New Sequoia

[Jim G]

Hello,
I just got this cool outdoor sequoia from giant sequoia.com.
Can I repot into a little nicer pot right away? The soil does not look like the bonsai soil that I currently have. What I have are two different blends from my local bonsai nursery and the eastern leaf in the photo. I plan on mixing the two for this tree. Any advise is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[coh]

1) Not the best time to be repotting in Michigan.

2) These are supposedly finicky about root work. I've got one that is a bit larger and older than yours, I've repeatedly repotted it into larger containers without doing much to the roots. It seems to tolerate that. However, at some point I'm going to have to tear into the root system and just see what happens.

3) Not many people use this species, at least to my knowledge. So you're probably going to be mostly on your own. This is one of the few write-ups I've come across: http://www.bonsaiempire.com/inspiration/progressions/giant-sequoia

 

[Guy Vitale]

Jim G that's awesome, I've been growing Sequoia's for almost 10 years now, I've baught a couple from the same site you did. Be sure to protect it in the winter, I lost a beauty by moving it outside too soon from it's winter storage. They are not hard at all, but they are picky. As far as repotting goes, I would not do it now, wait until spring, the soil it is in is fine, you will want to use a denser soil with more organic matter then normal bonsai soil, They like lots of water and fertilizer. Follow the repotting instructions from the website, you reduce the rootball by slicing it like you woul a cake. I've never done it any other way and it's worked out.

I see you are in SE Michigan, are you familiar with the Four Seasons Bonsai Club? Hit me up anytime if you need info on Sequoia bonsai care. I'll have to dig up some pictures of mine on my HD, great trees in my opinion.

 

[Guy Vitale]

My Giant Sequoia I lost in 2014 I believe, I got the tree in 2008 if I'm not mistaken and it looked quite a bit like yours, I did a trunk chop a couple years later after I seen it was putting on very good growth. The progression you see below was only over a span of 2-3 seasons and was well on it's way to being a fine tree. The mistake I made with it is that I brought it outside too early during our very harsh 2013-14 winter, it was severely burned by the cold and wind And just slowly declined through the spring/summer. This was the same routine I did for many previous years, but that year the bitter cold winter just lingered too long. I have another one that I ordered in 2014, I keep it at my parents house in SE Michigan since I can't bring it back and forth from Onterio without a bunch of red tape. Good luck with your tree, as you can see they develop quite quickly, but are a bit tricky to care for. I'd be glad to exchange notes on Sequoia care if you'd like, come see us at FSBC anytime.

 

[Guy Vitale]

2) These are supposedly finicky about root work. I've got one that is a bit larger and older than yours, I've repeatedly repotted it into larger containers without doing much to the roots. It seems to tolerate that. However, at some point I'm going to have to tear into the root system and just see what happens.

@coh, I've been led to believe the same thing about root work on these guys and so I always proceeded as Joe Welker suggested on giant-sequoia.com. He suggests slicing sections of rootball off as if you were cutting a sheet cake and every time you repot you would slice a different side. So I would do say a quarter of the rootball from the back and one of the sides and then the next time I would cut from the front and the other side. I had always been tempted to dig in with my chopsticks and tease the roots out, the suggested method seemed to work just fine, so I never bothered.

Please post pictures of yours, you are correct these are not widely used as bonsai so info is minimal. I would love to see what others are doing with regards to Sequoia.

 

[Wilson]

I think there might be more people messing around with meta sequoia(Dawn Redwood). I have a big meta that grows here in frigid Quebec. I have a Sequoia seedling I sprouted from seeds out of I believe,Yosemite. I guess I am going to need to protect him for a few winters!

 

[Guy Vitale]

I think there might be more people messing around with meta sequoia(Dawn Redwood). I have a big meta that grows here in frigid Quebec. I have a Sequoia seedling I sprouted from seeds out of I believe,Yosemite. I guess I am going to need to protect him for a few winters!

Yes, far more people messing with dawn redwood, myself included, I think they are far mor readily available and nearly bullet proof from what I can tell.

From my understanding of giant sequoia seedlings in thier home range, in the winter they are covered by feet of snow protecting them from the drying winds. When they are young, they tend to die because the cold windy air dries out thier foliage while the rootball is a block of ice and cannot provide adequate moisture to the foliage thus they get desiccated. In your area and because you are growing yours for bonsai culture, you'll want to overwinter in a cold frame or unheated garage above all else protect it from freezing winds.

 

[coh]

@coh, I've been led to believe the same thing about root work on these guys and so I always proceeded as Joe Welker suggested on giant-sequoia.com. He suggests slicing sections of rootball off as if you were cutting a sheet cake and every time you repot you would slice a different side. So I would do say a quarter of the rootball from the back and one of the sides and then the next time I would cut from the front and the other side. I had always been tempted to dig in with my chopsticks and tease the roots out, the suggested method seemed to work just fine, so I never bothered.

Please post pictures of yours, you are correct these are not widely used as bonsai so info is minimal. I would love to see what others are doing with regards to Sequoia.

There's not really much to show. I've been growing it for a number of years now (6 or more) to build the trunk, but it is growing very slowly. Which is somewhat surprising, because from what I've read they are not known as slow growers. Maybe I got a runt, I don't know. But it's going to be many more years before it gets large enough to do anything with. Trunk is maybe 1" at the base. @Guy Vitale , how large was yours? Height?

