It’s almost summer in Iowa and the life on the sequoia farm is slowly waking up. To be clear, life beyond sequoias woke up a long time ago. The sequoias took a hard hit from the last winter. The winter was cold but not exceptionally so. There were a few cold spells with negative 20F, but the trees were protected from the direct wind, some very well protected, in fact, with a layer of fabric and packing plastic film wrapped around teepees made from rebar around the trees.
Here is the latest count of survivors and casualties. For simplicity sake, trees are classified as dead, alive and not dead yet (NDY). NDYs are those that lost most of the crown but have some new green shoots close to the base and in some cases, counterintuitively, on top of the trunk. There are a couple of these vertical poles with no live branches but with a small green bud on top. From my past experience with NDYs most of them die anyway but there were some exceptions. One such past exception was one of the oldest samples #220. It snapped back to life twice. Unfortunately, it is completely and irreversibly dead now.
Patch 1: 2 alive, 1 NDY, 3 dead
Patch 2: 1 alive, 2 NDY, 6 dead
Patch 3: 1 alive 2 NDY, 9 dead
Patch 4: 0 alive, 1 NDY, 2 dead
Besides aforementioned dead #220 located outside of main patches, there were 5 random sequoias around the farm. 4 NDY and 1 dead . This brings the total to 4 alive, 10 NDYs and 22 dead.
Even the ones that I call alive are struggling to produce any appreciable amount of new growth. Other conifers on the farm have lush deep green, powder blue and lemon green shoots between 6 and 12”. The place looks very lively, just not due to the sequoias.
It’s worth mentioning, that supposed cold hardy sequoias didn’t fare any better than the regular ones. No Exceptionally Blue sequoias survived. Over a dozen Hazel Smiths are dead.
Here is an example of the present day live sequoia:
Here’s an example of a not dead yet:
Thanks for the report. For enthusiasts, your results and direction are very important. Do not disappear for a long time. We are waiting for the result of the autumn growing season.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I continue to wonder about, if a young Sequoia can come through the winter and survive a low temperature of -10°F, then a couple of years later survive a temperature of -15°F, then maybe finally one day survive -20°F, could they gradually adapt themselves to their new, colder environment?
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has raised Sequoias in the past in zone 5 (and lost them) I haven't seen this. But it could still be. I am still trying so we'll see.
One thing I'd like to say here is that it's darn hard to get information on this. Boris, you are the only one I've found that has also tried to grow Sequoias in a colder climate.
I have found questions posted on forums like Quora or Houzz, like "can I grow a Sequoia in central Illinois?" or "can I grow a Sequoia in Ontario"? etc. But the people posing such questions don't seem to have tried or if they did, they didn't report any results, at least none that I've been able to find.
Regards,
Fred M. Cain,
Topeka, IN (USDA zone 5b)
Yes, that’s indeed the goal - to train a young sequoia, get it established and survive progressively harsher winters. Zone 5 so far has killed most of the contenders and those that are surviving have done so by being small and bush-like, fitting under foam cones for winter.
DeleteI have been successful with growing them to about 6 feet tall but then they inevitably die. Even the strongest, cold hardy and most protected sequoia has perished last winter, which wasn’t even all that harsh. At this point the idea that a minimally protected sequoia can survive 5A can be put to rest. The focus will now change to growing a very small number of sequoias with extreme protection methods and growing young ones to a 4-6” tall and using them as Christmas trees. Besides, there are many other majestic conifers on the farm to enjoy.
Boris
Check the opinion about the lack of winter hardiness of giant redwoods, but to eliminate strong winds can be simple: plant seedlings in Starved Rock State Park Utica Illinois.
DeleteThe same climatic zone but there are many places really protected by large rocks.
Boris,
DeleteThis is what I really think and why I believe you are having so much trouble growing Sequoias on your farm.
It has to do with “climate change”. Or, more accurately, it has to do with people’s reaction to climate change.
I want to say up front that I am NOT a climate change denier. I believe it’s happening but mostly in the far north where the permafrost is thawing at a rather disturbing rate. However, in the lower and middle latitudes (where most of the people live) climate change is much less obvious.
However, the “powers that be”, for whatever reason, want to keep people alarmed possibly out of a fear that they will become complacent. That is possibly a legitimate concern.
However, they may have “jumped the gun” just a bit here.
You see, it is my understanding that a few years ago, the USDA “adjusted” all their hardiness zones northward in order to reflect climate change. However, the data to support the need for this is somewhat questionable.
Based on what you’ve posted here, it sounds to me like your farm belongs well within the borderlines of zone 4b – almost certainly too cold for Sequoias.
The USDA has my property in zone 5b almost borderline 6a. I have come to conclude that both your farm and my property are probably and realistically a half zone further north than what the USDA is telling us.
So, there is a tad bit more hope for my Sequoias – but not much. Temps normally drop below a minus 20°F here once every five or ten years here. Furthermore, the all-time record low in Goshen, IN near where I live is a minus 25°F in spite of the fact that the USDA has Goshen in zone 6a.
An old man who was probably 30 years older than me told me before he died that he remembered a winter in the 1930s where the temperature failed to get above zero for an entire week! YIKES~! I’m not sure my Hazel Smith Sequoias could stand that.
Regards,
Fred M. Cain,
Topeka, IN
zone 5b (supposedly)
Fred, I seriously doubt it's malice regarding USDA zone assignment. As a wise man once said, don't assume malice what can be explained by incompetence :D.
DeleteBoris
Hey Boris,
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the tallest sequoia you’ve had after 1 summer/year of growth?
Thanks!
In one summer the tallest I got is about 2 feet.
DeleteBoris
Buddy, you're awesome! I live in Nebraska (your neighbor) and I'm so scared to put my baby outside in the ground. She's 4 years old, I grew her from a seed. She's the only one that made it from the seed out of roughly 6-8.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you recommend? I'm incredibly attached to this tree so, yeah. Please help me lol
We are waiting for your comments about the results of overwintering sequoiadendrons, please. Already June 2023...
ReplyDeleteVery poor results. All sequoias over 2 feet tool died despite all the efforts. I suppose I should make a wrap up post.
DeleteBoris