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Can redwoods survive without winter?
rabidhedgehog
Posts: 22
Hi,
I have several giant sequoias, coast redwoods, and douglas firs growing indoors. It is quite warm in the room, probably around +23-24 Celsius, which means that they won't get a proper winter. The temperature outside is about +3-8, but in a week or so it is likely to drop slightly below freezing.
The problem is that all the plants germinated quite late, in mid July, and are now growing vigorously. I am wondering what would happen if I now take them outside given that they haven't developed woody stems. The other option I have is to leave them indoors, in which case they wouldn't get any winter.
thanks in advance
0
Posts
My gut feeling is don't have them indoors.
I'd suggest a cold greenhouse, with the door open, or tucked against a South facing wall perhaps?
Well, my only other option is to put them on a balcony (facing west). It is mostly sheltered from the wind. Maybe I could try to keep them outside for a day and see what happens. Do you think they can freeze in just 24 hours when it's around +5?
I think its going to stress then out more in a warm room room . Than having them in a cold frost free enviroment.
nothing freezes at +5C, freezing point is 0C
It's a difficult decision to make when plants have been grown soft indoors. It's not an easy time of year for hardening off. I'd put them outside on warmish days for a week or 4, then outside at night if it's not freezing. Eventually they'll be hardened off, you'll see a change in appearance, not so soft and green
In the sticks near Peterborough
Isn't it possible to postpone the hardening until the next year? Or is not having a dormancy period in their first year going to prevent them from developing normally?
I think these are all evergreen aren't they? so not truly dormant. I have no experience of this situation, I grow my plants hard. My gut feeling is they'll struggle with high temperature and low light levels.
In the sticks near Peterborough
They actually stand on a window sill on the south side. So they get plenty of sunshine. Yes, they are all evergreen conifers.
As you can see, at 4 months they are quite small and green.
Sequoias are fully hardy and where they occur naturally, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in particular, they endure snow for several months each year. The coastal redwoods are a different species and are less hardy but can and do survive light frosts. As your plants are mere seedlings I would err on the cautious side. I do think a heated living room will be too warm, especially for the Sequoias. Have you got a cold frame or can you rig one up. If it were me I would place them in a cold frame and leave the Sequoias there all winter but coddle the coastals by bringing them inside if we have a really cold spell.
Thank you for your reply. As the weather is relatively warm right now (+5... +10C), I put them outside for now to see how they react. The temperature rarely drops below -5C here, so I was thinking of keeping them mostly outside, but when it's colder than say -2... -3C, bringing them indoors.
On the other hand I'm wondering what would happen if all the seedlings were to spend their first winter in a warm room, but from the second year be left outside. Can they be killed by the lack of the cold period, or can it somehow inhibit their growth?