compare with juniper viginiana ....

its invasive in some areas .. probably yours.. if its a free range seedling ...

and native in others ... whats that all about ...

once you ID ... and a pic will get you the ID ... then you can google propagation of such ...

is there any indication it was planted by a collector of some kind... i wouldnt expect such growing wild.. on the east coast ....

ken

The Sierra redwood has a characteristic heavy trunk coated in distinctive fibrous, reddish bark and thicker shoots than those of junipers. Its leaves also tend to be larger and thicker than those of many junipers, but this will vary with which juniper is being compared to and how old and developed the Sequoia is - a young specimen will of course not have full-sized leaves.

Could you post a picture?

Does it have any fruit? Juniper viginiana has tiny blue gray "berries". Giant sequoia should have cones, right?

The trick is, only female Juniper viginiana have the berries.

Juniper viginiana has shredded looking bark. Not sure how that compares to the fibrous bark of seqoia...sounds similar looking.

Here is a zone 6b (Nj) Giant sequoia. Notice the missing / dead branches to the right. Blight, the reason why yours is unlikely a GS. Very few are grown here.

A younger one. Similar zone, same blight problems. Does your tree look like these? This ones a newer cultivar 'Hazel Smith' I beleive.

This post was edited by qwade on Fri, Sep 19, 14 at 19:05

And this is an Eastern Red Cedar, the most common East Coast Juniper that can be confused with a seqoia.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eastern Red Cedar

This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 23:16

I know or really think it's not a Eastern Red Cedar. The leaves or green needles are much bigger. I will try to get a better photo.

The tree is planted on the local government center property. This isn't really just growing in the wild.

What do you need photographed for best id. Branches or trunk or both, a photo of the entire tree help?
Dave

If it has any cones or fruit, photograph them, that would be best. (And you can try to propagate it by seed) Also close ups of the bark and the needles.

You are right, if it is a a government building that increases the chance of it actually being a redwood. I think people were picturing it as something you saw in the woods.

This post was edited by edlincoln on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 12:35

Here is a photo of the tree.

http://photos.gardenweb.com/garden/galleries/2014/09/gs_or_not_1.html

Cryptomeria japonica If you go to the bonsai pavillion at the Nat'l Arboretum you can see a whole grove of them just to the side of the pavillion.

I've been wanting to get to the Nat'l Arboretum for years but still have not. The sad thing is it's only down the road with me in Northern VA.

I'm looking up Cryptomeria japonica but there are so many different variaties it is hard to tell what one it is. I'll need to keep looking but I guess it will proprogate from a cutting from what I've read.

DhD

Usually you can tell if the tree is larger its shaped sorta like a pear a Giant sequoia with its foliage