End of 2017 growing period

Another year is over. 2017 was by far the slowest growth year for the older sequoias and somewhat slower for younger sequoias. 

The median growth across all thirty tracked trees was 5 inches. Three out of 2016 top five perished. Previous giants #38 (50in), #31 (44in) and #72 (39in) have all since been removed. The longest height addition was with #212 - 11 inches. The highest tree is also the longest surviving, #33 reached 54 inches. The strongest overall tree with the largest volume of needles is #104, standing at 47.5 inches. It shows significant amount of damage in the middle part that happened at the end of summer 2016, but it recovered extraordinarily well. The healthiest tree with minimal amount of damaged branches is #212 standing at 47 inches. The volume of branches and needles is not as great as #104 but it managed to preserve practically all branches since birth. The highest #33 has not been able to recover completely this summer. It has significant part of the trunk void of growing branches. 

Several five year old trees survived after loosing about half of the leading trunk over the last winter but failed to gain substantial height since spring. #63 lost 13 inches as compared to the previous fall while #39 almost recovered but not quite, standing 3 inches below last year finish. One strong 4 year old tree #207 also grew reasonably well but after all it lost about 3 inches. All these three trees look similar with many lower branches attempting to recover, giving the trees appearance of a bush. Only one, #39 has a distinct lead, while the other two are completely random.

Here is top 20 trees, sorted by height, starting from five year old #33 at 54 inches and rounding up the list #261, a 2 year old seedling standing at 12 inches.

#33

#33, 5 year old. 54 inches

#104

#104, 5 years old, 47.5 inches

#212

#212, 4 years old, 47 inches

#118

#118, 5 years old, 36 inches

#112

#112, 5 years old, 33 inches

#214

#214, 4 years old, 32 inches

#208

#71

#71, 5 years old, 29 inches

#65

#65, 5 years old, 29 inches

#215

#215, 4 years old, 27 inches

#221

#221, 4 years old, 27 inches

#222

#222, 4 years old, 23 inches

#39

#39, 5 years old, 19 inches

#219

#219, 4 years old, 18 inches

#63

#63, 5 years old, 16 inches

#207

#207, 4 years old, 15 inches

#255

#255, 2 years old, 14 inches

#220

#220, 4 years old, 14 inches

#256

#256, 2 years old, 13 inches

#261

#261, 2 years old, 12 inches

There are also a little over 100 new fall 2016 - winter 2017 germinated seedlings that are currently not being tracked for height.

2016 seedlings approaching 1 year old. They vary from 2 to 5 inches.

These new seedlings have been doing exceptionally well till very recently. In the last few weeks many of them started to have purple disease that is killing lower branches and needles. 

Several first year seedlings were planted in the ground this fall. The vast majority of these will spend the winter in a cold box, protected from all sides from the elements.

Return of the rusty menace

Height summary table:

The last remaining sequoia at the old location is once again covered with the disease that killed so many last fall:

Here is a zoom in on the affected needles:

And even more zoom:

And more:

The disease forms brown oval-shaped spots on green surfaces of needles and stems.  

I sprayed Daconil on #208 with about 10x concentration of a regular solution. From experience a plant affected by the decease at this level would not survive. With little to lose this treatment is yet another experiment:

The rest of the trees at the permanent location have not started showing signs of disease yet. The growth is not as strong as last year, especially with the older 4 and 5 year old trees. The younger seedlings are doing about same from height growth perspective as previous years but perhaps a bit slower.

#104 August 4, 2017 Almost 5 years, 43"

Slow and Steady Recovery

It is the middle of the summer and sequoias are still just getting over the stress caused by last winter. This week marked the first time since the loss of the leaders that survivors pushed above 50 inches. The new leader #33 is now the tallest one that has ever been in this experiment, standing at 51". It is firmly on the way to recovery with three large branches at the bottom growing strong new volume. The middle part is still fairly barren but there is a large number of new shoots sprouting along the trunk.

