What is the best way to overwinter a Giant Sequoia sapling in New York? Im 40 min north of NYC.
Thanks,
Fred
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Hey Fred, how did this go the past few years? I’m in an extremely cold environment where they’re native, but am concerned about temps below 20 with them in a bonsai pot, and have been overwintering in a cold shelter, placed on the gravel.
I’ve been growing some from seed for several years now in Anchorage AK. I’m in 5a, so we get down to -15 F for brief runs. Leaving them on the ground from Late spring until temps drop to 30 degrees F consistently (Sept/Oct) has worked best for me. Then, I tent them in a window for a month to slowly return them to a Spring/Summer temperature. Then they go onto my shelves in the house under lights. Hope that helps!
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Thanks for this! What’s is the climate like inside? Mine are getting down to 7-8 at night in the cold shelter outside.
I try to make sure the trees have had at least 6 weeks of sub-42 degree F temps before bringing them inside. I bring them up to between 42 and 48 degrees F in the tented window for the first week or two. then mid 50’s for another and low to mid 60’s for another week before I bring them upstairs to my grow shelves. Upstairs temps are 68-70 F. Humidity in the house is low at 35%. To counter this, I keep my trees clustered in a humidity tray and water 1-2 times a day with my current soil mix. I hope this helps!
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Excellent! So you’re saying with temps dropping to 0F tonight, I can bring it into the garage at 40-42F overnight, and it’ll be ok. Thinking about bringing it inside, since it’s had two months now of outdoors below 42 (some swings above, up to 50 once in a while with the sun we get, but that has mostly stopped with the cold shelter being completely buried up to the roofline in snow.
I think they’ve definitely had enough cold to satisfy dormancy. Once you bring them inside, you’ll have to monitor their water needs closely. But yes, I’ve had success doing just that. I don’t have a cold shelter outside in Alaska that keeps them above the typical outdoor winter temps. So I started with 59 seedlings and now have only 3 after as many years. Its been a long road of trial and error. 
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Love that we’ve got some sequoia knowledge going!
I brought my sequoia in last night. It’s in the garage, and was 42-45 through the night. I left the hoodie and snow frozen on it to come up to temp in a much slower way, and allow some drip as it melts. I’ve had snow on it the whole winter, between waterings. Here in Tahoe, we get massive temp swings. Even though it’s a native (there’s a grove on the west side of the lake) I got scared with the 0 degree temps last night. It’d also been getting a different shade of green, with some tips starting to show the very beginnings of cold damage. The top is a lush and fleshy greyish green once the trunk bark ends, and the branches coming off the trunk are lignified. I started to get a lighter green color on the lower branches, and got worried it was drying out or having root death, since the pot is small and has been a block of ice. Figure that low to zero metabolic temps will still be safe, since it’s had 8-9 weeks outside at low temps, and I can bring it through the rest of winter with the redwood. Next winter, the goal is to have a heated greenhouse at 36-38F in which I can keep it and the redwood (and maybe get some more Mediterranean plants!).
Have you done any pruning or work? Mine is in a bonsai pot, and I did a basic tips trim toward the top to thin out the bushiness back in early December. My tree is still in development and design phase, about 8-10" tall.
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Me too! This is the first time I’ve been able to talk horticulture for this species with someone in a similar climate! Mine are planted in pumice, crushed granite, and hemlock bark. They are in training boxes and a tub akin to an anderson flat. I have not yet pruned them as learning experience to get them to this age has cost me most of the group and I want to make sure they are thriving in Alaska before I start removing pieces. Most of my information for their care has come from Giant Sequoia Bonsai Care - Giant Sequoia Nursery. With adaptations for our more extreme winters. I’ll post a picture of mine on the grow-shelves under lights when I get home. Let’s keep in touch with our progress!
Best,
Tim
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You’re using crushed granite?! How is that working out? If you are repotting soon, I’ve seen a lot of folks use mostly akadama. Have you have any percolation issues? How about fungus? I got red spot on my redwood (not fully healed yet) over the winter, and am worried I’ll get it on the sequoia now. I have been using a bacillus anti-fungal so far, so probably good to do a spray (it had one for profilaxis a month ago in the cold shelter). So far, it’s looking good and healthy in the garage, and is getting good water again.
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Hello TTG!
Sorry that my pictures have been late coming. We’ve had our pup in and out of the pet ER and he’s just now back home from major abdominal surgery. I use the crushed granite, rinsed thoroughly, because it doesn’t breakdown, is a good 1/8" particle size, and adds weight to the containers. I haven’t had any mold, fungus, or disease issues this year. Although some branches turned black and looked a bit like white fungus dust last winter after I brought them in from a hard freeze. Essentially, our bonsai club uses bark fines instead of akadama. This isn’t a perfect substitution but I use locally sourced hemlock mulch and need to repot every 3-5 years with other trees. As far as success with these sequoias, I think their placement in the wooden boxes and, even more so, the mesh-bottomed flat, has contributed greatly to their health. This is because the water column is increased, the buffer of being on the gravel/sand pad insulates them, and their roots have been free to escape. Basically, I’m cheating my away around the constraints of the containerized environment for now. Look forward to seeing you in tonight’s stream chat!
