In forty years with redwoods in two locations I have never found them to need added water. Growing in nature redwoods are normally found along creeks or in valleys where water is more plentiful. When redwoods are planted they may not be where nature would grow them, but when they are as mature as yours are, they have spread the roots to adapt and you should have no trouble with a dry year. It is normal for a redwood to have roots extending 100 feet or more from the tree. Al

My Moms neighbor didn't water his redwood and now he has a dead tree.

I don't water mine and I have several huge trees. It is normal during the summer for the foliage inside the tree to turn yellow and fall off. You want to watch the tips and as long as they are green, the tree is ok. They run roots that are out as far as the tree is tall! Mine are around 60 ft tall.

new small trees do need water until they become well established. Penny

Plantsgalore, the main problem may be that they are too close to the house. And they are going to get really really huge, in a hurry. And the bigger they get, the more expensive it will be to have them removed. If there is a big windstorm or fire in your area, you may wish you hadn't left them there.

If you want them to look their best..water. If you can put up with them growing much slower,less lush foliage,and more needle-scales drop,there is no doubt they will survive in your area. And we had late spring rains to help.

The best garden Redwoods are in lawns and get fertilized also all summer.

I wonder if I can get this thread going again. We just learned of a city water restriction that limits us to two hours total irrigation, I believe twice a week. Most of my yard near Davis is on drip, although I have several (9) redwoods that are under sprinklers. I have always assumed that the sprinklers don't add much to these 50 foot tall, 10 foot around behemoths, but I am getting advice to the contrary.

http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/downloads/redwood_exhibits.pdf

http://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/268-209.pdf

I have been gradually switching over to drip, but two hours won't amount to much irrigation for the entire yard.

Any thoughts?

How old are the redwood trees. I have several but they are old and I never water them. You will see the inside little branches turn yellow and drop off. However if the tips are still healthy they should be ok.

All surface watering does is keep the small tips happy and makes them spread more.

What you want in a plant is deep roots so water less and deeper. I have a couple of habitat gardens I never watered last summer and they are doing fine. Penny

I do not know about in the San Francisco region, but in Southern California redwood trees definitely need consistent watering, otherwise they will turn brown and eventually die.

If you think about the environment where Coastal redwoods thrive, there is usually plenty of mist, so when a redwood is planted in a more arid location, it takes much more water to prevent it from drying out.

Sequoia redwoods are more drought and cold tolerant, but are also very slow growing.

Many already do not realize that giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and California redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are two different species of trees. Using the term sequoia redwoods is not very helpful in educating them to that fact. In forums, people sometimes comment how they are vacationing in California and plan to see the "huge trees". When I ask which ones, it comes out that they had no idea General Sherman is not a Coast Redwood.

We are definitely not in a coastal climate, although there may be a hair more marine influence than there is in Sacramento. I believe mine are "coastal redwoods", and they are at least 20 years old, since they were pretty big when we moved here about 20 years ago. I had twelve. I have cut down three of them at least twice, but they grow back! The roots have made it impossible to grow almost anything else within about 20 feet. I believe it would be a literal disaster if these trees were to die and fall.

Redwoods in the Central Valley are looking pretty dry this year, and many of them are slowly dying. If you see one that is lush and green, you can be sure the homeowners have been giving it ample water. The Central Valley is much, mush hotter and drier than the peninsula though, so perhaps those who live near you can give you more relevant information.

If you live in a dry region and really want to plant a redwood, there are passive strategies you may be able to undertake so the tree has a better chance of surviving periods of future neglect, but it really takes a lot of prior planning and consideration. I have seen a lone coastal redwood growing on a property in a narrow valley around my area. I live in a dry region, but this valley seems to funnel moisture, creating a sort of microclimate. I would not say the tree looked like it was thriving, but it was surviving and did not look all brown. It looks like it has probably been there around 50 years. It is not wise to plant a long-lifespan tree where it will be completely reliant on artificial irrigation, because the years go by and things happen, people do not always remember to care for their plants.

I love redwoods, but they don't belong in yards unless you have a huge property. Even more so if you're nowhere near the coast. Aside from the moisture requirements, the roots are aggressive and can get into sewer pipes and lift foundations. I get why people planted them, but in most cases it was short-term thinking and the current homeowner is stuck with a difficult, and possibly very expensive situation.

If I had redwoods I'd be saving my pennies for the inevitable day when they'd have to come out.

