Crazy Norway

I was not crazy last week when I said that it felt like Norway Spruce grew "over winter". It indeed is growing fast. It appears that this past winter was not cold enough to put it into too much hibernation. As soon as temperatures climbed above freezing and in fact climbed into mid 60s and even went into lower 70s one week it started growing.

Norway spruce, 3 years old. Note 2" growth on top due to extremely warm winter and spring so far. March 27, 2016

I see growth on all eight trees ranging from 0.5" to 2". Here are the actual temperatures for February and March 2016:

There were two warm spells by the end of February where the temperature stayed above freezing day and night. Then starting second week of March there were some incredibly warm days where temperature was in lower seventies and night temperatures were in the fifties. That, I believe, led to Norway spruce waking up and starting to grow. 

Today I opened all sequoias for direct sun exposure. This Spring has come fast and there are no signs of abating. 

Most of the sequoia trees have significant purpling. Some that were under foam cones are completely green. Next week I will do a complete snapshot of the 2016 growing season starting point with measurements.

Signs of new Spring

The winter is almost over. Despite a strong snow "storm" yesterday it's getting definitely feel like Spring. It was in the 50s and even some days in 60s over last 4weeks. It got a bit cooler now with 40s during days and dropping to just below freezing 29-30F at night.

Overall, this winter was very mild. Earlier predictions of above average temperatures turned out to match well with reality. There were two or three days in January of extreme cold to -10F (-23C), but compared to normal Iowa winters these cold spells were very short and not all that cold. The lowest temperature in February was +1F (-17C), which was also unusually warm.

Because of this warm winter and additional protection sequoias outside are doing significantly better than after previous winter.

Main patch after winter 2015-16. March 20, 2016

Although some brown can be seen on the larger sequoias protected with the wire mesh and burlap, sequoias that were under the foam cones look totally green. This gave me the idea that perhaps I over-protected with the foam. It is quite possible that these green ones will shoot dramatically up this growing season and will suffer from lack of water next winter. One thing about growing in Iowa is slow and steady wins the race.

The worst looking sequoia so far is the permanently planted #38. It shows a lot of light brown needles on the lower branches. Surprisingly the top looks just a bit purple but overall healthy. Not a major concern for survival at this point but definitely will lose middle section branches.

#38 March 20, 2016

The story is similar with #31. It shows some brown needles in the middle section but not as wide-spread as #38.

#31 March 20, 2016

The least affected semi-open sequoia was #33. Just like with #31 and #38 it had top completely opened all winter long. It shows uniform purpling throughout the volume and no brown:

#33 March 20, 2016

By far least affected and least protected were these samples:

Norway Spruce March 20, 2016

These are of course not sequoias but Norway Spruce that I bought from Richard Horak last fall. I am planning to use them to protect sequoias at the new location and also if this entire sequoia project goes to hell at least I will have some green conifers. I can swear these spruce grew over winter if this is at all possible. There is absolutely no damage.

The work on the new land purchased for this sequoia project re-started this week. I am clearing a path in the woods.

Sequoia Farm, March 20, 2016

Finally, a few pictures from the basement green house. First one is the new winter babies: October, December, February and March batches:

Winter 2015-16 baby sequoias. March 20, 2016

These are California sequoias. I think it's quite pointless to expect anything from these. They grew under the fluorescent lights over winter but their root systems are minuscule for the type of green above ground. I suspect they will start dropping like flies over summer and most likely be finished off by next winter.

California sequoias, March 20, 2016

There are also assorted samples from the "diversity project" in the basement that I will cover some other time. However, one such species did miraculously well over this winter. This is the Thuja Plicata that we brought from Washington State Olympic Park last August:

Thuja Plicata, giant green plant in the middle. March 20, 2016

For comparison, here is a picture of when Dave at Matt Albright Native Plant Center gave it to me in August of 2015:

Thuja Plicata August 2015

Note, that the plant was about the size of the label. The original label is present in both pictures for comparison.  Over winter months it quadrupled if not more. It keeps growing extraordinarily fast. I can not even imagine what it will be by the end of this growing season.