If the thuja turns brown, this is an alarm signal for the gardener. Discoloration of the tips and needles is often a sign of disease and pest infestation. With brown buds, however, there is no need to worry. They only look ugly, but do not harm the tree of life.
The thuja has no brown buds but brown seeds
Why does the thuja get brown buds?
The brown buds are actually not buds, but dried seeds. They occur when the tree of life has had to expend too much energy for flowering and seed formation. He then has no more resources to get the seeds to ripen.
You can prevent this by cutting the thuja in such a way that no flowers and later seeds can develop. Alternatively, cut off part or all of the inflorescences after flowering.
As a rule, it is not desirable for the thuja to form seeds anyway, but it should put its strength into the sprouting of new shoots. The seed is not used for the propagation of the tree of life. It is propagated by cuttings.
- Prune thuja before flowering
- later remove inflorescences
- remove seeds
Brown buds are harmless
If the gardener discovers brown buds on the thuja hedge, there is no need to take action.
The brown "buds" are more of a blemish and do not damage the tree of life.
Cut off brown spots
Thuja tolerates pruning very well, just doesn't like it when it's cut down to the old wood. There it does not drive out again.
However, you can remove brown shoots at any time. However, you should check beforehand whether diseases or pest infestation may have caused the tanning. Sometimes strong sunlight and too little water lead to brown shoots.
Don't worry about brown buds though. You can simply clip off these blemishes if the sight bothers you. This can also be useful to give the tree of life more power to develop new shoots.
tips
If the thuja needles turn yellow, you should have the soil examined. This discoloration can be an indication of a magnesium deficiency. If the suspicion is confirmed, fertilizing with Epsom salt will help.