Say Hello to My Little Friends!

The mailman made me sweat it out a day longer than I was hoping, but my thirteen seedlings arrived today. To recap, I ordered three seedlings from Welker's 2005 crop, and ten smaller ones from their 2006 crop. Impressive shipping job - they rolled each of the seedlings up in newspaper, and bundled them closely together in a small package. There were no problems with the seedlings after their four day, cross-country journey. The soil in the tubes was still moist, and the leaves hadn't lost any of their color.

Following Welker's instructions, I quickly transplanted the seedlings from their soil tubes into pots and gave them a little water bath to help them get situated. I gotta say, they're way 'cuter' than I expected. The leaves are firm, but not prickly, and the older ones had already grown some flaky bark. I'm going to hold off about a week before using fertilizer, and then follow up every 10-14 days as suggested by the product's label.

In partial shade, sequoias will grow tall quickly, but in full sun, they grow fuller. I can wait for height, but fullness is pretty important to me.

Sequoias are the fastest growing of any conifer, or cone-bearing seed plant. Under ideal conditions, they may see growth of up to six feet by their third year! And, once established, they should grow up to two inches thicker (one-inch growth ring) each year. Here on my deck, they'll receive a good portion of sunlight throughout the day.