Things were going great for sequoias over last two weeks. Warm but not hot weather (70-85F) with regular intense but not flash flooding rains (1-2" over 4-8 hours) let the trees grow nice and steady.
Here is a chart of the last three measurements from last fall before snow, mid May when first vertical growth became apparent, and the most recent sample at the end of May. My younger daughter assisted me with collection of the height data this weekend:
There were no changes in the first top eight in the last two weeks, with nine and eleven trading spaces and the bottom ten fluctuating widely. On average 20 sequoias added 1.6" for this period. Local variations are quite large, but they are due to the two trees (#15 and CA1) that lost significant height and are now bouncing back with their lower branches. The current leader #34 is struggling due to still barely recovering top branches but lower branches are catching up.
As stated before, #38 is growing fastest. Although it still ranks number five it will most likely outgrow others over next 4-6 weeks given that it was planted in a much larger "container". It's closest rival is #31, which grew even faster than #38 in last two weeks, but it remains in a 6-inch container for now. Another advantage of #38 is that it gets 2-3 hours of more sunlight than the rest of the samples because of its new less shady location.
Other samples to watch are #118 and #63. They are both over 1 foot tall now and added over 2" over last two weeks. There is also a handful of samples in 208-215 range that grew reasonably fast for their still young age, with one #215 posting a very strong 3" growth. This placed #215 above all 200-range samples, which are one year younger than 15-118 surviving older samples.
A new member of the tracked trees was added to the line up. #208 was migrated from 3" container to an 6" one. Unlike other 6" container samples, this one was placed outside of the 4x5 patch. At the current observed growth rate and as reported elsewhere on the Internet, the current trees will outgrow their 2 feet spacing between containers this summer. The distance between some of the existing trees is beginning to shrink to just a couple of inches:
There is sufficient amount of space available at this time to move some of the bigger sequoias away from each other similar to #208:
Finally, a cautionary tale of a promising sequoia that was grown in Iowa. I discovered it a few weeks back and finally got detailed pictures that "Hardy Jim" posted on forums and Photobucket. Amazingly, this sequoia was grown just 80 miles south west from my location. I am very grateful that Jim posted these pictures over 5 years given very close geographical conditions to my experiment.
It appears to be a 7-8 year old sequoia that was planted in Fairfield Iowa in 2010 at the age of about two. It had its share of trouble over the years but was able to bounce back with some moderate branch loss:
It grew steadily for the next 4 years, turning into a beautiful 10' tree:
The cold winter of 2013-2014 severely damaged the tree:
If there was any hope that it would bounce back from the lower trunk and branches, all hope is gone judging by this picture taken this May 2015:
It appears Jim put about 4-6" of mulch around the tree in attempt to keep the temperatures higher. Apparently it did not work and it's likely that additional mulch would not make much of a difference by itself. Judging by its planting location it was on a flat surface and constrained on two sides by a road and a sidewalk. The root system probably was not able to expand enough to get access to sufficient supply of water during winter. There was likely little of the underground water flow during those cold winter months given flat location and freezing ground levels in Fairfield Iowa.
To combat unforgiving Iowa winters, my approach was to create a very deep planting hole that would penetrate approximately 4' Iowa freezing line, giving the tap root a chance to grab on to some of the liquid water. This was the reason for 4.5' overall depth of the hole and a foot of river rock at the bottom. Second strategy was to place sequoias on a reasonably steep slopes that facilitate flow of water from higher elevations. Finally, currently planted #38 will also be able to reach into a very small stream that goes approximately 50' from the planting location. I did not place the tree any closer to the stream since there is evidence of flash floods cutting pretty deep into the ravine created by the stream.
For the next few winters I also plan to place about a foot of mulch in 10-12' radius of the trunk as soon as the ground starts to freeze in December. In the spring I will remove most of the mulch to allow rain collection and water flow once again. My main bet is on the tree roots reaching into the stream, which should keep it alive.
Here is a chart of the last three measurements from last fall before snow, mid May when first vertical growth became apparent, and the most recent sample at the end of May. My younger daughter assisted me with collection of the height data this weekend:
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As stated before, #38 is growing fastest. Although it still ranks number five it will most likely outgrow others over next 4-6 weeks given that it was planted in a much larger "container". It's closest rival is #31, which grew even faster than #38 in last two weeks, but it remains in a 6-inch container for now. Another advantage of #38 is that it gets 2-3 hours of more sunlight than the rest of the samples because of its new less shady location.
Other samples to watch are #118 and #63. They are both over 1 foot tall now and added over 2" over last two weeks. There is also a handful of samples in 208-215 range that grew reasonably fast for their still young age, with one #215 posting a very strong 3" growth. This placed #215 above all 200-range samples, which are one year younger than 15-118 surviving older samples.
A new member of the tracked trees was added to the line up. #208 was migrated from 3" container to an 6" one. Unlike other 6" container samples, this one was placed outside of the 4x5 patch. At the current observed growth rate and as reported elsewhere on the Internet, the current trees will outgrow their 2 feet spacing between containers this summer. The distance between some of the existing trees is beginning to shrink to just a couple of inches:
There is sufficient amount of space available at this time to move some of the bigger sequoias away from each other similar to #208:
Finally, a cautionary tale of a promising sequoia that was grown in Iowa. I discovered it a few weeks back and finally got detailed pictures that "Hardy Jim" posted on forums and Photobucket. Amazingly, this sequoia was grown just 80 miles south west from my location. I am very grateful that Jim posted these pictures over 5 years given very close geographical conditions to my experiment.
It appears to be a 7-8 year old sequoia that was planted in Fairfield Iowa in 2010 at the age of about two. It had its share of trouble over the years but was able to bounce back with some moderate branch loss:
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| Hardy Jim sequoia, about 3 years old, showing some damage after winter |
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| Hardy Jim sequoia in 2013, 10' tall at 5-6 years old |
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| Hardy Jim sequoia damaged by the 2013-2014 winter |
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| Hardy Jim sequoia, 2015 |
To combat unforgiving Iowa winters, my approach was to create a very deep planting hole that would penetrate approximately 4' Iowa freezing line, giving the tap root a chance to grab on to some of the liquid water. This was the reason for 4.5' overall depth of the hole and a foot of river rock at the bottom. Second strategy was to place sequoias on a reasonably steep slopes that facilitate flow of water from higher elevations. Finally, currently planted #38 will also be able to reach into a very small stream that goes approximately 50' from the planting location. I did not place the tree any closer to the stream since there is evidence of flash floods cutting pretty deep into the ravine created by the stream.
For the next few winters I also plan to place about a foot of mulch in 10-12' radius of the trunk as soon as the ground starts to freeze in December. In the spring I will remove most of the mulch to allow rain collection and water flow once again. My main bet is on the tree roots reaching into the stream, which should keep it alive.
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