Advice to clueless

Firblog

Hi Folks

Got a lot of giant redwood seeds back in March (I dream BIG ), followed the planting instruction and one is still alive and well. It is in a fair sized (6" deep) flower pot at the min, filled with potting compost, and seems to be getting on well.

Question is, should I start mixing some sort of feed to the water now, should I wait? what feed would be best to use?

Any advice will be much appreciated

looksee

I don't suggest that I am any sort of tree expert but I will offer my two-pennorth -

1. trees and shrubs don't really need to be fed. Its more than likely that there was some feed in the compost you used so even more so they do not need more feed.

2. Don't feed at this time of year, they could grow soft new shoots that the first bit of frost will kill. Leave them be till spring.

It might be advisable to give the pot a bit of protection from frost.

Firblog

Cheers for that, have read that these shouldn't be put at risk of frost for more than a year, so keeping it inside for that long at least , maybe 2 winters just to be sure

looksee

I just registered its a giant redwood you are growing... I know nothing about them - except they are big - so I looked them up and was entertained to find the following warning:

WARNING! Even though a redwood is an awesome tree, Sequoia sempervirens is NOT a good choice for a suburban lot if you wish to remain a good neighbor. Even in average soil it will quickly overwhelm the surrounding area. After growing an extensive root system, a juvenile tree will generally add five or six feet to its height each year. It is easily capable of reaching a height of 120 to 150 feet during a person's lifetime. That's fifteen stories high.

The year-round heavy shade will not allow grass to grow and landscaping will be limited to shade-loving plants such as ferns. Winters underneath a redwood tree are cold and wet. Redwoods control the growth of other plants around them by 'bombing' them -- dropping chunks of wood and branches on competing plants (and your house.) The area around a mature redwood resembles a war zone. It is not possible to leave the paths in the redwood parks without having to clamber over the mess on the ground. The redwood is also by nature a messy tree, dropping a third of its branchlets each year as it renews them, clogging gutters and drains.

Its roots are very efficient at removing nutrients from your and your neighbor's soil. They are shallow and extend many feet from the tree, damaging foundations, driveways and cracking water and drain pipes. Many years after a tree's removal, the existing roots will continue to send up sprouts in the surrounding landscaping.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER top a redwood. The top of the trunk will then send up multiple sprouts. Each sprout will become a trunk and will grow its own branch system. These will accumulate a tremendous amount of weight. The sprout trees are attached only on one side and to the outside of the trunk, not the heartwood, and a strong wind will peel them right off the tree with devastating consequences.

The tree maintenance companies love redwood trees because of the job security. Its fast growth and large mass makes it very expensive to prune or to remove. If you absolutely have to have a redwood tree, consider the costs of maintaining it, and be sure your homeowner's liability insurance will pay for the damage it will do. There's a reason they're in the parks.

Whatever about redwoods, keeping an outdoor tree indoors is usually a good way of killing it fairly quickly.

Firblog

Didn't know they were that messy, but planning to plant it on land we have, down in a valley, so no one should know it's there until it's over 40ft tall.... At the min it's only 4", so a loooong way to go

JPA

Ask Birr castle, I'm sure they will help.

https://birrcastle.com/gardens/giants-grove/

Firblog

Great idea

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