I had another that I planted in the ground, but it didn't make it through the first winter. Probably too much wind, but the odd thing is that the foliage stayed green all winter, and didn't start to brown/dry out until spring...so maybe it was the roots that failed. I'm thinking about getting another and putting it in a more protected spot, or putting burlap around it during the winter.

Dawn redwood is definitely used a lot more, but it is a very different tree...deciduous for one thing, and the foliage is different. Giant sequoia is more like juniper foliage.

 

[Wilson]

Thanks for the reply @Guy Vitale and a good description of the differences between the two sequoias @coh

 

[Guy Vitale]

There's not really much to show. I've been growing it for a number of years now (6 or more) to build the trunk, but it is growing very slowly. Which is somewhat surprising, because from what I've read they are not known as slow growers. Maybe I got a runt, I don't know. But it's going to be many more years before it gets large enough to do anything with. Trunk is maybe 1" at the base. @Guy Vitale , how large was yours? Height?

The one pictured above was a little over 30" if I recall, I was shooting for a finished height of about 3', I was planning on doing another truck chop further up to improve taper. As you can see it put on a fairly good amount of growth in the 2-3 seasons, this is with me pruning it back some as well. How often do you fertilize?

I had one in the ground as well, but it died out after two winters, they really do need to be protected as seedlings or young trees, how do you over winter yours?

I have 4 tiny seedlings I sprouted lash year, not much growth on them this year, but they go in my unheated garage until late March so they don't wake up too early, but now I pay closer attention to the colder nights when I move them outside.

 

[Guy Vitale]

Dawn redwood is definitely used a lot more, but it is a very different tree...deciduous for one thing, and the foliage is different. Giant sequoia is more like juniper foliage.

Night and day regarding the growth pattern and care requirements, Dawn Redwoods seem far better suited for our area and far more forgiving. I picked up a larger Dawn Redwood from a roadside nursery 2 years ago, within the first year I gradually removed all the thicker branches and it responded with far more new branches than I needed to restyle it. You can't do that with Giant Sequoias or Coast Redwoods, possibly Coast Redwood if you are in the right environment for it.

 

[coh]

The one pictured above was a little over 30" if I recall, I was shooting for a finished height of about 3', I was planning on doing another truck chop further up to improve taper. As you can see it put on a fairly good amount of growth in the 2-3 seasons, this is with me pruning it back some as well. How often do you fertilize?

I had one in the ground as well, but it died out after two winters, they really do need to be protected as seedlings or young trees, how do you over winter yours?

I over winter it with my other trees, in a plastic enclosed shelter inside my barn that is heated to maintain about 27-28 F during the winter. However, the sequoia is getting too large for that area so I'm probably going to have to put it somewhere else this year. Probably my unheated front (north-facing) enclosed porch, which gets colder but generally maintains temps of 20 or higher.

I fertilize the same as most of my other trees, weekly with one of the powdered fertilizers and I occasionally add organics as well. I've been gradually increasing the amount of fertilizer each year but growth remains less vigorous than I'd like.

 

[Guy Vitale]

It can take the cold so long as it's sheltered from the wind, try fertilizing more. Send a pic if possible of the pot and soil.

 

[coh]

I'll see about grabbing a pic this weekend. It's in a standard nursery pot with a mix of nursery potting mix and aggregate...nothing exciting to see, really. Same mix I use for growing out most of my stock.

 

[Guy Vitale]

You could very well have a runt, who knows, possibly a late bloomer

 

[Jim G]

Thanks all for the info and photo's. I will wait till the spring to repot. I had to secure the cheesy plastic pot to my stand but it should be fine.
As far as fertilizer, I have 5-3-2 organic and fish and seaweed 2-3-1. Will either of those be a good choice for the sequoia?
This will be the first winter for my trees.
The sequoia, dawn redwood and black pine will go into the shed. I'm still researching this process.

 

[Guy Vitale]

Thanks all for the info and photo's. I will wait till the spring to repot. I had to secure the cheesy plastic pot to my stand but it should be fine.
As far as fertilizer, I have 5-3-2 organic and fish and seaweed 2-3-1. Will either of those be a good choice for the sequoia?
This will be the first winter for my trees.
The sequoia, dawn redwood and black pine will go into the shed. I'm still researching this process.

These tend to get a little top heavy, you saw the heavy pots I had mine in. You can slip pot it now if you like, just put it in something wider not deeper.

The fertilizer is fine, I would put a granular fertilizer on the soil mix it in a bit, then water weekly with the fish/seaweed if it's water soluble.

Overwintering in a shed is fine, but you risk forgetting about them over the long winter and they could dry out. My sequoia and JBP stay in my garage where I see them all the time, when it snows, I put a big shovel full on top of the pot, as the snow melts it gradually waters the trees. I find that JBP need a little extra protection during our more heavy winters as well.

 

[AlainK]

My Giant Sequoia I lost in 2014 I believe,

I had one quite similar to yours, it was just getting where I wanted, but died in the winter of 2012-2013.



I was so disappointed that I decided never to try one again.

Er... I still have a 20 cm high cutting that I can't get rid of.

 

[Cypress187]

Eeuw that soil.

 

[Guy Vitale]

I was so disappointed that I decided never to try one again.

AlainK, was it the winter that never seemed to end, I don't recall if Europe had the same winter as N.A. I was crushed when I lost mine, 7 years of learning a difficult species seemingly lost due to my underestimating how late winter would last that year. I love the species too much to never try it again though, I picked up another one and started over

They do start turning into great looking formal upright trees once you get their growth habits figured out though. I'm determined to make it work so long as I have a supply. Don't give up on your cutting.