PlantFiles: Giant Sequoia, Big Tree
Sequoiadendron giganteum

We went to Sequoia NP and let me tell you it was awe-inspiring. It makes you think in terms of dinosaurs and how tiny we would be in perspective. They were beautiful and massive. Then on your way out of the park there was the barren side that had been burnt by a forest fire a few years before and it just broke your heart thinking of those gorgeous trees that had been there for hundreds of years destroyed by someone's carelessness. So I need some seeds to start some trees in good old NY!

I never spent much time down by Sequoia NP, but lived very near the Placer County Big Trees Grove past Foresthill. These trees are the northernmost grove of Sequoiadendron, and the USFS believes they might have been started by seed from Native Americans, either accidentally or intentionally. The oldest trees are 500-600 years or so, and a few fell over in the heavy snow of the 1861-1862 winter. Even lying on their side and 150 years old they are twice my height. There are only, if I remember, a dozen or so mature trees in this grove but the little headwaters they live in is a fascinating microclimate. If you ever visit Foresthill or French Meadows Reservoir you should stop and take the signed trail around the little grove.

These trees are so big, walking up to one is more like going up to building than going up to a tree.

These trees are absolutely MASSIVE. In fact, in terms of stem volume, they're probably the largest trees in the world. Mind you, the specimens I've seen (aside from pictures) are relatively small because the largest specimens are in the western United States, particularly in Sequoia National Park. I've only seen specimens in British Columbia.

I would love to see the largest specimen of this tree, also the largest tree in the world, known as "General Sherman". General Sherman is 274.9 feet high and 36.5 feet wide at the base, with a circumference of 102.6 feet. That means it would take roughly 17 people to wrap arms around this tree, assuming an armspan of 6 feet. The trunk volume has been calculated at roughly 52,500 cubic feet.

When these trees are young, they have a dense conical crown before developing a more irregular and rounded crown as they age. The first photo I've included gives an excellent example of the appearance of these trees when young.

The other photo I've included shows a closeup view of the bark and foilage. (center of photo) Even though the trunk on this tree has a relatively small diameter of 9 feet, it still seemed quite large when I stood next to it.

I live in Williamstown (northern Kentucky), U.S., and have acquired a few seeds from grow kits and plan on starting a small forest of them on my property which is about 850 feet elevation. The best elevations for the Giant Seqouia (Seqouiadendron giganteum) are between 700-1000 ft.