Ugh....

Have they ever been pruned? I have people come in about every 3 years and cut out material and ladder the branches. Takes less water that way. I live in Napa Valley and we do have stands of redwoods growing in the western hills and they never get watered. Yes, their roots are very invasive.

I agree with andy_e. See my post (3 down from the first one). They get too big in all directions, and they certainly don't belong near the house.

Thanks all. We are sort of in the foothills between Napa and Vacaville. It's amazing to me how the fog seems to hang on the Napa side of those hills, while we have bright sunlight this time of year.

I wouldn't say pruned, but some have been limbed up, and some even removed. I don't know what "laddering the branches" means, but I will look it up.

We had an arborist come in when we first moved in, and he suggested trees to remove. I will have to review what he said and what we did. I DO remember him saying the Honey Locust were "weedy", and I remember thinking "I wonder what THAT means...". Now I know. Had another one come last year and we removed about 9 trees, including the Honey Locusts.....AGAIN! Those things remind me of that scene in Fantasia with the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Cut them down and TWO come back. I don't know what it is with that side of the yard, but "volunteer" trees spring from the ground and grow like mad!

quote by andy_e:

" I love redwoods, but they don't belong in yards unless you have a huge property. "

Yes, there is some truth to that, they require a lot of space. As tall as coastal redwoods are, even in a fully mature redwood the roots are rarely deeper than 15ft. In their natural climate, the roots do not need to be that deep because there is plenty of water. Rather the roots grow horizontally outwards, and interlock with other redwood roots for stability. You do not absolutely have to have a huge yard to plant a redwood, but you will need to plant it right in the middle, so it will have plenty of space. And after 25 years the tree can become so big it can look out of place (though still spectacular) on a smaller sized lot. Of course, with the "yard" sizes of some of the newer track homes being built, "small" is a relative word. The roots are going to need at least 15ft of space from the trunk, ideally more. In older trees the roots can easily reach out 30ft.

quote by napapen:

" Have they ever been pruned? I have people come in about every 3 years and cut out material and ladder the branches. "

A redwood should never be topped. Separate trunks will grow out in all directions where the upper trunk was cut, these are brittle and can easily break off, creating a hazard to any structures below. The tree will never be safe after being topped. That is why you should never plant a redwood unless you are okay with an enormously tall tree there after 25 years, one that will gradually continue to grow and grow and grow...

They will die without a lot of water. Better yet, don't water them and remove those thirsty weeds asap. I agree strongly with Andy_e and parker here. Below is a copy of my post from another thread in landscaping. The roots grow further laterally than the tree is tall. They are beautiful in the coastal forest. Never in a residential yard.... ever.

"I too was infiltrated with existing redwoods - 30 of them between 40 and 100 ft. tall! I chose to rip them all out and plant citrus for privacy. Unfortunately, i was too late, the redwoods had already found my sprinkler pipe, pool pipes, foundation (+ sewer line) - and therefore wallet.

I learned the hard way that redwoods are not compatible in a residential landscape - period."

Here almost all of the several dozen Redwoods in the neighborhood have died in the past year for lack of water. There might be one left. They can hold on for a few years, but not forever.

Its almost a year since I started this thread! I have not been watering our redwoods, but one of the trees broke into our irrigation line and got plenty of water till we discovered the leak. The others are still alive but not thriving. May has been relatively cool and foggy here which probably helped. I have noticed several dying trees around town, especially down in the plains. The giant redwood that our city uses as a christmas tree is almost all brown

According to the UC master gardener website (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7948) each tree needs about 10 gallons a day.

Caution! I had same happen. A 100 footer broke the irrigation PVC pipe within 2 ft. of the trunk. It was a leak gone unnoticed for years. (this was about 8-10 years ago). When the stump was being ground down, the operator called me over to show what he found. He found that about 35-40% of the trunk was rotted through. He said he has seen this before... and estimated that the tree would have fallen over within a year or two.

That could have been catastrophic as there is a school bus stop, 2 houses, and street within range.

I'm a redwood owner of second growth. For me I don't know what Redwood trees I have. I live in the hills above Santa Cruz, in SLV where 100 years ago my area was clear cut, then fire to rebuild SF.(Sequoiadendron giganteum) and California redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are two different species of trees. I have 2 questions, I've lived amougst these guys for over 50 years and the use of “Coastal Redwoods" is misleading 1) Do second growth and or older Reds take on different BARK? i.e. Thick vs thinner grey vs dark red.(I have DF also) 2) most of mine are in a “fairy ring" surrounding mother last year they produced little tine cone at this time of year is that common? As far as watering, we only got 35/37 inchs for the last few years. Is there a way to know when I should be concerned?

