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Wakehurst Place is administered by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and houses the Millenium Seed Bank where they hope to save species from extinction. The building where this work is being done is glass sided and the public can walk along viewing the various stages of seed preparation and progress by the many technicians employed there.

The first Redwood that you may encounter in the gardens is a variation called Pendulum. This very peculiar tree looks nothing like a Giant Redwood until it is examined closely, when the bark and the foliage reveal its true origins. This oddity comprises a single stem that leans precariously over to one side, with mane of straggly foliage dangling downwards.

Shortly after that (travelling clockwise around the gardens), there are several very young Giant Redwoods and then by the house, several huge and fine examples. One of these is adorned with lights at Christmas and can be seen over two miles away at Balcombe.
Travelling around the gardens, stopping at the viewpoint to admire the scenery, you will eventually arrive at Horsebridge Woods. Here a large Coast Redwood can be found, together with a fantastic grove of young and old Giant Redwoods ("old" in UK terms at least!). On two of the youngish trees there are plaques that state one is grown from a seed taken from the General Sherman tree, and the other from the General Grant tree, both among the most famous and largest of Giant Redwoods in America.

Wakehurst Place is very much worth a visit and you can find out more on their web site.



Thanks to Tam and Scott for this photograph taken in 2009 of "Britains tallest xmas tree"!

Common Names and Latin Name No. Latitude and Longitude OS National Grid Elevation
(above sea-level)
Height Girth Date Measured
WGS84 OSGB36
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron giganteum pendula
1 N51.06759
W0.08805
N51.06703
W0.08646
TQ 34061 31545     1.26m March 2006
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
2 N51.06708
W0.08821
N51.06652
W0.08662
TQ 34051 31488 445ft (135.6m) 15.6m   March 2006
3 N51.06660
W0.08845
N51.06604
W0.08686
TQ 34036 31434 434ft (132.3m) 10.5m   March 2006
4 N51.06635
W0.08884
N51.06579
W0.08725
TQ 34009 31406 431ft (131.4m) 12m   March 2006
5 N51.06653
W0.08897
N51.06597
W0.08738
TQ 33999 31425 405ft (123.4m) 37m 6.16m March 2006
6 N51.06664
W0.08890
N51.06608
W0.08731
TQ 34004 31438 404ft (123.1m) 31.5m 6m March 2006
7 N51.06674
W0.08886
N51.06618
W0.08727
TQ 34007 31449 418ft (127.4m) 24.9m   March 2006
8 N51.06610
W0.08896
N51.06554
W0.08737
TQ 34001 31378 402ft (122.5m) 28.8m 5.9m March 2006
Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
9 N51.06638
W0.09289
N51.06582
W0.09130
TQ 33725 31401 385ft (117.3m) 15.6m   March 2006
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
10 N51.06637
W0.09316
N51.06581
W0.09157
TQ 33706 31400 373ft (113.7m) 11.2m   March 2006
11 N51.06573
W0.09278
N51.06517
W0.09119
TQ 33735 31329 349ft (106.4m) 32.5m 4.68m March 2006
12 N51.06554
W0.09268
N51.06498
W0.09109
TQ 33743 31309 365ft (111.3m) 35m 4.66m March 2006
13 N51.06484
W0.09173
N51.06428
W0.09014
TQ 33811 31232 389ft (118.5m) 28.9m 5.66m March 2006
Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
14 N51.06305
W0.09040
N51.06249
W0.08881
TQ 33909 31036 405ft (123.4m) 10.75m 0.95m March 2006
15 N51.06313
W0.09030
N51.06257
W0.08871
TQ 33916 31045 419ft (127.7m) 11.8m 1.17m March 2006
Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirens
16 N51.06838
W0.09848
N51.06782
W0.09689
TQ 33328 31614 260ft (79.2m) 40.4m 4.86m March 2006
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
17 N51.06850
W0.09846
N51.06794
W0.09687
TQ 33329 31627 247ft (75.3m) 11.2m   March 2006
18 N51.06836
W0.09780
N51.06780
W0.09621
TQ 33376 31613 261ft (79.5m) 37.5m 5.444m March 2006
19 N51.06937
W0.09600
N51.06881
W0.09441
TQ 33499 31728 248ft (75.6m) 46.5m 4.84m March 2006
20 N51.06943
W0.09596
N51.06887
W0.09437
TQ 33502 31735 246ft (75m) 39.1m 6.32m March 2006
21 N51.06959
W0.09559
N51.06903
W0.09400
TQ 33527 31754 250ft (76.2m)   0.82m March 2006
22 N51.06954
W0.09555
N51.06898
W0.09396
TQ 33530 31748 241ft (73.5m)   0.96m March 2006
Girth was measured at 1.5m from ground.
The order is roughly the sequence they would be encountered travelling clockwise around the gardens.
This list does not yet include all of the Giant Redwoods in the Horsebridge Woods section.

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