A Big Thuja That Was Collected This Spring
This large Thuja occidentalis was captured in April of this year. All of the pictures except the last one were taken in April soon after collection, when the tree was still in it’s dull winter colour.
The trunk is huge with some dramatic movement. The deadwood also tells some fascinating stories, particularly the massive break in the 8″ diameter middle section. One has to wonder how damage like this could be done without completely uprooting the tree.
This tree certainly doesn’t present any easy design solutions, so it will be a challenge. Currently these are the best pictures I have of the tree as it is tucked away in the rehab area.
Hard tree to photograph as the base is covered by some branches.
I’ve been planting all of my larger collected trees in pure screened perlite for the last couple of years.
Before root washing and potting up, giving a glimpse into the base of the tree. This is a good example of the impenetrable root mass that Thujas are often collected with. Very little of it is actually live root. Hosing out as much muck as possible greatly simplifies watering the containerized tree.
Some details:
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- Break
A more recent picture of the tree. It has been under shade cloth the entire year.