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Tall Tales - Readers' Stories of Redwood Trees - Page 3
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  James Hartley - December 2021 |
James wrote; I'm part of a small group called Yorkshire Redwoods, we are dedicated to growing Giant Sequoia by seeds collected from British trees. Last year (2020) we planted 300 Sequoia and this year we are planing to plant at least 400.
What a superb mission, I do wish you lots of luck with it. James can be found on instagram @yorkshire_redwoods. |
Coast Redwood - January 2022 |
Coast Redwood - January 2022 |
Back in the summer of 2021, I donated two coast redwood trees to a Wakefield council tree officer. The ground has been really well prepared in a location with great sun and room to grow.
I'm very excited to see how fast they grow in the coming years. |
Coast Redwood - January 2022 |
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| Jason Clover - January 2022 |
Coast Redwood - January 2022 |
Coast Redwood - January 2022 |
Jason wrote to ask about two growths from the base of the Sequoia that he planted twenty years ago. He wrote; I just want to give the very best environment for the trees so any advice I would appreciate.
Before seeing the photos, I recommended that he cut them off, and possibly try to propagate the cuttings if he was so inclined. However I had not appreciated their size and had assumed they were smaller soft cuttings not woody stems. |
Coast Redwood - February 2022 |
Once I had seen the photograph of the stems I replied; "The large branches that have been growing a fair number of years on your Coast Redwood would probably not survive being chopped and replanted. Then again, Coast Redwood are very tenacious, it would be interesting to try plonking them in holes in the ground or large pots and seeing what happens. If kept very damp and the green foliage is reduced, perhaps they might just root.
Alternatively, you could discard the woody section of the removed sucker and plant just the upper foot or so of green stem - with Coast Redwood this is quite likely to take. One of the differences between the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and the
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is that while the latter can be propagated fairly readily from cuttings, the former very rarely does so."
Here is a page that clarifies a few more differences between these two types: Redwood Types
Jason went ahead and removed the stems, he said; I'm going to be brave and remove the wooded suckers. I have been holding this off because of the size they have become. I will also replant the top 2 foot of them, I will let you know if they take.
Good luck and I'm looking forward to hearing the results! |
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| Steven Cornwall - March 2022 |
Coast Redwood - March 2022 |
A few weeks ago I started to become interested in redwoods due to several YouTube video's and decided I would look for more information online about redwoods and the UK and discovered your site which helped me decide to try growing my own.
After some thought I decided I would try to grow the coast redwood species so I bought some seeds from Chiltern seeds and planted right away as they came pre-chilled.
13 days later I was surprised to see the first seedling had germinated. I have planted about 50 or so seeds so I hope to have more soon enough.
It's great to hear that your sowing has been successful and thank you for sending the photograph. Even after growing hundreds of Redwood saplings, it is still a thrill to see one bursting through, with the promise of a fabulous landmark tree in the making! Good luck with the other seeds.
The seedling from yesterday has continued to grow though it still has the seed head attached but that's not why I am contacting you again so soon, I wasn't sure if I'd get any successful germinations so I ordered a young coast redwood and it just arrived and measures 37cm in height. I'm not sure how long I should keep it indoors but I am prepared for keep it indoors for the rest of this year and have it in the garden next year and hopefully find a good final spot sometime after that if all goes well. |
Coast Redwood - March 2022 |
I would keep the sapling outside permanently now, however if it has been indoors perhaps the best thing to do is take it out during the day and bring it in overnight during the next few weeks so it becomes acclimatised, particularly as much of Southern Britain still has a slight risk of overnight frost during March.
The only other thing I would suggest is protecting it from high winds as it will take a few months to toughen up. Either a sheltered spot or use a stick during very windy periods. I also recommend repotting it, it will benefit from more root space and this will also make it more stable during breezy periods. Hope you find a good spot for planting out next year! |
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| Tracey Moss - August 2022 |
Giant Redwood - August 2022 |
In 2013 my daughter bought me some Sequioa seeds from Yosemite National Park which I planted and, of the 5 seeds, 3 germinated, I now have three 60cm (2ft) trees planted in pots in my garden.
All has been well until this drought we've had this year, where one of the trees has gone very brittle and brown. I tried watering it and nothing has changed. On taking it out of the pot it looks very pot bound. I would like some advice as to whether to repot it or indeed whether I can plant one of them into my garden.
My garden is in a terrace that backs onto a playing field and is 12.5 m x 5.7 m. I don't know whether this is too small to grow a Sequia or whether I'm legally allowed to plant it in my garden (I do own by home) but thought because they grow huge whether I'd have enough room. I do realise that I won't be around to see it turn into a giant but I want the tree to have the best life possible.
If I continue to grow them in pots, can you give me some advice as to the size of pot that will be favourable and beneficial to the trees?
Later: Of the three Giant Redwood seedlings I had I have only got two now. The third one that I contacted you about, as it had turned brown, has died and has gone to compost heaven. |
You've done really well to germinate and grow the three Sequoia saplings, but I'm sorry to hear that one of your saplings is browning. Assuming they are Giant Sequoia (Wellingtonia/Sequoiadendron giganteum), I've experienced browning problems with some of mine too over the past four or five years. I've been trying to work out the cause, I have a number of theories on contributing factors, the obvious being running too dry for extended periods, or too waterlogged, but my favourite contributing factor at the moment is a lack of iron in the sapling, due probably to a loss of acidity in the soil caused by a build-up of calcium due to just watering with tap-water. In the summer, most of the moisture probably evaporates, leaving behind the calcium, which reduces the compost acidity.
