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Sequoia sempervirens AGM

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© RHS

Characteristics

Plant type

Conifer or Tree

Habit

Bushy

Resilience

Hardiness

old H4 (hardy)

Colour

Foliage

Dark Green in Autumn, Spring, Summer and Winter

Fruit

Brown in Winter

Size

Ultimate height

Higher than 12 metres

Ultimate spread

4-8 metres

Time to ultimate height

more than 50 years


Preferred common name

coastal redwood

Family

Cupressaceae


Sequoia is a tall and fast-growing evergreen tree with attractive, reddish-brown fibrous bark, and yew-like foliage arranged in two ranks on the shoots; cones are small, reddish-brown when mature

S. sempervirens is a fast-growing, very large evergreen tree forming a narrowly conical crown, with fibrous, red-brown bark. Leaves 1-2cm, two-ranked, dark green above, whitish beneath. Cones globose, 2-3cm

Other common names

  • Californian evergreen redwood
  • Californian redwood
  • redwood

How to grow

Sunlight

  • Full sun
  • Part shade

Aspect

  • South-facing, West-facing, East-facing or North-facing
  • Exposed or Sheltered

Cultivation

Grow in moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun to light dappled shade

Soil

  • Moist but well-drained
  • Neutral
  • Loam or Clay

Propagation

Propagate by seed in containers in a cold frame in spring. Root softwood cuttings in summer or semi-ripe cuttings in late summer or autumn

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Low Maintenance or Architectural


How to care

Pruning

Pruning is not necessary but it is one of the few conifers that will coppice, or make new shoots from the base if cut down

Pests

Generally pest free

Diseases

Generally disease free