Worth knowing:
The Giant Redwood’s typical appearance is a high and conically growing crown on a nearly branch-free trunk. The tree consists of red-brown coloured heartwood, which explains its English name. The Giant Redwood tree can be kept downsized in a tub for a few years, but eventually needs to be planted outdoors, where it becomes completely frost-resistant and can reach even as a garden tree most impressive heights.
Natural Location:
Its natural habitat is the Sierra Nevada in the US state of California. Since the Sequoia gigantea is an endangered species, the largest number of trees is found in national parks like the Yosemite or Sequoia National Park.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. It is advisable to stratify the seeds first, which means to stimulate and prepare the seed with a cold treatment. For that you have to keep it sealed in a plastic bag in the regular refrigerator for about one week. After that, place the seeds for another two days in warm water for priming, so that the swelling further increases its germinability. Now you can press the seeds gently in moist potting compost. As a light germinator the seeds of a Giant Redwood require only a little bit of compost earth on top. Cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out, but don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 15°C and 20° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. You need some patience for the germination, but within four to seven weeks the first seedlings should come up.
Place:
Since the Giant Redwood is supposed to become an impressive garden tree, once planted in a full sunny place outdoors, you should give it enough space to grow right from the start. It should be given well-drained soil and waterlogging is to be avoided at all costs.
Care:
See that your Giant Redwood gets sufficient water during the dry summer. That is also to say for older trees since it is not very deep rooted. Once a week, younger plants can also be dipped in a bigger container with water until the clotted roots are soaked. Fertilizing is usually not necessary.
During the winter:
Only after the trunk is lignified at its lower end up to 10 or 15 cm, it is sufficiently frost-resistant to be planted outdoors. For the first three years the Giant Redwood should therefore be kept in a tub and has to be watered moderate during winter. Ideally you keep it away from the dry air of a heater to prevent pest infestation. For its first winter outdoors, the tree should be given some protection for the root area, for example a layer of brushwood. After that it will be fully frost-resistant.
Picture credits:
- © © 1. Frank Vincentz 2. Ekem - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Jim Bahn - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
- © Daniel Fuchs - CC-BY-SA-2.5 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5
- © Thereidshome - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © Frank Vincentz - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Pan Peter12 - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © Frank Vincentz - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Ekem - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 - . -
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