of this age is already around 1.60 in height. So the difference between 3 years and these thuja is obvious, their height is different by about 1 meter, which is really, really big.

Thuja is about 7-8 years old, its height reaches 1.6 m.

Cultivated thuja is more expensive, but it is not necessary to plant thuja around the entire perimeter of the yard. Landscape architect Lina Puodžiūtė in the course “My garden project” recommends planting thujas or other high hedges only in places where it is necessary to cover unwanted views, for example, an abandoned yard in the neighborhood. The course takes place in small groups, so each participant brings a piece of their own plot and already during the course, with the help of the teacher, they decide in which place and how high the hedge will be needed.

THUJA SMARAGD, 15 YEARS OLD

15-year-old thuja is already reaching 2 meters and more. Of course, if you do not prune the thuja or otherwise stop its growth, you can expect a thuja of similar height even earlier – I don’t even doubt it.

However, for the seedling to grow densely and well-formed, it will take more than 10 years of waiting. In the video report all heights can be seen very clearly.

ADVISE

Usually within a year thuja SMARAGD it grows about 10 cm. If there are really good conditions it can grow about 15-20 cm per year. If you want a faster result:

fertilize the thuja
install an irrigation system.

If you want an even faster result, I would suggest choosing a variety ‘Brabant’. It is best suited for hedges, can form smooth as a wall, and grows to around 30-40cm per year.