Sequoia Question

mushashi

Hi,

I have a 6 year old Sequoia that was obtained about 1 1/2 months ago. It has been in a shallow pot for a while now.

I have a question about needle brownout. The tree has been doing great so far(tricky trees, I know) Recently several of the lowermost branches towards the trunk have had the needles turn brown and are falling off. This is only occurring here. I asked someone briefly about this who knows Sequioas and he said that is normal for this time of the year. He said brownout as it is called is like deciduous trees dropping leaves in the fall.

My question is this. Will new sprays or what ever you call them on Sequoias resprout in the areas where they fell off or will I be left with lower branches that only have foliage mostly out towards the end of the branch?

It seems to me if this is a normal occurence, then you would think the tree would replace these needles sometime, perhaps next spring?

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

Oh, I am well aware of the need for keeping these guys well watered. This tree has been. The rest of the tree looks fantastic...

Thanks.......

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Aaron_K

Hi Mush,

Even my 15 month old seedlings have a couple of needles that have browned out at the base and dropped. My dad has a 24 year old Sequoia that has been container grown from seed he planted, brought back from California way back in 1981. Its not a bonsai by any standards other than that it is 5ft tall tree in a somewhat large oak planter.

If the lower/inner branches aren't receiving enough light, then they can die off, and could be the problem you are experiencing. These things are somewhat apically dominant seeing as they grow a few hundred feet high lol.

After a lot of die back the latter part of last year, my dad's tree put out a lot of new growth, (ever since I told him to water the damn thing lol) some off of the old wood.

I'll attach a picture of it. Its none too clear, but you can see the foliage is mostly located at the ends. However, this tree has undergone no training or maintenance and so pinching may result in much more back budding. I think Brian Bay has a sequoia, so hopefully he will be able to shed more light on the matter.

All the best,

Aaron

Attached Images

Sequoia 1.jpg (30.1 KB, 102 views)

mushashi

Thanks Aaron for the input. Yes my tree's lower branches are starting to look somewhat like your Dad's. I have the tree in a pretty full sun location and it has been fine until a few weeks ago.


If this is normal for these trees how come you usually see(I think) Sequoias with pretty much full foliage all along the branch? Surely Sequoias in the wild groves provide a pretty good amount of shade on the lower branches of adjacent trees. So, if oit is a light issue it is a bit mysterious to me.

Other than that the tree is vibrant and there is new growth and other branches coming out around the tree up and down. So, who knows?

Anyway, maybe someoe with more experience with these trees will chime in eventually...

Thanks.....

Bonsai Barry

Aaron is correct that sequoia lose their lower branches when these branches are subjected to a lot of shade. I work in a sequoia grove and I've seen ample proof. However, I wonder about your tree. Is it in the shade? Most young sequoia have a conical shape typical of a Christmas tree if they are in full sun. If they are in full sun they don't start losing the lower branches until they are about 80 years old. Even then, I've seen some back budding on mature trees that have an abundance of light.

Be sure the tree is in well draining soil. Losing its lower branches might be the first sign of stress in the tree.

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Bonsai Barry

"Our talent lies in our choices."

cbobgo

They will also get browning of foliage if they get too much sun/heat and not enough water/humidity. The coastal ranges where they grow are almost like rain forests. Growing them in a pot is a bit more of a stress.

Brent has a large one that had probably 30-40% browned foliage at the end of the winter. By spring there was new green growth everywhere. So I wouldn't worry too much. THis winter you can trim off the brown stuff, and you should get alot of back budding in the spring.

- bob

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mushashi

Okay thanks for the comments. Well, the tree gets quite a bit of full sun during the day it is in a bonsai training pot for the last 3 years and does have the conical xmas tree shape. It is about 36" tall right now. It was cut back to 36" last winter and a new apex created. You can barely tell where the cut is now.


The only thing I can think of is it has been extremely warm here the past week and I was out od town a few days. Someone was watering my trees. I told them about the need to really hit the sequoia, but it is possible they were a little inattentive.

There is still bright green new growth popping out from the lower part of the tree. In fact there are even some new branches popping out at the trunk right next to the branches that got some brown out.

I will keep it well watered and as much sun as possible especially during this hot spell.

Anyone else please feel free to chime in......

Thanks....

Bonsai Barry

There could be a confusion of tree. I believe that Aaron posted a photo of a giant sequoia (sequoiadendron giagantium), and Bob is refering to the coastal redwood (sequoia seprevirens). Do you know which species you have? Their natural environments are quite different.

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Bonsai Barry

"Our talent lies in our choices."

mushashi

I have a giant sequoia not a coastal redwood.......It is one of the big boys! sequoiadendron gigantium

cbobgo

Ah, my bad. Please disregard my comments :-)

- bob

__________________
"As a twig is bent the tree inclines" - Virgil (70BC-19BC)
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Check out my blog: bonsaiapprentice