Stu,

you are a madman! Sequoias in your backyard?!?

Love your blog, i'm a tree man myself, and i particularly like this pic of the redwood

We live in Derbyshire, England and have a giant redwood growing in our garden! We bought it about 4 years ago the States as a very small plant and it now thrives at the bottom of the garden. We have been wrapping it up in winter to protect from frost but as it is now about ten feet tall I don't think it will be possible this year. Do you think it will survive the frost?

Sandra - I think you will have no problem with the frost. It sounds like your tree is a veritable size now to grow on its own and may even benefit from a few colder winters.

dear sandra and phillip spencer i read your article do you know if your tree is either the giant sequoia or coast redwood there are two types in california you say giant redwood but which is it coast redwoods do not like alot of frost or snow which they rarely receive in native cally, the mountain version commonly caled giant sequoia seems to be more hardy, just fyi there is a home in the southern sirrera nevada mountains that has a 20 foot + giant sequoia thats 20 in diameter height is around 260 feet tall one day yours will be in that region or close to it, ive seen young sequoias that are no more than 50 years old and nearly 8 feet in diameter at the base and nearly 130 tall and thats at a locla park near San francisco so watch out your grand kids might have a monster to deal with in the future .... David

one more thing in regards to you future big tree the branches on these mamath trees grow very long and as a young tree so i hope you planted it in a wide enough area because come 30 or 40 years old or less its going to mhane a massive tree spread ok thats my fought

David - its a coastal redwood and still growing very well - we have left it uncovered this winter and it seems to be fine. I realise it will become very large - I am writing it into my will that my future generations will have to live here and keep an eye on it!

I just bought 2 last year I live in Maryland, 1 is dead the other seems OK so far, the one that died got black near the trunk and spread up through the needles, guess it was a fungus. I also noticed a small Walnut Sapling was near it I wonder if its Juglans killed it.

i live about 30 miles north of kansas city, mo and i have 4 redwood trees, propageted from seed, that are about 12 inches tall. my questions are, when can i plant these trees outside, and will the frost kill them??

Hey Stu,

I live in south eastern South Dakota and I just planted my Sequoia almost two year ago in my back years after two years of potted care. I have a few questions that maybe you can help me with. Here is the deal after the first winter the tree looked like it was dead, I almost dug it up but then noticed green bud all around the trunk, so I clipped all the brownish branches off and allowed the new ones to grow and boy did they grow. This winter I covered the tree up with leaves to prepare it for the winter and it did wonderful. The thing is huge now. However the diameter of the tree is more than the height, should I clip some branches at the base? Local green houses think I am crazy and none of them believe me when i tell them I have one in the ground and it has survived 2 winters. Long story short they won't help me. So how should I continue to care for my tree?

Mike, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming that to have a tree where the height is less than the diameter of the trunk would mean that you have pruned the crown as part of your initial clippings.

If this IS the case then while you may have a nice shrub you won't end up with a great tree. The branches at the lower levels will eventually grow into trees but you will never have a tree with just one trunk. In this case, I would cut my losses and start again or you could put up with the retardation that has occurred and cut the lower branches back to one or two and let them grow.

If my assumption ISN'T the case then I have no answer for you apart from letting it grow and see what happens. If it's grown well for two years and its height is the only problem then continue to let it grow. Hopefully time should heal the problem.

I have a giant sequioa which I purchased 6 years ago as a seedling. It is thriving in the house and has gone through many pots we are at a point now that it needs to move out to the yard. We are in NH I am scared it won't survive, we put it out all spring summer and fall and only take it in the winter. Currently it's 5ft tall and 5ft wide. I would appreciate any tips on keeping it safe and sound. We have no shortage of space to plant it!
Thanks for the consideration.
Amy

I was visiting Muir Woods (redwood forest) last week and purchased two Giant Sequoia saplings from the gift shop. While the instructions came w/ them, a ranger said to plant them in a 2.5 gallon container (fairly wide) and to keep them in the container for at least 18 months in a mix of potting soil and cactus mix (out of direct sun and careful not to overwater). From there, they are supposed to be very hearty and able to sustain cold winters outdoors. We're in Ohio and I have HIGH hopes!

Hi Stuart,

Any idea where I can get some Coastal red cedar seedling in queensland?

Sean

Stu,
Thought I'd let you know that your assumption was correct. I did cut the crown when I clipped all the dead branches that first year. The good news is though that we have a new leader that has sprung up and the tree is not slightly taller than its diameter. It is a little retarted looking but I don't plan on staying in my house for to many more years so I am going to leave it!! Your advise was great though, thanks. Have you ever heard of a tree growing this far north of it's recommended hardiness zone?

I suspect one of my two coastal redwood trees is sick with a fungus. I've been searching the internet in the hopes I would figure out what is wrong. As another posting mentioned, I am seeing black in some spots on the trunk and some of the needles are turning brown (faster and larger quantities than normal). I bought my trees about 2 years ago when they were about 6 feet tall. They have grown to about 8 feet. I love my trees - what is going on? Anyone have any suggestions? Is it fungus? Can I treat it? Thanks!

Kirsten, it sounds like your tree is suffering from SOD (Sudden Oak Death) bought about by the deadly Phytophthora ramorum pathogen. Unfortunately, there is no known cure - despite what some "arborists" will tell you. The best defense is preventing it from spreading and trying to help your tree fight become healthier so that it can fight it on its own.

Here's some reading you might want to check out on the subject - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/11/HO9708.DTL

Hello, nice that other people also love sequoias as much as we do. We bought a "Grow your own Giant Sequoia Kit" and now have a small tree in a pot. We live in Switzerland. It is only outside during summer. It is now nearly 4 years old and only 1ft3 tall. Should it be much taller? Sometimes lots of branches are dried out. How should we treat it?

Thanks and all the best to you and your trees, Michel

Hi and thanks for the response. I read the article and I'm trying not to get too depressed! In an effort to keep the trees as healthy as I can to ward off anymore funky stuff, what would your recommendation be for watering. I have a feeling I water too much and I'm sure that is not helping matters. It is really cool that you do this blog and help people (and trees!) you don't even know. Thank you :)