Fall 2013 Update

The project is going strong. Many beautiful survivors and a few dead giant baby sequoias.

#104, one of the strongest. 9 months old.

At this time there are 24 still standing, with 3 unlikely to survive. It is time to replenish the backup patch with some new germinations. Here is a full line-up of the survivors plus a few sequoias on the way to their death.

The oldest survivor is #4 has gone through thick and thin, being sick and then magically recovering. This time it's in the grips of brown fungus that proved to be lethal to its siblings.

#4 September 29, 2013. 11 months old.

#15 is doing very well and seems to be the oldest sample standing by the Fall end.

#15 September 29, 2013

#24 is fine.

#24

#31 is somewhat above average.

#31

#33 is definitely above average with a strong core leading trunk-branch,

#33

#34 is one of the best with a very strong lead.

#34

#36 is on the way out. I tried pruning lower branches that were turning brown a few weeks ago but it does not seem to be helping.

#36

#38 is very bushy with no particular lead.

#38

#39 is doing okay but with no strong leads.

#39

#41 has a strong central lead but lower branches started to pick up a lot of brown.

#41

#42 remains undecided what it wants to do, bushy, a few potential central leads but dormant so far.

#42

#59 is almost dead. I applied another gigantic dose of chlothanitol but there is very little hope at this time.

#59

#63 is an experimental sample. About 6 weeks ago I removed three or four large branches at the bottom leaving 3-4 central ones. So far it looks like it's growing healthily but not exceptionally.

#63

A backup patch contains healthy smaller samples.

#65, #71, #111, #112, #118

#72 is arguably the best sample, maintaing its lead for several months now.

#72

#104 was growing fast, approaching best samples.

#104

#106 moved into the 6" container last week from the backup patch. It remains small, compact and looking very healthy.

#106

#108 is also a new occupant of the 6" containers.

#108

#110 is very much dead. I will be replacing it in the next couple of weeks.

#110

The youngest sample #202 is doing exceptionally well.

#202

What's going on with roots

A few weeks ago I started noticing a phenomenon near the ground level of the trunks. Thin dark hair-like structures were forming extending from the trunk. They looked very much like dead strings, being thin and seemingly dry. Eventually I began to realize that that was not the case - they are very much alive and a part of the growing sequoias.

Here is a close up on the #4, where these hairlike roots clearly started forming a web, which is now extending almost all the way into the soil:

#4 July 28, 2013

And here is even more magnification:

it appears, these are the new roots. They are extremely fragile, but I think in a few weeks they will form into full blown support structures.

All samples in 6" containers are doing fine. Several sequoias became extremely bushy. I decided to do an experiment with one of them by removing lower branches, leaving just a few top branches:

#63 July 28, 2013. Lower branches removed.

#202 is the youngest sample, which grows very well, outgrowing the majority of older samples:

#202 July 28, 2013

New place

The sequoias have moved!

This is many a year journey for the small giant trees. We have moved to a temporary house for the next 5-7 years and sequoias are now adjusting to the new quarters. They will spend the summer and the fall on the deck. It feels way more natural to have them at this new location, surrounded by the woods:

White patch July 4, 2013

I have prepared their new winter location in the basement of the house.

This summer in Iowa has been rainy and not very hot. Temperatures in the last couple weeks since the move were in 75-85F range. Occasionally the temperature on the deck jumps to 90-95F but that's for a thermometer, not necessarily the trees themselves. There is at least some breeze at all times in Iowa and I am not very concerned about over heating.

I started taking some sequoias outside for a few hours a day (they are quite heavy, could not do all). Then there was a cooler and cloudy period for a few days. At the beginning of that period, I dragged all of them out on the deck. It was about a week of moderate sun (less than 30%) and 75-80F. I decided that it was enough for them to adjust to the conditions outside.

The picture above serves as a proof that that assumption was fine. All of the trees immediately shot new, lighter/greener needles within a week.

The big difference from the basement caring to the outside caring for the trees was application of water. In the basement with artificial lights and an extremely well controlled temperature (75F) the plants were getting 300ml of water every two weeks. With temperatures outside potentially shooting to 100F+ and on average being between 80F and 90F during the day, sequoias can suck a LOT of moisture from the  soil based on what I read on the Internet.

My current technique is to measure moisture level at 4" depth and as soon as it falls below 3, apply 300ml of water.

Here is a few close ups.

Oldest one, #4. Getting some healthy growth after months of hibernation:

#4 July 4, 2013

#31 has picked up a huge volume:

#31 July 4, 2013

As well as did #38:

#38 July 4, 2013

#44, my youngest daughter's plant is doing well. It's balanced in the sense that is has significant volume and reasonable height. It is also one of the symmetrical samples:

#44 July 4, 2013

The giant among giants is #72. It is growing way ahead of everything else on the patch. It currently stands at 10" tall.

#72 July 4, 2013

Another extremely healthy sample is #101. Very symmetrical and well developed:

#101 July 4, 2013

One of the fastest growing plants is #110:

#110 July 4, 2013

And finally a close up to the "backup"patch. One is going to replace a fallen sample in a 6" tube some time this week:

Half Year Mark

This weekend marks the six-month anniversary of the first Giant Sequoia seedlings growing in my basement. The oldest surviving seedling is #4. It is well below average of other seedlings from the growth stand point, but it holds the title of the oldest.

#4 April 27, 2013 at six months

Second oldest surviving specimen is #15. Like #4, #15 had its share of trouble.

#15 May 5, 2013. Six months.

Number 24

#24

Number 31

#31

Number 33

#33

34

36

38

39

41

42

44

59

63

65

71

72

101

104

106

107

108

110

111

112

118

122

146

201

202