Sorry, Ryan, the vitality will decline indoors.
Is it really too cold to grow a coast redwood in Virginia?

Josh

Yup they get too fussy and drop too many needles. Are you saying this out of experience or are you just assuming they won't do well indoors ;)

I've read that there are Redwoods in Hawaii, which is pretty interesting...

Coast Redwood is supposed to be hardy to Zone 7, so it should make it in much of Va.. I do have a containerized one as I am lacking ground space for another tree, especially a Sequoia! Given their eventual height, also have concerns about damage to house from nor'easters and hurricanes. In addition to the more tender coast redwood, there is the Big Tree Sequoia which is grown down to at least Zone 6a. But, I protect my containerized one by putting it into a relatively cold but frost free garage in the Winter (containerized trees/shrubs are less hardy). Then it spend the rest if he year outside, no problems. Inside the house, it would suffer--too hot.

You would think they'd make it here, but nope. Trust me, I've tried.

Both seem pretty picky about habitat. There are isolated examples so it was not a worthless experiment.

I bet the entry fee to a botanical garden metasequoia is worth a try outdoors also.

The link below I saw before as it had some neat/gnarly pics. Perhaps someone associated with that site can lead you to the answer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sequoia sempervirens as bonsai

I'm not wondering how to bonsai them, I've been into bonsai for years now. I'm just wondering how they'd do if kept somewhere where they wouldn't get a cold rest.

My guess is that the dryness is what would really get them (and may be what gets them in the winter in VA, even if the temps are mild). They rely on summer fog here for some of their moisture intake and often languish when planted in nearby areas without it. If they don't have fog, they really need summer irrigation.

Sara

I have seen Sequoia sempervirens growing in Koke'e State Park on the Island of Kaua'i in Hawaii. They are located next to hi-way 550 next to Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow. They were planted with Cunninghamia lanceolata, 'Glauca' and look real healthy. Approximate elevation is 4,000 ft. or about 1,200 meters.
There is also a planted forest of Coastal Redwoods on Maui, Hawaii, but from the pictures, it's not looking so good. Maybe planted too dense.
Both places do not experience freezing temperatures. Cool, but not freezing.
My Sequoia sempervirens have seen temps as low as 4 F. One has lost a few feet on the top, but is recovering nicely. The others are doing fine. I rarely get temps in the teens.
Mike

Metasequoia is easy and fast in the Mid Atlantic to Northeast and there are local specimens of the Big Tree Sequoia.

Not saying that the cold didn't do in your Coast Red in Va., but newly planted trees sometimes succumb for other reasons (inadequate watering, etc..). Though it is true, Coast Reds have a very particular and restricted natural environment, fog forests of coastal Northern California. Wonder if the humid heat of the East isn't also a factor. My 'Sequoia' planting is limited though to the Dawn Red and its American kin, the Bald Cypress (two of my favorite trees).

One thing that trips up attempts to grown CA natives in other climates is that when it is moist here it is cool. The warm moist environment is hospitable to various pathogens. This is one reason that many CA natives flourish in England, where goodness knows it is not hot in summer the way it is in CA and overcast much of the time so it seems odd to see things like Ceanothus thriving there, but it is the absence of warm moist environment that allows them to do so. So the humid heat of the East might well be a 'degree of difficulty' for the Sequoia. When the fog rolls in here in summer it is generally in the high 50's. I know, doesn't sound like summer!

Sara

No, not Summer, and ain't been no fog.

Been in the very humid low 100's here for days. :(

Some of the more innovative nurseries in the SE are now offering Sequoia. Speciality Ornamentals in GA and Camellia Forrest in NC both have them. CF has even dubbed their strain 'Atlanta'.
I planted mine last year after the move, a tube from FF. Despite my haphazard watering and dry soil it has taken off and has been growing continuously this year. It's now about three feet and very stiff- almost hard the foliage is. It's a 'Soquel'. I now have irrigation on it but will still let the hose drip periodically to really wet it deep. I'm thinking of planting more this fall/winter. The pic is not the best but you get the idea.

The short answer is that coast redwoods are NOT tropical trees and will not benefit from being treated like one.

