Why does the thuja turn yellow (blacken, dry) after winter, spring, autumn: causes, treatment

The answer to the question, if the thuja turned yellow after the winter, what to do, will be unambiguous: urgently reanimate the plant, having previously identified the cause. It is from what provoked the appearance of yellowness on the tree that the method of its salvation will completely depend. There are many reasons why a green beauty, a favorite of many gardeners and landscape designers, can lose its appearance.

List of natural reasons why thuja turns yellow

The first thing to do if the thuja has turned yellow is to find out the cause of this problem. There may be several of them:

• natural change in the color of the needles associated with a change in temperature;
• exposure to pathological organisms;
• the influence of pests;
• lack of minerals and vitamins;
• improper planting of thuja and caring for it.

Why thuja turns yellow after planting

If immediately after planting the thuja turns yellow and dries, then this may be a temporary difficulty. Sometimes yellowness is only a consequence of the adaptation of the plant in a new place. If the thuja has taken root, but continues to turn yellow, then you should carefully look at it and remember whether it was planted correctly.

Is the right place

Weakening and even death of the thuja can be caused by an incorrect landing. This coniferous representative is very demanding on the place where it will be planted:

1. Poor sandy soil, in which an automatic irrigation system is not laid, can cause the root system to suffer from a lack of moisture. Water in such soil evaporates quickly, without lingering.

   

2. Clay soils suffer from excess moisture, which adversely affects the condition of the root neck. Stagnation of water leads to the fact that the roots cease to receive oxygen in the right amount, and this prevents them from developing. In addition, excess moisture can cause rotting of the thuja root system, which eventually begins to turn yellow.
3. Deepening of root collars. In this case, the thuja may begin to turn yellow only a few weeks after planting. At first, the roots fight for life, trying to resist diseases, but they have enough strength to resist, for a maximum of a month.

   

4. The landing site is located on the territory where there is a sharp change in illumination with shading. For example, for a month the plant is in the shade that this or that plant creates (bindweed on the wall of the gazebo, tall shrubs or trees), then the plant is eliminated (bindweed fades, and it is removed, bushes or trees are cut down). In this case, a fragile plant can get serious sunburn, which can not only spoil the appearance of the thuja, but also destroy it.
5. Planting combined with other plants, or frequent planting of thuja. If the conifer is crowded, then it will begin to suffer from an oxygen deficiency and an excess of moisture at the same time. Therefore, planting plants close to each other is not recommended, just like planting thuja along with other vegetation.

Why did the thuja turn yellow after winter, summer or autumn

First of all, it is necessary to find out if the problems with the yellowing of the conifer are caused by natural causes. For example, a change in the color of the needles may be a feature of the variety before the onset of winter, and it may also be a periodic yellowing of the bottom of the crown (which is natural and should not be scared). In addition, domestic animals sometimes gnaw needles.

After that, other factors affecting the growth of the plant are analyzed.

Solar burns

As already mentioned, thuja should not be planted in areas with direct access to sunlight. Of particular danger to the plant is ultraviolet in the spring, when the snow has not yet melted, and the sun begins to burn. Fighting off the snow, ultraviolet rays fall on the needles, burning it. Therefore, in the first year after wintering, the tree must be protected in the spring, using simple shelters from the first sun.

Irrigation Schedule Violation

When seedlings are just planted in open ground, they must be properly cared for. This also applies to regular watering. In the first month after planting, thuja is watered every 5-7 days (10-12 liters of water for each seedling). In addition, it is worth spraying thuja to reduce the likelihood of sunburn. It is important that such a procedure is carried out in the early morning or in the evening, after sunset.

Areas characterized by a high level of groundwater occurrence differ from the rest by an increased level of humidity. Therefore, the thuja planted there can not be watered even immediately after planting, and it will not turn yellow.

Nutrient deficiency

Fertilizers are also an important aspect in growing thuja. If it starts to turn yellow, then you should pay special attention to this factor. Thuja is good for both mineral and organic fertilizers.

Organics, as a rule, manure, are diluted in water and watered with this solution, the soil does not fall on the trunk of the tree. For each plant, about 3 liters of solution is needed, which is prepared in the following proportions: 1 part of manure to 4 parts of water.

