If you have new growth at the tips but the inside growth is dying, that is normal. However redwoods do not normally grow in Fresno but along the coast so a good drink of water would be a good idea. Make sure you water around the drip line as the feeder roots are out there and don't water the trunk area.
Redwoods are shallow rooted so more than once is a good idea.

Penny

I agree with Penny. Redwoods are moist soil trees and grow best along streams and in low areas that have more soil water. Coast redwoods along the coastal plains and lower elevations benefit from summer fogs that provide up to 10 inches of summer moisture. Roots of redwoods have been found over 100 feet away from the trunk but they are not deep rooted. Al

I completely agree that the customary location for Redwoods is coastal, or here in the Central Valley, more often foothill or mountain regions. And yet, there are thousands dotting the city landscape within city limits. They definitely grow here. I am somewhat concerned with the branch sag I am seeing at the moment, but the tree itself has been thriving for years and appears otherwise healthy. (As well as the other 8 on my property...I have a mixture of Aptos Blue and Soquel.)

What do you think of the branch sagging?? Heat stress or possibly drought conditions? Maybe both?? Thanks so much for the input!!

Kim

I think it is a combination of both. We have native coast redwoods on our six acre site here on the western edge of Napa county which I think is near the inland limit to their native growth. They may be planted and will grow almost anywhere but I would not expect a native forest to develope. The names of the two selections you have, named for side by side villages with a good veiw of the pacific ocean, is their native habitat. Al

I have six here in Vacaville. Used to have nine. I've removed three twice; they keep gwrowing back, but I worry because an arborist told me they may not grow that healthy in the hot and dry climate, and taking them out later will be much more expensive. I think the oldest are 19 years old and are 60 feet tall and maybe 5 feet around.

Most of the redwood forest in California are what is called "second growth". When a tree is removed it is common for new trees to grow from the same roots in a ring around the original trunk. About 10 years ago a strong wind felled many trees in Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco. In the next year I was surprised to see shoots of new redwoods growing from the bark of trees laying on the ground. So many of the old trees were on the ground the clean up took many years. Al

Coastal Redwoods do fine in the interior part of the state. They require irrigation. If they are in, or adjacent to a lawn or garden with regular irrigation, they should be fine. They appear to be moderately drought tolerant where temperatures seldom exceed the mid-90s, but there could be an abundance of water in the ground where I see them growing on dry ridges.

I had about 30 rooted cuttings in 1-gallon pots during the 1996 heatwave in Fresno. In direct sunlight and a few days around 110º, I think I had about five die because the pots got too hot. I tend to think this last heatwave could have dehydrated the foliage, cauing needle-fall, but if the tree had moisture, I think it would recover from any damage.

I agree coastal redwoods can be aided by lots of water in the interior, but I always think it's not the most responsible planting choice. We have neighbors down the street who ripped out some really nice drought tolerant landscape with interesting Australian shrubs and dwarf trees, and plants a vast lawn with tons of redwoods on them. They water constantly in the summer to keep this lawn and the trees from going brown. It seems such a waste of resources to plant things that need so much extra water out of their native habitat.

They only need normal lawn or flower bed irrigation to survive. There are quite a few on vacant lots in Sacramento that receive no irrigation.

I had quite a few Australian plants when I was in Fresno. The freeze in 1998 killed almost all of them.

True, but normal lawn irrigation IS a lot of water in interior areas. As long as people don't plant vast expanses of lawn and redwoods like this guy did down the street, it's not such a big deal. It's just that he must be using ten times the water he did before, and it's gotta be about 4000 square feet of lawn or more!

I vaguely remember the 1998 freeze but I don't recall much damage from that one relative to the 1990 one. Of course, Australian natives are as diverse as California ones. I guess it depends if they are mediterranean, desert, or tropical. His stuff was more xeriscape-ish and always looked really nice.

I know this is an extremely old post. I must ask, how is it doing now? In the southeast they generally fare well because of the humidity and all the moisture there. How is it?