Im reviving this 2 year old thread to see how everyone's redwood trees are doing now!

All our redwoods suffered last summer. They put on new growth over the winter and shed a CRAZY amount of needles this summer/fall. When I drive around our city I see lots of trees that are just covered with brown needles/branches but are also showing lots of green tip growth.

The larger redwoods did better, the three smaller ones died out at the top but are regrowing from the trunk. If we get some rain this year, Im cautiously optimistic they'll survive. We did water heavily through the summer - 50% of our landscape water went to the redwoods.

Hope all your trees are making it through!

I don't miss my redwoods at all - i now have landscaping (again)! "Redwoods and residential landscaping do not mix - choose one". That is right... it is what a certified arborist told me and i refused to believe him. Until the redwoods took over everything including the pool, sewer, irrigation pipes ....and therefore my wallet. If they are in your forest - great - they are beautiful. If they are in your landscape - kill them now and remove them while the cost is still reasonable. There are many alternatives and the red tipped photinias that have grown-in in my yard since the total redwood removal are 20+ ft. tall - and drought tolerant too.

In Southern California and the drier interior parts of the state, redwoods need to be watered, especially during the hot summer.

Redwoods are majestic beautiful trees. But they also have big expanding root systems that do not go down very deep, and the trees keep on growing and growing and growing. You can't stop them. Never ever top a redwood because then multiple huge limbs are going to grow out of the damaged top, it will create a dangerous situation later on because those brittle limbs so high up can easily break off and come crashing down.

For those of you who do not know, there are three species of redwoods. Coast Redwoods can get to be the tallest but are the least drought tolerant. Sequoias are the biggest and can handle frost, but are very slow growing (but are probably the most drought tolerant). Dawn Redwoods, which come from China, are the smallest and fastest growing. Their trunk has a pyramidic shape and are popularly planted in peoples yards. Hinoki Cypress in Japan are also distantly related to redwoods.

I'm in Southern California and have a mature Sequoia tree that I don't water much. It started looking really bad this last year. Entirely brown except for the tips. There is quite a bit of new growth coming in after all the rain we got this year but still has a ton of dead branches and twigs. I cut off the large lower dead branches but would it be helpful to cut off as much of the dead stuff as possible? And what is the recommendation for watering it during the summer?

The inside dieback is a normal thing for redwoods and sequoias. Normally they do not get water in the summer time. How big is the tree. 60-70 ft tall or

just out of a can? You can cut back the limbs and new growth from dormant buds will often come through.

It is probably twice as tall as my single story house.

Maybe this is the time to do some hard thinking about whether your trees are a good match for your climate, especially if you have Coast Redwoods in a hot, inland location.

I love redwoods. Happy for the ones that got the extra water this year. Magnificent trees.

My redwoods look very happy with all the rain. Bright green growing tips on all of them! I certainly wouldn't plant redwoods in suburban yards now, but what do you with legacy trees that are thrice as old and thrice as tall as the house?

The roots are damaging something. You just don't know what yet. I removed all 30 of mine... no regrets, but after $30k worth of damage to pipes.

Redwoods belong in a forest, not in your yard. Get rid of them asap.

I have several redwwods and pine trees in my yard, when i bought my home elven yeats ago i could tell they were suffereing from llack of water by the wsy the limp hung down . i live in Sacramento, Ca California where these trees do not belong so i conacted Davey Tree Services . They come out each year and shhot vitamins and water into all my trees roots i have soaker hoses twice a week (our limit on water here)

Nancy Nickle - Wouldn't it be better (for you and the environment) to remove the redwood trees and replace with something that actually wants to grow in your climate?

That's a tough one. They really don't belong there and without significant supplemental moisture, they will not survive. Heck, I'm in Petaluma and they don't want to be here, either. I guess if I were you I would think about the longer term: do you want to continue to sustain these trees or would it be better to bite the bullet, take them out now, and go forward with more sustainable plantings. You are not alone in this dilemma.

Since I took that picture we had a really bad fire in these parts.

@Nancy Nickle , can you tell me about your water restrictions? I am in Solano County.