Planting redwood trees in backyards comes with a ton of advantages.
The obvious ones being to add character to your home while offering shade during those sunny days. However, redwood trees do more than just offer shade and an ornamental look to your home.
Listed as some of the largest trees in the world, redwood trees are perfect for regulating clean air. Nonetheless, due to their large size, you must learn how to properly grow redwood trees if you want to include them in your backyard.
Our guide below will show you exactly what to do to successfully grow redwood trees.
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What are Redwood Trees?
Amongst the fast-growing and tallest trees in the world, redwood trees protrude like arrows from the ground shooting up towards the sky. Depending on their growing environment, redwood trees can grow to heights of up to 300 feet (mature century-old ones).
In general cases, redwood trees grow to heights of about 75 to 100 feet tall and with a canopy of about 15 to 30 feet. The evergreen trees prefer to grow in rainy winter and foggy summer-prone areas, which is why they naturally grow in coastal areas such as California and Oregon.
Nonetheless, with proper care, redwood trees can grow anywhere. When young, redwood trees grow at a rate of about 3 to 5 feet annually. The quick growth rate makes landscaping with redwood trees a good idea.
Additionally, due to their fast growth rate, the dense evergreen foliage they produce along the way makes them perfect for quick-to-establish hedges. But, you have to prepare to deal with them as they continue to grow taller as they eventually interfere with power lines, amongst other things in your home.
Is it Illegal to Plant a Redwood Tree?
Redwood trees naturally grow in the coastal areas of California and Oregon only. But, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are illegal to plant elsewhere. After all, with the right conditions, redwood trees can pretty much grow anywhere.
On the other hand, cutting down or trimming large redwood trees is illegal in areas such as north California where they are native.
However, if you want to cut down or trim a smaller redwood tree you’ve planted in your backyard or other parts of the property, you should check with your local city and county laws for the regulations and in case you need a permit.
Planting Redwood Trees in Residential Areas
Since planting redwood trees is legal anywhere, you can plant them in residential areas too. However, due to their fast growth rate and large size, redwood trees grow best if you have a medium-sized to large backyard.
Nonetheless, if you are thinking of landscaping with redwood trees in your backyard, you have to consider several key factors.
What Factors to Consider When Planting Redwood Trees in Backyards
If you are planting redwood trees near house perimeters, make sure they are at least 30 feet or more from the house and other key infrastructural elements such as septic fields, drain lines, or water lines. You’d also want to avoid planting them near paved surfaces or plant gardens (the roots can be invasive!)
Plant your trees on the north end of the house so you can cast the winter shade the tree offers on the house or your garden.
Prep the land – you should have acidic soil with sufficient irrigation.
Focus on landscaping with redwood trees by strategically arranging all the plants you plan to have in the backyard – these include shorter trees, shrubs, ferns, and even, the ground covering. For the best results, you should plant the trees alongside plants that naturally grow beside them on the coast.
As they vertically grow, redwood trees experience similar horizontal growth through their roots. Typically, their roots extend to eventually become wider than their canopy, meaning they take up quite a lot of water and nutrients to sustain their growth.
In addition to placing them away from your house to prevent damages, you have to create a reliable food source for them. Frequent and adequate irrigation is key!
Redwood Tree Maintenance
Planting redwood trees in backyards extends beyond the actual planting phase. You have to ensure consistent maintenance for the successful growth of the trees. In ideal conditions, redwood trees grow about 2 to 3 feet annually.
However, without the right nutrients, moisture, and sunlight, their growth is stunted, to as low as only an inch annually. Therefore, you must learn how to maintain the trees too.
For proper redwood tree maintenance, a few things you should pay attention to include:
- Trimming them down to reduce their size (check with your local city and county regulations) and delay their fast growth rate. Doing so doesn’t cause any permanent damage to the tree since they can easily regrow to their size in no time. Frequently trimming down the trees create multiple trunks that sprout from the base, allowing you to maintain the tree as a hedge.
- If you want to, you can decrease the shade cast of the tree by cutting down some of its limbs. Ideally, you want to cut each limb by one-third of its height.
- You have to consistently water the tree to prevent stunted growth or yellowing and browning of the foliage and branches. The best solution for watering redwood trees is through drip irrigation. For the best results, you want to irrigate the tree for at least 30 minutes to an hour once a week.
- Pruning is necessary to maintain the look you want for the tree. Make it a point to examine the tree weekly and remove any broken branches to avoid significant damage to your backyard. Pruning also helps to protect the tree itself from the incidence of pest infestation. You can simply remove the affected part and spray the tree with insecticide. The best time to prune your tree is during late winter as your tree prepares for the new growing season in spring.
Final Thoughts
Planting redwood trees in backyards offer a unique way to add style to your home. After all, the trees even do go for the environment as they promote oxygen generation. However, to make full use of the trees in your home, you have to first learn the best way to plant and maintain them.
