I haven’t done this yet, but from what I’ve read, you may be in a deep pot, when the tree likes shallow. Sequoia typically grow in decomposed granite, around boulders, with a lot of snow. The shallow roots allow them to easily grab that melting snow. Maybe gradually reduce the depth of the pot to a very shallow one? Trim 25% and repot into a more shallow pot, and let it recover for a few years, then go more shallow. If you have snow, dress them with it. It’s helpful in winter. Mine is in a pot that is about 4" (10cm) deep.
Pic below for you of mine. I’m trimming the top growth back to get more into the lower branches, and will likely wait one more year before I wire it, since the branches are still green. Any critique welcome. Would love your tips as well!
I repotted 2, 10 year old sequoia this year in early January (Canada). After taking the old pot off, I literally had to wait hours for the root ball to unfreeze. This was the first time I moved from nursery soil to pumice. There were loads of thick, circular roots, and below the shin was a confusing octopus network of structural roots. I pruned off some flawed circular roots, and blindly hacked away at the bottom 50 percent for and overall root depth reduction of around 30 percent. I chop sticked away about 80 percent of the nursery soil and replaced with pure pumice. Afterwards I kept the trees next to the house for recovery (also where they were resting before repotting).
I’ve never seen these trees healthier. I had 4 pushes of growth this year, with loads of back budding, bark formation and branch bifurcation (requires pruning)
Amazing! This is the most developed sequoia I’ve ever seen! What was wiring like? When did you apply wire, and how long did the wire need to stay on for? How did the wire scars heal? Did the branches ever really set?
The wire was put in spring 2021 and will go out during this coming growing season.
Wiring isnt much different tbh, seems not to brittle.
Scars heal over very fast because of the rampant growth.
