This is the second major reset since the beginning of the project in 2012.
Of course I knew that it would not be easy to grow a giant sequoia in Zone 5, so all is good.
The first reset happened early on in the endeavor when I realized that just a few seeds are not going to grow me a sequoia here in Iowa. At that time I ordered 1 oz of seeds, which was about 6,000 of them. I started germinating batches of several hundred at a time pushing a few dozen green sequoias into the wild every spring.
The project was going okay and the first three winters were unusually warm for Iowa. The last winter was not extraordinarily cold but there was a cold spell for 2-3 days that pushed the temperatures below -40C with strong winds. The trees that were kept under the foam cones did fine but almost all bigger trees that were uncovered perished. Below is an account of the survivors from the Zone 5 wrath and more importantly a new plan to get the trees established in this hostile land.
If it were a total loss, meaning all 100% of sequoias uncovered by foam cones dead, then I would have to call defeat. It was not the case, however. Several sequoias survived. They were badly damaged but still living. The reason conifers die is because they keep needles green through the worst of the low temperatures and must pump water. Once they are unable to pump enough water they desiccate and die.
Eastern Iowa is half way between Missouri and Minnesota in Zone 5A, transitioning to Zone 5B over last quarter century. It's highly likely that the global warming will continue over next 25-100 years. This means that within my expected lifespan of additional 8900 days (give or take) Zone 5B is going to move up the state to the North and Zone 6 will get a hold of the area where this sequoia project is unfolding. If I take care of the trees over next few years getting them ready for what's coming for them may just work. Barely, but it might. Kind of DARPA-ish, am I right? :D
Without any further ado, the survivors!
Wham wham wham. First, the most viable survivors that were actually under the foam. And next I will show what actual survivors look like.
#220
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| #220 Fall 2018. Approximately 30 inches |
#207
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| #207 Fall 2018. Approximately 24 inches |
Now onto the "real" survivors.
#214
#222
As can be seen on these last two photos, the damage was severe. The hope for these two lies with #207. By the start of the 2018 season it looked approximately like #222 is looking today. It bounced back during 2018 season and is now looking like a real tree again. #220 is largest and healthiest looking of all of them but that does not mean much. It has not spent a single winter without foam cones yet. This upcoming winter is going to be its first without extreme protection.
There are a couple of more survivors but they can barely be called even that. Just some minor small green needles remaining on side branches close the ground.
Now onto the bigger plan and the new reset. First, here is a top down view of the lot:
Here is an annotated version that explains rhyme and reason behind what's going on:
The outer windbreaker wall is made of mostly norway spruce. There is some green spruce on the west and south side of that outermost barrier. The trees are planted 5 feet apart. The second line of defense against the wind is arborvitae and eastern pine. There are a couple of Austrian pines in the mix as well. In general, the outer and middle windbreaker walls are separated by about 12 feet to allow mowing and passage of a tractor. The emphasis is on the northern side of the lot with somewhat less protection on the south side. The logic here is that the sequoia areas should not be shaded from the sun and should be protected against severe Iowa winter winds. Also, for that reason, south part of the windbreaker wall is made up of slower growing green spruce rather than the very fast growing norway spruce on the north.
The intent is to slowly remove inner layers of non-sequoia trees as sequoias (hopefully) mature, so that not to cause competition for light and water.
The sequoia zones marked as blue polygons are intended for dense sequoia planting, reminiscent of the pictures found in the natural habitat. The intent is to also remove weaker sequoia trees over time, leaving one or two trees per polygon area by the time they can be considered established (15-20 years). Additional zones may be added in the future in case the experiment succeeds over the next 5-10 years.
A pond was added between two sequoia zones for easy watering in case of long draught periods. A small stream was artificially created that moves the water across the lot. The roof of the pergola in the middle is made of clear plastic that collects rain water. This rain water is collected in a barrel with a spill off into the stream. A small pump moves the water from the pond up the hill into the same water barrel. Water, both from the pond and from rain, goes down the hill into the pond. About 200W solar panels were installed on the pergola roof, facing south and south-west.
Here is a perspective view of the area during preparation of the sequoia zones:
This is a look from west to east. The first sequoia zone is located in the middle of the picture and a little to the left of the stream. The second zone will be planted with sequoia seedlings approximately where the white net shade structure is in this picture. The shaded area was used to store small sequoias this past summer. Unfortunately they were mostly destroyed by some animals since there was no protective fencing around them.
Ample amounts of anti-desiccant will be applied on all trees to ensure survival. Small sequoias inside blue zones are small enough to be covered with foam cones for the upcoming winter. Surviving older sequoias will get both the polymer and burlap on the outside of the metal mesh fence.
