We live by the coast in So. Cal. and have two redwoods on our north side
close to the house. We bought this house about 3 years ago only to learn
that the prior owner topped the largest of the pair. Now, its upper,
small branches are dying and the upper trunk is turning grey, but it is
filling in heavily along the lower side, and the lower 3/4 trunk looks
good. We understand that these were planted from seed by the first owner
in 1947. The topped one is about 40-50', with a trunk base diameter
about 3.5-4'. Obviously, this is the one I'm concerned about. It's a
majestic tree.

Will the topping prove to be fatal? If not, what should I have done, and
with what credentials, if need be? This tree means a lot to someone
raised in the midwest.

Jack

Jack Sandweiss wrote:
We live by the coast in So. Cal. and have two redwoods on our north side
close to the house. We bought this house about 3 years ago only to learn
that the prior owner topped the largest of the pair. Now, its upper,
small branches are dying and the upper trunk is turning grey, but it is
filling in heavily along the lower side, and the lower 3/4 trunk looks
good. We understand that these were planted from seed by the first owner
in 1947. The topped one is about 40-50', with a trunk base diameter
about 3.5-4'. Obviously, this is the one I'm concerned about. It's a
majestic tree.

Will the topping prove to be fatal? If not, what should I have done, and
with what credentials, if need be? This tree means a lot to someone
raised in the midwest.

Jack


I'd suggest finding an arborist and asking them. Redwood is resistant to
most forms of rot so it's probably not that. Being in So. Cal, it might
be having problems with air pollution, sunscald, dryness or diseases
brought on by drought stress. There are many things in an urban
environment that damage trees - root cutting, soil compaction, excessive
water from lawn watering, sloppy trimming by the power company,
herbicides and even nasty neighbors. Good luck!

Jack Sandweiss wrote in message ...
We live by the coast in So. Cal. and have two redwoods on our north side
close to the house. We bought this house about 3 years ago only to learn
that the prior owner topped the largest of the pair. Now, its upper,
small branches are dying and the upper trunk is turning grey, but it is
filling in heavily along the lower side, and the lower 3/4 trunk looks
good. We understand that these were planted from seed by the first owner
in 1947. The topped one is about 40-50', with a trunk base diameter
about 3.5-4'. Obviously, this is the one I'm concerned about. It's a
majestic tree.

Will the topping prove to be fatal? If not, what should I have done, and
with what credentials, if need be? This tree means a lot to someone
raised in the midwest.

Topping a Coastal redwood will not necessarily kill it. But it will
change the growth habit a lot. The tree will now become progressively
more bushy, and there will likely be multiple upper branches which
will try to take over as the leader, or new top. For the health of the
tree, if you want to have a tall tree, save only _one_ of these new
leaders. Have a professional arborist remove the other tops, or in 20
years you _will_ have a problem: 20 trees all on top of a single
trunk.

Daniel B. Wheeler
www.oregonwhitetruffles.com

Being in Southern CA and Planted from Seed - may indicate a Giant
Sequoia (Sequoiadendron gigantium) instead of a coast redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens).

In any case topping is often a slow death sentence to most trees - hire
an arborist if you are concerned.

I tend to recomend people look for arborists that have gone beyond the
state licensing requirements.

The International Society of Arboricuture has a list of members at:

http://www.isa-arbor.com/arborists/arbsearch.html

The American Society of Consulting Arborists appears to have even
stricter requirements. A directory can be found at:

http://www.asca-consultants.org/directory/index.cfm


In article ,
Jack Sandweiss wrote:

We live by the coast in So. Cal. and have two redwoods on our north side
close to the house. We bought this house about 3 years ago only to learn
that the prior owner topped the largest of the pair. Now, its upper,
small branches are dying and the upper trunk is turning grey, but it is
filling in heavily along the lower side, and the lower 3/4 trunk looks
good. We understand that these were planted from seed by the first owner
in 1947. The topped one is about 40-50', with a trunk base diameter
about 3.5-4'. Obviously, this is the one I'm concerned about. It's a
majestic tree.

Will the topping prove to be fatal? If not, what should I have done, and
with what credentials, if need be? This tree means a lot to someone
raised in the midwest.

Jack

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Thanks to all of you for the replys. I'll follow the links, and find an
arborist to take a look. I really love this tree.

Jack

Clear Cut wrote:

Being in Southern CA and Planted from Seed - may indicate a Giant
Sequoia (Sequoiadendron gigantium) instead of a coast redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens).

In any case topping is often a slow death sentence to most trees - hire
an arborist if you are concerned.

I tend to recomend people look for arborists that have gone beyond the
state licensing requirements.

The International Society of Arboricuture has a list of members at:

http://www.isa-arbor.com/arborists/arbsearch.html

The American Society of Consulting Arborists appears to have even
stricter requirements. A directory can be found at:

http://www.asca-consultants.org/directory/index.cfm

In article ,
Jack Sandweiss wrote:

We live by the coast in So. Cal. and have two redwoods on our north side
close to the house. We bought this house about 3 years ago only to learn
that the prior owner topped the largest of the pair. Now, its upper,
small branches are dying and the upper trunk is turning grey, but it is
filling in heavily along the lower side, and the lower 3/4 trunk looks
good. We understand that these were planted from seed by the first owner
in 1947. The topped one is about 40-50', with a trunk base diameter
about 3.5-4'. Obviously, this is the one I'm concerned about. It's a
majestic tree.

Will the topping prove to be fatal? If not, what should I have done, and
with what credentials, if need be? This tree means a lot to someone
raised in the midwest.

Jack

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