There is a pretty hard and fast horticultural rule of thumb - if a plant grows and thrives outdoors in the temperate areas of the northern hemisphere, it will NOT do well indoors. Too dry, too warm, not enough light, among other factors. Merely overwintering one may be somewhat easier but you need to follow the same considerations given to living Christmas trees - keep at the lowest possible indoor temperature and for the least possible amount of time. And do not allow to dry out.

These plants need a chill period during dormancy in order to regenerate their reserves and vernalize properly to maintain their life cycle. Depriving them of this alters their growth and gradually weakens them, usually resulting in death. This subject has been discussed at length on the Maples forum regarding bonsai'd maples living indoors.

I can understand your need to bring indoors for winter - the soils and therefore roots in a small bonsai pot could easily freeze solid - but if you can maintain the plant somewhere that stays only just above freezing for the majority of the winter (like an unheated cellar or garage or greenhouse) you will greatly increase your chances for long term survival.

What the heck? Does everyone who posts here smoke enough pot that they have no memory of 5 months ago? This has been discussed over and over. Welcome to search - please use it:

http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=sequoia+east+coast&forum=conif&forum_name=Conifers

I'm sorry to put it this way, but if you've lost Sequoia semprevirens, even small ones, in the past 3 winters in VA zn 7, you are horticulturally inept and might want to take up something else, like stamp collecting. 2009 was probably the last winter where one had a remote chance of dying.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=sequoia+east+coast&forum=conif&forum_name=Conifers

And btw...merely keeping a plant indoors in winter isn't a "tropical" treatment. If you wanted to let a redwood get a little bigger, it would be fine in an unheated, bright garage. I kept several of mine that way, but I also have one I planted out last winter as a very small plant, and it did well, of course, because last winter was extremely mild.
The tree at the Barnes Arboretum in Philly was planted in the mid 1960s, so survived the horrid winters of '78 through '85 as a relatively immature plant.

This post was edited by davidrt28 on Fri, Jul 19, 13 at 21:23

Thanks for the responses everyone but davidrt28. I'm not horticulturally inept nor do I smoke pot. I've been growing trees indoors for years. Get some respect before you post next time.

My redwood likes New Jersey fine, they should be OK in Virginia... that's 2 feet of growth since spring on top...

"This is one reason that many CA natives flourish in England"

And here's the proof . . . this Coast Redwood is pushing 45 metres tall

Resin

Resin, hope a logging company doesn't get into that stand. :)

Resin, that's in the UK?

If you'd have told me the pic was from California, I wouldn't have thought twice about it!

Hey Hair, Resin's got lots of pics of amazing UK conifers, oftentimes, western N. American species.

+oM

Yep! 55.639065ðN 1.914553ðW.

Resin

FWIW...and only because the thread was already bumped.

My coast redwoods saw the lowest temps they've ever seen in my garden. They only had light mulch and no special protection. Low of 6F (-14.5C) last week w/snow before the brief thaw, then lows of 3F (-16.1 C) a couple nights ago in a severe advective freeze with incredible winds, and 8F last night.
8' 'Soquel', several years in ground (5 IIRC), fully established: absolutely no sign of damage
4' 'Swarthmore Hardy'/'Chapel Hill', 3 years in ground: very minor dieback of oldest needles
2' 'Swarthmore Hardy'/'Chapel Hill', 1.5 year in ground: somewhat more extensive needle injury, still 18" 'Atlanta', 1 year in ground (first winter): minor signs of injury on a handful of needles. Would appear to be at least as hardy as 'Chapel Hill'

Yes I'm aware more damage could show up later; but from my general experience other than a few special plants (olives are notorious) if there isn't sign of damage in 24h and there isn't the likelihood of bark injury (there isn't) you should be ok. My most tender experimental BLEs are showing damage. BBoy the Azara I argued with you about has about 50% foliar death...whether the stems were killed to the degree that it will be killed off I don't know yet, probably won't be sure until spring. My Escallonia 'Appleblossom' has shown rather similar damage in past cold winters and comes roaring back in the spring, so we'll see.

Yeah it got down to 1 in central NJ last Friday night so I'm curious how my Redwood will react. Especially with the big temp swings which followed (up to 57 Monday morning then down to 3 Tuesday morning).