I think that with too alkaline a soil, the saplings have difficulty taking up whatever iron is in the compost/soil, leading to a sickly looking, yellowed and then browned foliage. It usually occurs in clumps of foliage at first, which I've always been cutting away (fully brown foliage never recovers), and if enough foliage survives as fresh-looking green, the sapling seems to pick up next spring. Otherwise, I've had two die unfortunately.
This past year or so I've tried two things to prevent the problem. The first is to return to using rainwater collected in my water butts (I had foolishly stopped doing this a few years ago in favour of tap water). I run out of this mid-Summer, so I've had to use tap water for the past few weeks though. The second thing I've been doing is to treat the saplings with some Sulphate of Iron. I think this boosts the amount of iron the saplings can take up - I usually sprinkle a handful over the top of the compost, but every few weeks to a month I've been dissolving three tablespoons of the powder in a watering can of water and watering generously with it. It might have been coincidence, but after the first use of the Sulphate of Iron the saplings seemed to perk up. I've applied it a little more frequently since I've run out of rainwater. I'm not sure how much would be too much for them though! Take care though, it will leave rust stains on patios and clothing. I also feed with Phostrogen plant food every few weeks in the Spring through to Autumn, to make sure they have all the elements they need.
I've also returned to mixing a good amount of horticultural sand and some topsoil in with the compost when I re-pot, I think this helps prevent the content just becoming a dense mass of root as the compost decays, and helps improve aeration and drainage. I probably use 25% topsoil and 15% sand (ish).
Another tip is to shade the pot itself from the direct sun if possible, especially if the pot is black. A shallow wall is ideal, if the pot can be shaded without shading the foliage too much. Repotting to give the saplings root space is good. At the size yours are at present, I would hope to have them in a 30 litre to 50 litre size pot. 30ish litre size would be easier to move around, but 50ish would give you more time in the pot. I use a plastic pot that has two handles makes the job of manoeuvring them easier, but you'll probably need to buy them via the internet. I use these -H. Smith Plastics but you might find them available in smaller quantities via ebay.
I don't believe there is a law against planting particular trees in your garden, although planting a fast growing tree such as Leylandii next to a fence with a neighbours garden might lead to a nuisance complaint to the council, especially if it shades the neighbour's garden. A back fence adjacent to a field would not be a problem, but with a modest garden it might seem a bit large - but then that would probably not be a worry for fifty years or so. Personally, I would plant one in the garden and enjoy it for my lifetime, or the time I live at the house, and perhaps find a larger place for the others in the hope that they at least would have a better chance of living on to be immense landmark trees. |
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 Jaydon Amin - May 2023 |
Giant Redwood - May 2023 |
Giant Redwood - June 2023 |
Jaydon wrote at the end of May 2023; I stumbled across your website earlier this year, when I was doing research about my newly planted sequoia trees! I started my collection by planting my Sequoiadendron Giganteum Glaucum (the blue variety of the giant sequoia).
I have since planted 3 coast redwoods and 2 dawn redwoods. They are all doing extremely well, with growth of up to 15 centimetres within 2 weeks! The coast redwoods were all around 1.9-2.3 metres when planted. I wonder if the coast redwood will thicken up before it shoots too tall, I worry it may break in the wind! |
Coast Redwood - May 2023 |
Dawn Redwood - May 2023 |
| Your collection looks really good, it looks like you've done a great job planting them. The Coast Redwood will definitely thicken up while it's growing upwards. It's unlikely to break in the wind, it would need a hurricane force gale to snap the new season's growth. I do find sometimes that the Coast Redwood grows very quickly and flops over a little at the top, when that happens I loosely tie a bamboo cane close along the stem to straighten it, after a few months the stem will harden in a straight form and it can be removed. |
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| Simon Rowe - October 2023 |
Giant Redwood - October 2023 |
I planted the current crop of 8 giant redwoods this Spring 2023, having Polytunnelled them for 2 years, so they've not really wintered in this part of Scotland before. I seem to remember buying them when they were two years old. I've not yet mastered the art of giant redwood seed propagation, though hope to in the next few years.
I moved onto the land in 2020 and planted 4 redwoods in the spring of 2021, though I'm sorry to report that 3 of the 4 didn't survive, largely due to my inexperience in selecting suitable planting conditions. I think I planted them when they were two years old, which for this part of the U.K. is a little too young perhaps. Anyway I have 9 Giant Redwoods on the land along with two Coastal Redwoods. See photos. Whilst the one from 2021 looks particularly poorly presently, it has actually pick up this year, I having thought I'd lost it last winter.
Finding the right spot has proved difficult, as some parts of the land don't drain well, and there is an awful lot of rain up in these parts, though I am hopeful the 8 planted this Spring will make it though this coming very wet autumn and winter. They're planted in reasonably well draining soil, which is close to a water source.
I've a further 10 giant redwoods, 4 Dawn Redwoods and 5 Coastal Redwoods for planting out over the next couple of years . |
Coast Redwood - October 2023 |
Your Redwood planting sounds terrific and I hope the latest batch fare better than the first four. I also found that some of my earliest plantings failed, I too think they were just too small to survive so I tend to wait until they're three or more years old.
It appears that your trees could be the most Northerly ones I know about in my records. The most Northerly I knew about until now was one in Dunrobin Castle in Golspie. |
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