Speaking of Giant Sequoias

Discussion in 'Gymnosperms (incl. Conifers)' started by dirt reaper, Apr 22, 2008.

  1. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    Yes, the bent trunk tree in the background is a cedar. The trees are located near Hood Canal, Washington. I would also agree that water should not be a problem. In some areas they are planted pretty close together. I am not sure if I should thin at some point or not.
     
  2. norain

    norain Member

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    hood canal cool .we are going to port orchard to visit friends this summer. I wouldn't thin , the sequoias will just take over some day ,you wont see it .lolo
    unless you have a very small tree being over shaded by some thing huge and never getting proper light at any point in the day. I hope you figure out and post what you think the reason for losing trees are. I found they sure don't like fertilizer I use manure early spring ring it like a fruit tree and have flipped the odd dog turd at them seems to work for me .yours are large enough you shouldn't be losing them now. try some of the growers on the net in northern California they may have tips for you . a few have web sites and you can e mail them . they are very good at answering e mails.
     
  3. norain

    norain Member

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    mine are slowly coming along too .today I'm germinating a 150 or so more giant sequoias . I'm always trying different stuff .some I soak in water in a zip lock baggy some I put in wet soil in a card board egg carton just cut the chambers off and stick in pots not disturbing the roots they can drill through the wet cardboard .
     
  4. norain

    norain Member

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    awesome glad someone else loves the trees as much as I do ! good pics thanks for sharing .
     
  5. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Does anybody know of a source for the so-called "Hazel Smith" strain of giant Sequoia? I have tried Googling and searching on the web and I am not able to turn up anything. I have had a few false leads. There are a few nurseries who advertise it but then when I actually tried to contact them, turns out they don't have it afterall. Any ideas?

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain,
    Topeka, IN
     
  6. norain

    norain Member

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    That's normal just becareful not to love them to death at this stage its tempting to fertilize [just water ] or a teaspoon of compost/potting soil at most . what they are doing is building roots at this time . they will seem dormant for about a yr at some point put in a larger pot 6" inch top being careful not to knock the soil off of roots . they will take off again and you will be excited to see them get new growth at the end of its branches and top . Depends on sunlight/water but second yr they start growing after transplanting into ground . yr 3 they should be shoulder height 10/12 yrs they should be like 20 /35 ft high its different in places depending on your weather
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2017
  7. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    norain,

    That is interesting information. As I posted earlier, I have been trying to find the "Hazel Smith" strain. But if I cannot find seedlings, maybe I CAN find seeds! I would've assumed that I'd NEVER be able to germinate them but you're making it sound like it is doable. Maybe I'll try it!

    Regards,
    Fred M. cain
     
  8. norain

    norain Member

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    Anything is do able .lol I always start my sequoia seeds in egg cartons the card board holds water . Also you can cut the carton chambers and plant in a larger pot not disturbing the tiny roots . ive even froze the seeds in ice cubes and plunked into soil let them melt and push soil around with a chop stick . lots of things to try a little ground egg shell is good too
     
  9. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    norain,

    How long does it take them to germinate?

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain
     
  10. norain

    norain Member

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    in about 4 days they will push up from dirt and grow a inch tall over nite .then they do nothing for weeks just water I use a store cow manure soil ... no weeds to get near the fragile roots . I barely push the seed into the loose soil I use a chop stick . Remember thousands of seeds fall ontop the ground in the wild from a tree .
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2017
  11. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    Update!

    Life has been busy!

    Here is a new picture.
     

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  12. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    The land has changed dramatically since my last picture post on 3/2015. The Giant Sequoia's are shading(cooling) the ground and Alders are not so much of a problem. The new aggressive shading tree is the Maple. Still fighting Blackberry and Tansy Ragwort(along the roads).
     
  13. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    The Giant Sequoia I have been posting, bent Cedar for reference, is but one of the many Giant Sequoias on the land.

    Here are a few photos of some others. Enjoy!
     

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  14. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    If Fred is still reading here Arthur Lee Jacobson refers in North American Landscape Trees (1996, Ten
    Speed Press, Berkeley) to 'Hazel Smith' as a clone. Also when I search the web using the phrase "hazel smith redwood price" Iseli nursery is among the multiple hits of suppliers that come up. In my area they are a main supplier of collector conifers to independent garden centers at this time - it might be possible for Fred to talk to a buyer at a retail nursery near his location and get them to ask Iseli for this plant. If they are currently growing it and sending it out.

    hazel smith redwood price - Bing
     
  15. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Dear "Dirt Reaper",

    Most interesting BUT, where is this?

