Wellingborough - Swanspoool Gardens (Northamptonshire)

Giant Redwood - November 2021 - 435 cm girth

Giant Redwood - November 2021 - 560cm girth

Giant Redwood - November 2021 - 390cm girth

Ellen wrote; "I came across your site while googling how to propagate Giant Redwoods from seed. I walk my dogs in a local park and am in the habit of collecting pine cones. When I placed several on the mantle piece over the wood stove, the next morning I noticed seeds falling out. The trees I collected the cones from were quite large, but I had no idea they might be Giant Redwoods until looking at your website and finding out they can grow in the UK. I took photos and tried for some measurements this weekend. Please could you check the included photos? Do I really walk beneath Giant Redwoods?" Yes Ellen, you really do. The amazing thing about the trees you've been walking under is that although they are already a substantial size for the U.K, relatively speaking they are babies in comparison to those that are growing in America. Then again we've only had around 170 years of growth in this country (in 2022) whereas the U.S.A. trees can be over 2,000 years old. Ellen also measured the trees; "I measured the circumference 1.5 m from ground level. I have already followed some of your website propagation advice, sown some of the seeds and placed them in a sunny frost free but unheated area. I am planning on allowing some to stratify in an unheated greenhouse over winter. I don’t really have anywhere to plant Giant Redwoods, but I can’t help trying to grow them!"" Good luck with them. It's great to hear how people discover the website and I believe that wanting information on growing Redwoods is probably the best reason! I can quite understand your impulse to want to grow them despite not knowing where they will be planted eventually. I am driven to do the same myself and have in the past reached the point where I have fifty or sixty saplings filling the garden. You could try local parks or country parks, however I have found that quite a few councils can be a little bureaucratic, so maybe a spot of guerrilla planting might be in order.

Giant Redwood cones found by Ellen