Thursday, September 19, 2019

2019 end of growing season

2019 growing season is quickly wrapping up. There are no tall sequoias anywhere on the tree farm. Here is an account of all sequoias that are growing.

There are several categories of sequoias, for a total of 64 living seedlings:

  1. Original experiment, grown from J.L. Hudson seeds in 2013-2016, 200 and 400 series. Qty: 6
  2. Seedlings purchased in March and October 2018 (2016 germinations). Scenic Hill Farm nursery in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Qty: 11 (out of 30  purchased)
  3. 2018 germinations 500 series. Qty: 28
  4. Cold hardy sequoia seedlings purchased in December 2018 from Crowfoot nursery in Oregon,  All grafted. Qty: 19
    1. Exceptionally Blue - 1
    2. Hazel Smith - 15
    3. Glaucum - 3

All six 200-400 series and three out of Scenic Hill sequoias are planted in ground and all others are in pots.

The 200 series recovered well from the last winter:

220 Fall 2019, about 2 feet tall
As you may recall, there was little left of it at the beginning of this growing season:
220 Spring 2019
Similar situation with 222:
222 Fall 2019, about 2 feet tall
214 did not fare as well as the others but it does not appear to be in immediate danger of dying.
207 that was still the most promising tree as of the end of 2018 did not survive the winter.

400 series from 2016 germinations are barely growing. The two remaining survivors stand at about 5 inches:
400, 2016 germination, 5"

Scenic Hill sequoias had a significant mortality rate after last brutal winter. Out of about a dozen sequoias planted in the ground last Fall and all being kept under foam protectors, only 4 survived well into the middle of the summer. One sequoias unexpectedly died in early September with no usual signs of fungus. It just started turning yellow-grayish color as if from the lack of (or excessive) moisture and finally withered away. The three remaining sequoias look about the same:
Scenic Hill OR sequoia planted in ground in Fall 2018, 18". It is one of three planted in ground
Here  is the Scenic Hill sequoias in  pots:
Scenic Hill sequoias, 2016 germinations
2018 germinations:

Cold hardy sequoias look as follows:
Exceptionally Blue graft, 2018
Hazel Smith grafts, 2018

Hazel Smith, 2018

Glaucum, 2018
Most of the potted sequoias are going to spend next winter indoors. Just a handful of new sequoias will be going in the ground in November time frame and all will be protected with thermal foam.