Sequoia Q's

[Meredith]

I have a 3yr-old Sequoia (about 2.5 ft high) that is in an approx 55gal size plastic garbage can w/ drainage holes. The substrate is thick layers of potting soil interspersed with thin layers of sand and gravel (for drainage) and mulch on top.

It "lives" on our deck (NJ shore area) year round but I've been bringing it in in the winter because I didn't want it to freeze solid (winters can definitely be below freezing for weeks here) It's done well over the past 2 winters.

I brought it inside over a month ago and it is in our (clean and dry) basement and I check on it daily. I have UV lights hanging about 2ft from the top of the tree. They are on a 12hr timer. Over the past 2 weeks, the lower branches have been drooping and fading in color. And some of the branches' needles have turned brown, dry and are falling off.

I'm very careful about not over/underwatering. I understand that these trees will shed needles or even branches as part of the growing process. I'm concerned though that it may be the lighting. I don't know if I'm over or under lighting the tree, or if may be something else entirely.

Any suggestions? Ideas?

 

[begleytree]

I'd move the lights off to both sides. lighting from directly above can shade the lower limbs on conifers. 3 to 4 lights would make me happier, try 2 uv and 2 sunlight fixtures.
trees will decline somewhat while inside, imo. My 8' palm survives inside during the winter, but thrives once back outside
-Ralph

 

[Meredith]

Thanks

Thanks! I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure how to most easily go about setting up the lights in a vertical fashion.

 

[Sheshovel]

The lights are to close to the tree ,move them away.
Also by useing "Layers"in your potting method you may compromise the tree.the soil should be mixed very well avoiding layers completely.
Also..the tree will not freeze as far as I know if planted into the ground.I would take to misting it once a day with a spray bottle of water also and check to make sure your 55gal container is REALLY
draining well,and the holes are not clogged with soil or roots or covered up with rocks..add more or bigger holes if you think this is the case.Keep it moist but not saturated throughout the entire container...thats all I can suggest without visual evaluation of the tree,container,soil and drain holes
in the way of pictures posted here.

 

[Meredith]

Thanks,
I added more lights to the side. The tree perked-up for a few days, but then started drooping again. I'll try moving the lights back a foot or so and see what happens.
I haven't planted the tree yet b/c we're buying new property this year and I wanted to plant it there. I didn't know which would cause more shock: bringing it indoors or digging it up again.
I "layered" the substrates b/c the soils here seem to be fairly variable: sandy, rocky, loamy and I figured the plant should be prepared for anything.
The container does drain very well.
Thanks again, Meredith

 

[moss]

Shouldn't the lights be on timers to correlate to actual sunrise and sunset for your area? The sequoia may be getting wrong metabolic cues for this time of year with a 12 hour daily light period. Also I'd be concerned that it's not cool enough in your basement for the sequoia to properly go into a winter resting phase. These are wild guesses as I have zero expertise in sequoias. I'd be curious what the experts have to say about either of these factors in attempting to winter a conifer indoors.
-moss

 

[Meredith]

Thanks
I have the lights on timers. I've been using a commercial anti-fungal spray weekly (or bi-weekly). The basement is semi-decorated, comfortable and habitable. There is a dehumidifyer always on, but it stays pretty dry anyway.
I don't know what the tree would look-like in its winter-stage if it were outdoors. Of the various species of young evergreen-type trees in the neighborhood, some look very brown and almost dead, some look very green. I don't know if the brown ones are truly dying or if that's their normal dormant state (I'll see in the Spring). So I'd probably be equally concerned if my tree looked like it does outside, or in my basement.