Giant Sequoia is the world’s largest tree in terms of total volume. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California these beasts can grow to heights of more than 275 feet and have trunk diameters exceeding 25 feet. Furthermore, they can live to be over 3,000 years old. On the east coast of the U. S. trees reach heights of 60-100 feet tall. “Big Trees” as they are often called, are at the edge of their cold hardiness in Connecticut. Growth in the northeastern U. S. is limited by the fact that the ground often freezes before it snows, providing challenges for the root system. This majestic columnar evergreen has bluish green needles that vary in length with 1 and 1/2" to 3" reddish-brown cones. Its rich reddish-brown trunk stands out in any landscape. Grows in many different soils, and requires full sun.

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Early loggers are said to have destroyed hundreds of ancient sequoias in search of wood for roof shingles, flumes, fence posts and poles. But sequoia wood lacks strength and breaks easily across the grain. When they would fell these massive trees, large portions of the trunk would shatter into thousands of short, jagged and worthless shards. Other portions of the tree were left behind because they were simply too large to haul out of the forest.

USDA Zones 6-8