Another pic. This is the close up of the mostly dead one.

So, where exactly are you? Sequoia sempervirens won't do well everywhere. A little more info, please.

~Dave

Northern California foothills. There are a lot of these trees in this community that seem to do very well. But our house was vacant for 1 year before we moved in and I think they went without water for part of that.

they are a native tree .. arent they ...

so why would not being watered matter????

so to my MI mind ... they are not proper to your area.. and were pampered ... and when the pampering ended ... they could not cope ...

now.. lets see if my GUESS is anywhere close.. lol ...

i would not spend the next decade looking at that mess.. and hoping that they could recover.. be done with them ...

ken

ps: any chance they were hit by a frost/freeze??? .. if so.. they may in fact recover... by fall.. you will ahve to decide if you enjoy them.. or not ...

"they are a native tree .. arent they ...

so why would not being watered matter???? "

To me "Northern California foothills" could mean a lot of places with very different climates. I don't believe these are known to grow in a place like Auburn, CA, on their own, w/o irrigation. (though I suppose people call that central California? I don't know the local lingo)

davidrt28 is absolutely correct. If the OP is speaking of the foothills of the Sierras, then Coast Redwoods wouldn't stand much of a chance without additional irrigation. If they are in the foothills of the Coast Range, then I'm very confused because they shouldn't need any additional irrigation whatsoever.

FWIW, I have a couple Sequoia sempervirens in my zone8 Washington garden for several years. They got supplemental irrigation for their first year or two in the ground. After that, they've been totally on auto-pilot and are doing great.

@php, I agree with Ken. Those Sequoia are ugly and probably won't get better. If you are indeed in the Sierra foothills there are a couple of awesome pines (Pinus sabineana and lambertiana) that are well suited for you. In fact the latter, aka Sugar Pine will get quite large and both create amazingly large cones.

~Dave

Thanks for the info all. Since there are many if these trees around that are flush with green I would say it probably wasn't a freeze. In this area the would need irrigation since our summers can get above 110 on some days, it's fairly warm in general. I might take a look at the other trees suggested.

These trees really want summer fog. Without that they absolutely need supplemental irrigation. There is a big grove up at UC Davis, which has summer temps like yours. You might check in with the arboretum folks there and see what they do in terms of irrigation. Also your local Master Gardeners may be able to give you some info as well.

Redwoods in their natural environment sprout from the base after the trees are destroyed by fire. Not sure how well this situation approximates that, and the dead one is dead, but the ones that still have green might sprout from the base if you cut them off at ground level. Different look than mature trees, and not sure where they are on your property so if that would be suitable, but another possibility.

Good luck!

Sara

Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis T. Elliott Weier Redwood Grove

Yup, that's what I would do. Cut em' down, let em' sprout, and start over.....with irrigation in mind.
I was in the Sierra foothills last Fall for two weeks. Beautiful country! Angels Camp and Bass Lake. Too dry for sempervirons on their own and look good.
Mike