Soil Mixture for Giant Sequoia

8 years ago

Hello all,

I have been lurking on these forums for a little while now, and just now decided to officially join.

I have been quite impressed at the vast array of intelligent, prompt replies provided here. This forum contains very kind individuals who truly seem to care deeply about gardening. With that in mind, I would like to ask you all a question.

I recently purchased a 4 year old Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum) from Welker's Grove nursery. I asked the gentleman what soil mixture would be best for the tree. He provided various soil mixtures I could use, but never stated the best available type.

The Sequoia will be planted inside a 65 gallon Smart Pot, so drainage should be decent. I have plenty of perlite on hand, but should I use it? I have been reading up on Al's gritty mix. Would that be a worthwhile endeavor for this tree? As for compost, I do not have access to any homemade variation. Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated.

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

8 years ago

Gritty mix is an excellent choice for a planting medium for this tree. And no compost required! You will need to pay very close attention to watering, however, as the gritty mix naturally drains very quickly and the very porous character of the Smart Pot will only exacerbate that. You could add a little bit of OM (compost) to the mix to make it a bit more water retentive but don't overdo. And don't overlook the CRF - very important when using gritty mix.

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Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
how big is it right now ...???' .. its not like you can stake a large plant in a pot.. so we need to define the size ...

and why cant it go in the ground ...

how about a pic???

a pot is a minor player.. in drainage ... its the media that matters ...

there is also a container forum ... i would recommend you also seek advice there ...

ken
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I have a lot of potted Giant Sequoias - you can't water them enough as long as your pot has great drainage. Giant Seqouias are extremely thirsty. It's NOT over watering. It's more than likely sun scald from putting into the sun to quickly. You can easily cook the roots of you have it the sun and it heats up. It needs a big pot, do not transplant into a small pot, the bigger the pot the harder to Cook the roots - where do you live? The Giant Seqouias are in the clay pots in the background and he pic was taken a couple years ago. The plants in the black pots are Texas Live Oaks. I can flood those Seqouias every day and the water will not affect them. Seqouias are NOT pine trees, there is no comparison. As giant adults they drink thousands and thousands of gallons of water a day. do not plant them deep here is a great resource from a commercial Giant Seqouia grower - again they say water water water https://www.giant-sequoia.com/about-sequoia-trees/giant-sequoias-in-the-landcape-garden/
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Lauren Bridgewater
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What brand should I get? I live in San Antonio TX and NO ONE here knows how to grow a baby sequoia. I have called all the nurseries already and even some in CA (left messages). I need specific help to save my baby Latoya Sequoia. 1. What pot type should I use? Clay? (I have her in plastic, decent sized). 2. What brand/title of this gritty soil should I buy? If not buy a certain brand, please link or help me understand how to make my own. 3. As a sapling in a city with 101 minimum high heats every day, with terrible humidity, should she be inside under a UV lamp or outside? 4. I have read contradicting ideas on how much sun to give her but if you have an estimate of how many hours (either outside or under the lamp) you believe would be best, I would be so grateful.

I know that there are lots of threads on this but my head is spinning from all the info and since this is the first time I've ever grown anything, I don't understand some of the lingo that one might think is easy. Thank you in advance for all your help and patience with me! :)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
a tree is a tree ... there is no specific brand per type of tree ...

the idea with trees.... is they want a sip of water.. and then near full drainage .... not unlike cactus ....

soo.. the simple.. small solution.. is you would need a chunky cactus mix .... something with not a lot of water retaining peat ....

the problem with making your own gritty mix.. is you will probably end up with a couple wheelbarrows full... and have spent a lot of money by the time you are done ... i never had that many pots to fill ...

after that.. no newly potted tree goes in full sun for at least a month.. we gotta get those roots working ... before such ... and after that.. i prefer to place pots.. so the plant gets sun.. but the pot not ... no tree likes hot roots ...

