Propagating Sequoias

[Upidstay]

Can anybody give me any tips on cloning a sequoia tree? A friend of mine lives in eastern PA, and their property has a 50 some-odd year old sequoia on it. They'd like more. Should they take cuttings and root them, or can they be grown from seeds, etc. I'm a turf/shrub guy myself, and the sequoia is pretty rare here in connecticut. I recomended cuttings and rooting hormone. They are plant literate, so we're not dealing with amateurs here.

Thanks:help: :help: :help:

 

[kkottemann]

you are going to need seeds

 

[Sprig]

you are going to need seeds

Yup, though you can probably get about anything to grow from a clone I think what you'd end up with, if you successfully cloned a piece, is a slow-growing ugly up-right branch, not a tree. Seeds are a must I believe. Probably the best alternative is phone around to the local nurseries, I am sure it would not be expensive to pick up a bunch of yearlings that are already started and rooted, my guess would be at most a couple of bucks each for plugs, probably alot less in bulk, but dunno, a guess at best.
My 0.02$ fer the evening.
>http://www.sequoiaforestkeeper.org/Sequoia Seedling 3.04.pdf
Here ya go, 50 seeds for 3.29US$> http://seedrack.com/09.html

Hope this gets your friends started in the right direction and good luck! They are a beautiful tree, one of the majestics imo.



Serge

 

[kkottemann]

I went to northern calif. a few years back and took some seeds home with me. I got them to germinate just fine, and the little seedling was doing well until the temp reached 90 +, then one by one they browned up and died. I know you can buy a potted 40" seedling from some nuseries up there. Mabe that would be your best bet.

 

[techdave]

kkkoteman--sequoias get over 90 all the time!

Hi Amigo, i am not a nursery man, but a natural historian and trail grunt.

the area of the southern sierras hits ove 100 f regularly, and gets little summer rain. But the trees thrive.

if you want to try sequoias again, maybe shade them under somthing else up to about 15 meters, plus plant them in a denser grove and let them self thin.

i think latitude in combo with north latitude might tend to be limiting factor.

eastern kern county is their southern limit (S. gigantdendron?) in the wild, and its at least 4k feet where they grow. probably about 35 dgrees N latitude??

 

[kkottemann]

yeah, I am sure the demise of my seedlings had more to do with just the heat. Elevation had to have played a role, one day I will try again. I plan to get some established seedlings hoping they are a little more resiliant.

 

[virginiaboy89]

these website sells seedlings but are a bit on the pricey side

http://www.giant-sequoia.com/stor.php

 

[redtails]

I went to northern calif. a few years back and took some seeds home with me. I got them to germinate just fine, and the little seedling was doing well until the temp reached 90 +, then one by one they browned up and died. I know you can buy a potted 40" seedling from some nuseries up there. Mabe that would be your best bet.

Couple years ago I got 100 seeds from some guy who probably just picked them up from a forest. About 20 of them germinated, couple died when I repotted them into separate containers, then a couple months later in full Summer a couple more browned up like what you mentioned. I suspect they can't handle water shortage very well. Anyway, I planted one in full soil and kept the remaining ones in pots.

Potted sequoias don't grow very large, unless it's a pretty big container. The ones I keep in pots are maybe 2-3 feet tall. The one in full soil that was germinated at exactly the same time is about 5 feet now. I must say they grow a lot better in full soil, and they also look healthier with bigger needles and more wood on the branches

 

[Coppice]

There is a learning curve with cloning trees. Seed or seedlings are widely avalable. And should be afordable.