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Cupressaceae FAMILY

Sequoia sempervirens

Sequoia sempervirens

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Requires a rich moist soil[1], growing best in deep sheltered valleys in cool humid areas[2, 3]. Dislikes chalky soils according to one report[1] whilst another says that it succeeds on chalk[3]. Tolerates poorly drained sites[3]. Tolerates partial shade for many years when young[3]. Strongly dislikes windy sites, especially if the winds are cold[3]. Plants dislike atmospheric pollution, growing poorly in cities[4]. Plants are fully hardy in Britain, though they may lose their leaves in cold winters. This seems to have no detrimental effect on the tree[5]. The giant redwood is probably the tallest growing tree in the world[6, 2], it thrives in Britain, especially in the cooler moister western half of the country[6]. It is fast growing in cultivation[2], reaching 25 metres tall in 20 years in a good site[3], and can be successfully coppiced even when quite old[6, 2, 3]. It is a long-lived tree in the wild, often living 1000 years and with some specimens 2200 years old recorded[7]. Plants are tender when young[6]. If trees larger than 80cm are planted out, they should be coppiced in order to allow the roots to become established[3]. Male cones shed their pollen in February unless delayed by frost when they might wait until April. Frost just before flowering or at the time of flowering kills the pollen[4]. New growth takes place from May until the end of September and can be very vigorous, 1.2 metres a year is not uncommon and this can be maintained for 30 years or more[4]. The best trees are found in Devon, Wiltshire, Perthshire and Ireland[4]. The crushed foliage has the scent of candle wax[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a cold frame in light shade. Seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Germination rates are usually very low[6]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Plants will require some protection from the cold and spring frosts for their first year or two outdoors[8]. If there are sufficient seeds, they can be sown in a lightly shaded outdoor bed in late early spring[8]. Grow on the plants in the seedbed for two years before planting them out into their permanent positions in late autumn or early spring. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer to early autumn in a frame. They form roots in winter or early spring[1]. Pot them up into individual pots once the roots are developing nicely and plant them out in the summer if they are growing well. Otherwise grow them on for the next winter in a cold frame and plant them out in early summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sequoia+sempervirens>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  5. [5]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  7. [7]The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. — Elias. T. · Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. · 1980 · ISBN 0442238622 ↩︎A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.
  8. [8]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  9. [9]A California Flora. — Munz P.A. & Keck D.D. · University of California Press; Los Angeles · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  12. [12]Vegetable Tannins — Rottsieper. E.H.W. · The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. · 1946 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly detailed treatise on the major sources of vegetable tannins.
  13. [13]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  14. [14]Plant Fibres for Papermaking. — Bell. L. A. · Liliaceae Press · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
  15. [15]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  17. [17]Manual of the Trees of N. America. — Sargent. C. S. · Dover Publications Inc. New York. · 1965 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ · ISBN 0-486-20278-X ↩︎Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.