i have never had much success with anything in clay ... use plastic ... and then place that in a fancy pot.. if you wish [a pot in pot system] .. clay dries and wicks water out of the media.. and that can interfere with proper watering ...

i tried searching latoya sequoia.. no such thing ... that i could find.. but to be honest .. i didnt try to hard ... lol ...

welcome to the forums... if you are going to hang around.. go back to your member's page.. and add your location.. so it shows up next to your name ... plz ... its easier than forgetting to put it in all your posts ....

and it might have been better.. if you started your own post .. next time ...

a pic of the plant might also help ....; i am wondering if this is some disposable plant.. that really isnt meant to live forever .... a lot of peeps get these tiny xmas trees ... and they really arent meant to live forever ...

finally ... its a tree.. think in tree time... i am sure you have months to figure this out ... you dont really need an answer form CA yesterday ... just make sure you water it like a tree ... not an annual or perennial ... it doesnt need to stay sopping wet all the time [except for a bit after a repotting or planting ...]

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
oh.. and there is a container forum ... where you might get peeps who do come to this forum ...
Lauren Bridgewater
5 years ago
Latoya is her name hahah :P Thank you for all your advice and it has reassured me that I can do this! I had her pic in another forum post (I was kindly linked to this one) but she looks very similar to pics of struggling baby sequoias I have seen on here. I'm going to try that cactus mix and see how she does over the next month.

I guess my last question for now is...Should I be pruning her brown ends at all?
stuartlawrence (7b L.I. NY)
5 years ago
If the water drains through the bottom of the container within 5-10 seconds then you're potting mix is good. The 5 1 1 potting mix will work well and drains fast. It's easier to make than the gritty mix. You can read more about it here [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/taplas-5-1-1-container-mix-in-more-detail-dsvw-vd~1378483[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/taplas-5-1-1-container-mix-in-more-detail-dsvw-vd~1378483)
User
5 years ago
Lauren,

What water do you use when you water? Tap water may not be good, some has high chlorine content and I've heard of people killing small planted trees using softened water, high in sodium content, from their outside spigots (my outside spigots aren't connected to the softener).

Hold off on any cutting until the tree gets back to normal, some of that might green up again and other parts turn crispy dry. Be easier to tell what needs to go that way. Unless any of it gets mold on it, then cut it off right away.

I looked at my bag of cactus mix, it has 40-50% bark, sand, peat, perlite and fertilizer (it's the miracle grow brand). So probably not as well draining as 5-1-1 but still should be okay as far as not drowning the tree. Sequoia like consistently moist from what I hear.

Ken, you never heard of Latoya Sequoia? lol Me neither. :^))
Lauren Bridgewater
5 years ago
haha This Latoya Sequoia is jut one of a kind ;) That's why I must save her in particular. No other exists on Earth that I have heard of!
Lina Sponono
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Hello Lauren,

I hope you Sequoia is doing better? I have just bought 2 baby sequoias a month ago on my trip to Sequoia National Park and they've been doing quiet well (whatever I am doing with them). Since I wanted to train them as bonsai, I put them in bonsai soil, which is well drained and I also water them daily (because water doesn't stay in the pot; which has holes in the bottom so that excess water can escape). I also put them in the front yard, which is the East side so that they can have some sun in the morning and stay cool the rest of the day, considering that I live in Southern California. These summer days are 90s.

My older Sequoia (perhaps 4ish year old) is sort of yellowish-green but looks like it hangs on just fine. My younger one (3 years, maybe) maintains the beautiful green so far. I tried to move them to the back yard, which has sun all day long and they looked ill after two days. They turned brown on the tips. So I moved them back to the front yard where they gets some shade that protect them from the heat. So I definitely am sure that they don't like to be dried out. I read that they don't like the dried out period like most tree as well.

Here is a link to basic care for Sequoia in general. Maybe you already crossed path with this link when researching, but just in case... https://www.giant-sequoia.com/faqs/giant-sequoia-landscape-questions/

Hope this help.

Soil Mixture for Giant Sequoia

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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