#33 at 51" on July 7 2017 Close to 5 years old

The second tallest tree is much stronger overall. #104 stands just shy of 44" but has a very strong overall volume. As already mentioned a few times, #104 had a difficult time adjusting last summer after the move to this permanent location but had a remarkable growth in late autumn of 2016. It appears that what ever happened with the tree then positioned it for continued success during 2017 season:

#104 43.75" July 8 2017. Almost 5 years old

Closing out top 3 is #212, a whole year younger tree that for some reason was least affected by last year's fungus and last winter cold. 

#212 at 39.5" July 7 2017 4 years old

At 39.5 inches and very strong overall volume it appears to be the strongest tree of the lot.

The middle of the pack is about equal mix of four and five year old trees. Several severely damaged five year olds still have not reached pre-winter height. Side branches appear to achieve significant gains but without strong central leads they do not have much success with getting back on track.

The next wave of young seedlings is chilling in the partial shade:

This year crop is unusually strong. It can be attributed to a much better early stage survival based on heavy fungicide application. So far about one quarter of all new sequoias have been moved outside. Majority of the 2017 seedlings are still in their starter 2x9" containers inside the house under artificial light and 78F temperature. They will slowly migrate outside throughout the summer and the Fall. They will spend the winter outside but under strong wind and thermal protection.

A partial shade structure was built to store and train young sequoias to the sun's UV radiation:

Pergola built to protect your seedlings from sun June 2017

Shade cloth from Greenhouse Megastore website on top of the pergola. June 2017

Table for replanting and young seedling storage

Chilling out under protection from sun June 2017

Awakening

2017 grow season is up.

The past winter inflicted a much more severe damage to the Iowa sequoias than the previous one. I am glad it was not any more sever winter, which it could have easily been given we are in Zone 5. Here are the results:

Two dead trees were removed. Another almost dead tree is not removed yet owning it to a minor growth at the base. First removed was a five-year old,  #34, which was not a surprise. It never really recovered after 2015-16 winter showing no growth for the entire 2016 season. Another past leader #38 had a sever fungus outbreak in August 2016 and also never recovered.

The nearly dead one is #31. #31 finished last year third, which is to say it was one of the strongest trees. The trouble with #31 started in August 2016 when it developed a severe fungus outbreak. By the time it went into the winter it lost 75% of its volume. The height of a tree is a useless measure when the tree does not have any branches along the trunk. So this one is a towering dead giant with a tiny bit of green at the bottom.

To round up the top-three report, both #72 and #33 took a severe damage, losing more than half of their volume over winter. They both still have growing tops as of this spring. #33 has a strong bushy branch at the bottom of the trunk. #72 has no such strong branches but has green shoots on top, giving it some hope. It is clear that the leadership will be completely revamped in the current growing season. Read on to see how the middle of the pack are doing, showing a bright future for the Iowa Sequoia Park.

Full line up of the trees is below with additional comments on individual development in the captions.

5th growing season sequoias (germinated Fall 2012 - Jan/Feb 2013)

#31

#31 nearly dead. DOB 11/18/2012. Was 44" at the end of previous season. May 21, 2017

#31 small growth at the bottom. Recorded at 6.5" May 21, 2017

#33

#33 DOB 11/18/2012. Massive volume loss after winter but growth on top and a strong branch bottom right. 46" May 21, 2017

#39

#39 DOB 11/21/2012. Lost leader trunk. Several strong side branches started growing vigorously in  Spring. However, all are severely bent at this time. 4" loss, recorded at 18" on May 21, 2017

#63

#63 DOB 11/25/2012 Severely damaged after winter. Lost half of the height, recorded at 15.5" on May 21, 2017

#65

#65 DOB 11/29/2012. Average winter damage. Some loss of the branches throughout the volume but overall plenty of green remaining. Unchanged at 22.5" on May 21, 2017