Mineral fertilizers are used 3 times per season (starting from early spring, ending with the end of summer). You can use any suitable preparations, for example, Bioud, Epin, Kumir-universal, etc. If the thuja has already begun to turn yellow, then an urgent introduction of fertilizers can save the tree.

Pests and diseases

Often thuja turn yellow and due to the influence of various pests and diseases on them. The most common are:

1. Aphid. This microscopic insect is extremely dangerous for arborvitae. It sucks the juices from the plant, as a result of which it begins to turn yellow and crumble.
2. fungal diseases, which affect the leaves and twigs of thuja, as a result, the latter begin to turn yellow and die.

How to process thuja from yellowing

Having found out the reason why the thuja turns yellow, you can decide what needs to be done in a particular case.

1. When brown mold forms, the plant must be treated with Kartocide or Bordeaux mixture. Processing is carried out twice with an interval of 15 – 20 days.
2. Kartotsid, or Commander, as well as a solution of Fundazol, which is used immediately after planting a seedling, and then repeated throughout the life of the plant, at least twice per season, will help get rid of thuja from fungal diseases.
3. You can save the plant from the influence of aphids with the help of Aktellik or Rogor-S.

The reason for the yellowing of the thuja is pets

Many gardeners carefully follow the rules for planting thuja, take a responsible approach to growing a plant, regularly water and fertilize it, but thuja still turns yellow inside the crown and along the edges. In this case, the negative influence of animals may be the cause. The fact is that this representative of coniferous plants is extremely negative about the feces of dogs and cats. Banal animal tags can become a serious problem. As a rule, the tree does not turn yellow at first and does not show any signs of disease, but when the roots and trunk of the thuja cease to cope, the symptoms of the problem also appear on the needles.

It is possible to protect a tree from the encroachment of animals only with the help of the construction of basal fences. To prevent the thuja from turning yellow inside, it is necessary to protect them with a net. You can take both a metal and a rope version, which encloses an area with a diameter of 0,5 meters.

Experienced gardeners use a different barrier that acts as a protection against animal marks, planting thorny undersized plants around the thuja bush, even cacti.

Preventive measures

In order not to think about why the thuja turned yellow after the winter, it is best to avoid such a problem. This will help simple preventive measures.

1. The planted seedling must be shaded until it becomes stronger. Otherwise, it will start to turn yellow.
2. In order for the thuja not to turn yellow, the soil around the bush must be mulched. You can use peat, sawdust, compost, needles. This will protect the root system from the influence of cold weather in winter and from the rapid evaporation of moisture.
3. So that the thuja does not turn yellow, regular and sufficient watering should also be carried out. Each young tree should receive at least 10 liters of water every week. If the weather is hot and there is no precipitation, then the amount of water is doubled, or watering is carried out every 3 days.
4. Bathing the arborvitae will also help protect the tree from yellowing. A morning or evening shower has a good effect on the condition of the needles and allows you to protect it from sunburn, preventing the thuja from turning yellow.
5. So that the thuja does not turn yellow, it is worth thinking about adding dressings. Fertilizers must be introduced regularly, in the correct proportions. Do not forget that thuja can also turn yellow from excess fertilizer, so this procedure should be carried out strictly according to the instructions.
6. If the thuja turn yellow in the fall, and this situation happens every year, then this may indicate that the plant does not have enough time for timely “ripening”. In this case, the prevention of yellowing of the crop will consist in the timely application of fertilizers, which will stimulate the growth of the plant from spring to mid-summer.
7. If the thuja turns yellow only in the spring, then prevention will consist in arranging a winter shelter. Most likely, the plant just freezes. To save it, you just need to mulch the soil around the trunk with a 5-centimeter layer of sawdust.

Conclusion

To answer the question why the thuja turned yellow after the winter, what to do and how to protect the plant from such a problem, it is important to analyze the factors affecting the development of the crop, and follow the rules of agricultural technology. Thuja is not one of the most demanding plants, which even a beginner in gardening can provide with minimal basic care.