FWIW...and only because the thread was already bumped. My coast redwoods saw the lowest temps they've ever seen in my garden. They only had light mulch and no special protection. Low of 6F (-14.5C) last week w/snow before the brief thaw, then lows of 3F (-16.1 C) a couple nights ago in a severe advective freeze with incredible winds, and 8F last night. 8' 'Soquel', several years in ground (5 IIRC), fully established: absolutely no sign of damage 4' 'Swarthmore Hardy'/'Chapel Hill', 3 years in ground: very minor dieback of oldest needles 2' 'Swarthmore Hardy'/'Chapel Hill', 1.5 year in ground: somewhat more extensive needle injury, still 18" 'Atlanta', 1 year in ground (first winter): minor signs of injury on a handful of needles. Would appear to be at least as hardy as 'Chapel Hill' Yes I'm aware more damage could show up later; but from my general experience other than a few special plants (olives are notorious) if there isn't sign of damage in 24h and there isn't the likelihood of bark injury (there isn't) you should be ok. My most tender experimental BLEs are showing damage. BBoy the Azara I argued with you about has about 50% foliar death...whether the stems were killed to the degree that it will be killed off I don't know yet, probably won't be sure until spring. My Escallonia 'Appleblossom' has shown rather similar damage in past cold winters and comes roaring back in the spring, so we'll see.

What are the pros & cons of finishing a redwood deck with a paraffinic oil-based sealer with no curing agent (such as ReadySeal) vs. an oil/alkyd penetrating sealer (such as TWP)? I live in a very rainy, cool coastal area in Northern Calif., so would ReadySeal probably get washed out and fade color fairly quickly? Would it be likely to last a year? I'd prefer to reseal the deck every 2 years rather than annually, but I'd be OK with resealing annually if it's easy to do (which it sounds like ReadySeal is). If I use an oil/alkyd sealer, the ones that seem to be recommended the most in this forum are TWP, Cabot's ATO, and Sikkens Cetol SRD. Are these all pretty similar, or if not, what's the difference between them? Any suggestions which color of these finishes would look best on redwood? I'm looking for a natural-looking redwood color that's not too orange.

I am planning on re-sealing my redwood deck. The deck is made of clear heart redwood (15 years old). I've cleaned the deck and done light sanding where necessary. I would like to use a tinted clear treatment that would get me at least 2-yrs of protection, and still shows the natural redwood color( I paid for redwood, so I would like to show it off). I'm not sure if a semi-transparent will give a "painted" look to the deck. I live in the SF Bay area. The deck has an eastern exposure (morning to mid-afternoon sun). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. In the past I've used Superdeck Brand(natural) to treat the surface. But its been 7 years since I did the last treatment. CR came out with their latest rating of sealants, and Superdeck is not listed (not sure if it was included in the testing). Thanks

Try this site for some answers. Almost sounds like your request. http://www.onthehouse.com/qa/241