#71

#71 DOB 12/1/2012. Severe damage by fungus in the Fall followed by additional loss during winter.  A strong shoot on top appeared in May. 27", a gain of over an inch since last season, recorded on May 21, 2017

#72

#72 DOB 12/1/2012. Substantial fungus damage in the Fall of 2016 followed by additional loss during winter. Several top branches started growing fast in May. 38", one inch gain since last season. May 21, 2017

#104

#104 DOB 12/24/2012. Minor fungus and winter damage. After planting in the permanent spot last spring #104 developed light yellow-green leafy abnormal looking top. Late in the Fall a strong normal looking shoot appeared from the middle of the abnormal formation growing well into October 2016. New growth throughout entire volume on May 21, 2017. 38"

#112

#112 DOB 1/19/2013. Average winter damage. 29", one inch gain recorded on May 21, 2017

#118

#118 DOB 2/4/2013. Below average winter damage with no major branches lost. Small branch loss uniform throughout  with no damage to the top. 28.75" minor growth since last season. May 21, 2017

4th growing season sequoias (germinated Fall 2013)

#207

#207 DOB 10/27/2013. Severe winter damage. There was almost no fungus damage last summer/Fall. During winter low temperature days still green branches were snapped off and were laying on snow. Lost entire main trunk. Strong growth is present on the lower branches in May 2017. Height recorded at 6.5" on May 21, 2017

#208

Investigate, where is it?

#212

#212 DOB 10/27/2013. Minor winter damage. No fungus damage last year.  Largest volume among all  samples.  37" May 21, 2017

#214

#214 DOB 10/30/2017. Minor winter damage. It was kept completely protected by burlap unlike most other samples. It was moved to the permanent spot in April 2017. 30" on May 21, 2017

#215

#215 DOB 10/30/2013. Severe winter damage. Several strong branches remaining with a growing top as well.  23" May 21, 2017

#219

#219 DOB 11/2/2103. Average winter damage with about half major branches lost. Main trunk is intact and began growing. 15.5" May 21, 2017

#220

Investigate, where is it?

#221

#221 DOB 11/2/2013. Minor winter damage. #221 was kept completely covered by burlap unlike most other samples. Moved to permanent location in April 2017. 23" May 21, 2017

#222

#222 DOB 11/2/2013. Average winter damage. 16.5" May 21, 2017

3rd growing season sequoias

None surviving

2nd growing season sequoias (germinated Fall 2015)

#255

#255 DOB 10/30/2015. No winter damage. Kept in a pot under foam cone. Fast growth presently. 8" May 21, 2017

#256

#256 DOB 10/30/2015. No winter damage. Kept in a pot under foam cone. Fast growth presently. 5.5" May 21, 2017

#257

#257 DOB 10/30/2015. No winter damage. Kept in a pot under foam cone. Fast growth presently. 4" May 21, 2017

#258

where is it? was 4"

#259

#259 DOB 30/10/2015 Kept under foam, no damage, 3.5" May 21, 2017

#260

where is it? was 4.75"

#261

#261 DOB 10/30/2015. No winter damage. Kept in a pot under foam cone. Fast growth presently. 5" May 21, 2017

#262 (duplicates, investigate)

#262 DOB 10/30/2015. No winter damage. Kept in a pot under foam cone. Fast growth presently. 6" May 21, 2017

#263

#263 DOB 10/30/2015. Severe winter damage. Was kept with the rest of the same age samples but without a foam cone. Minor needles at the bottom survived. Growth restarted from the base of trunk. 2" May 21, 2017

#264

#264 DOB 10/30/2015. Extreme winter damage. This was one was by far the strongest sample of the Fall 2015 germination batch going into the 2016/17 winter. It was kept in a pot same place with the rest of same age samples. However, it was not covered with a foam cone. It lost 100% of the height and started growing new shoots from the base of the trunk. 1" on May 21, 2017.