Sequoias are big!
Giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, seems to grow while you watch. Surely no other tree puts on more height and bulk per year. A tree planted when a child is born will be 40 feet tall and 4 feet across the trunk by the time she is in college.
The giant sequoia is the largest tree on earth. The biggest today are over 250 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter. Many have lived over 2000 years. With bark two feet thick and rot-resistant wood, sequoias seem almost immortal.
Broom-like sprays of prickly, light green, awl-like foliage give a soft look to these titans. Thickly furrowed, cinnamon bark makes a handsome contrast. For their first century or so, sequoias are symmetrical cones, so precise they almost appear sheared. Older trees lose their pointed tops, develop billowy, cumulus forms and show more of their awesome trunks. Egg-sized cones produce seeds like small flakes of oatmeal. Ancient trees produce a billions seeds a year, and with luck, one will become a tree.
Sequoias are hardy in all but the hottest, driest parts of Zones 6b-10, in well drained, acid soil. If you've always wanted one of these botanical wonders, or would like to plant one at a school or park, we have beautiful 1 gallon youngsters ready to become your next neighborhood landmark. #1 size, $12.00