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain,
    Topeka, IN
     
  16. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Ron,

    I cannot remember when or what I last posted but I did find some "Hazel Smith" giant Sequoias. Iseli's is strictly wholesale and will not sell directly to the public. I was able to find a few (4) from Crowfoot Nursery in Oregon. One died the first winter but so far the other three seem to be doing well. I think the graft might've gone bad on the one that died but I'm not 100% sure what happened.

    Last year I was able to find three "Idaho Endurance" Sequoias taken from stock that supposedly survived three nights of -40°F weather in the 1960s. Surprising enough, those didn't do quite so well as the Hazel Smiths last winter. Last winter was really mild so none of them has really been tested yet.

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain,
    Topeka, IN
     
  17. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    Hood Canal, Washington State(near Tahuya, WA).
     
  18. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Iseli's is strictly wholesale and will not sell directly to the public

    Yes - this is why I posted

    it might be possible for Fred to talk to a buyer at a retail nursery near his location and get them to ask Iseli for this plant
     
  19. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Dirt Reaper,

    Actually, I don't think there would be any issues raising Sequoia's anywhere in the State of Washington outside of higher elevations. If you were in the desert you'd probably need to water them but it doesn't look like you are.

    The issue I was having was raising Sequoias in the upper Midwest. So far this has been my THIRD attempt now and "so far, so good".

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain
     
  20. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Thanks, Ron ! ! ! Your help is much appreciated!

    But if anyone should decide to try "Hazel Smith" I'd strongly recommend Crowfoot https://www.crowfootnursery.com/sequoia-varieties

    They have great service. I had some correspondence with them just a couple of weeks ago and at that time they still had some "Hazel Smith" left in gallon pots, I think. I'd get a couple more but I'm just plain out of room. If I try to expand into our pasture again in order to plant more trees, my wife will not be happy with me. :(

    I have a number of exotic species that are generally not grown in our area. Besides the Sequoias I have abies grandis, abies procera, abies magnifica (I think - that one was sent in error and I can't be sure what it is). Picea engelmannii, pinus strobisformis and a number of pinus ponderosa.

    If anyone should find a source for whitebark pine - please let me know !

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2020
  21. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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  22. fredmcain

    fredmcain Active Member

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    Cutler,

    Crowfoot is run by Paula & Michael Seidl. What's REALLY cool about this nursery is the fact that they have a lot of hard-to-find stuff and then if they don't have something they sometimes try and find it for their customers. At the time I was looking for giganteum "Hazel Smith" sequoiadendron, they didn't have any. So, they were able to secure some cuttings from a wholesale nursery and grafted them for me. The following spring I asked them to ship them to me but was warned that the grafts were probably not quite strong enough yet. But I wanted to get them in the ground ASAP and did not want to wait and lose another year's grown. So, I told them I'd assume complete responsibility for any issues. Well, I think the graft on one failed but the remaining specimens now look GREAT ! This is now their third season in the ground.

    Recently I asked about obtaining some abies "Blue Burton" procera specimens. Burton Blue — Pick the Perfect Christmas Tree at Swansons Nursery | Tree, Christmas tree, Live tree They had never heard of that but told me they'd definitely look into it. One point of interest, Paula told me that conifers that have blue needles have a tendency to be more cold hardy than specimens that just have green needles. Probably not true in every case but that' something nice to keep in mind.

    Regards,
    Fred M. Cain
     
  23. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Thanks. I added to the resource a link to your comments here.
     
  24. dirt reaper

    dirt reaper Member

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    I thought I would put the sequence of pictures(to date) of this one tree in one post.

    In March of 2005 I planted my Giant Sequoia seedlings near Hood Canal, Washington State(Tahuya, WA).
    I logged the land and selected Giant Sequoia as a replacement. These were purchased as I do not
    have the space, equipment, nor the expertise to produce the quantity of seedlings I required.

    The seedlings were 1-3's. That is 1 year greenhouse, 3 years outdoor farm. The seedlings were bare roots.
    The average size of the seedling ranged from 12' - 24'. They were certified disease free.

    The bent trunk Western Red Cedar present in most pictures is a visual reference.

    The land has changed dramatically since my last picture post on 3/2015. The Giant Sequoia's are shading(cooling)
    the ground and Alders are not so much of a problem. The new aggressive shading tree is the Maple. Still
    fighting Blackberry and Tansy Ragwort(along the roads).

    Enjoy!

    The filename is the date the picture was taken.
     

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    Acerholic and Margot like this.
  25. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    @dirt reaper good evening, this is the first time I have read this thread and I find it fascinating seeing an excellent photo diary by you. Having just read every post I will now be watching in years to come to see how these beauties progress.
    How wonderful to have so much room to be able to plant Giant Sequoias.
     

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