With its easy-to-maintain appeal and breathtaking look, a redwood tree can become an excellent addition to your backyard. Apart from its beauty, this tree boasts a myriad of benefits. Growing a redwood tree is simple, yet you should consider many factors before planting.
With yearly growth rates of 3 to 5 feet, a redwood tree grows into a gigantic tree, providing vast shade in your backyard. Redwood trees are incredibly useful as they help diminish the carbon dioxide present in the air, transforming it into oxygen.
No matter the reason why you are interested in planting a redwood tree here’s a full guide to follow:
What Are Redwood Trees?
A redwood tree is one of the tallest and fast-growing trees around the globe. Depending on where they grow the redwood tree may reach a height of 300 feet and live for up to 2,000 years. Redwood trees often reach heights of 75 to 100 feet tall with a canopy of 15 to 30 feet in most situations.
Evergreen trees tend to thrive in wet winters and foggy summers, which is why they naturally flourish along the coasts of Oregon and California. Redwood trees can grow almost anywhere if they are properly maintained. These trees grow at a pace of 3 to 5 feet per year while they are young.
A redwood tree’s roots can reach depths of 6 to 12 feet below the surface. The roots of a redwood tree planted near a road, pathway, patio, deck, or even the foundation of your house may gradually grow out and up, possibly destroying different surfaces and structures surrounding your house.
They’re ideal for fast and easy hedges because of their good growth and lush evergreen foliage they create along the route. However, you must be prepared to cope with them as they keep growing larger, eventually interfering with electrical lines and other structures in your house.
Are You Allowed to Plant Redwood Trees in Your Backyard?
Naturally grown in Oregon and California, redwood trees can legally be planted in other states, too. All you have to think about is the growth of the tree’s roots and body. The climate and temperature are also essential aspects of their growth. Redwood trees are usually grown in pots in dry climates.
Redwoods need to be pruned, especially if they grow in your backyard to avoid accidents and structural damage. Trimming or cutting down a massive redwood tree is illegal – particularly in northern California.
Whether you wish to cut down or prune a smaller redwood tree you’ve planted in your backyard or elsewhere on the land, contact the local city and county authorities to find out what requirements apply and if permission is required.
Consider your neighbors and avoid planting a redwood tree to close to their property and any of their yard structures, especially their home. Redwoods continue to grow and you do not want your tree damaging their property out of respect.
How Big Do Redwood Trees Get? 
You might not notice the maximum height of the redwood trees when you first see them. However, while deciding where to plant your redwood tree, you should know their mature height.
Your redwood tree’s potential height is determined by its kind. Some redwood tree species, for instance, can reach a mature height of 200 feet. Redwoods that grow near rivers and streams can reach heights of 300 feet.
Visualize where you want to plant a redwood tree in your backyard. As the tree’s height and branches may irritate your neighbors, make sure they won’t interfere with power lines or nearby places.
Why Should You Avoid Planting Redwood Trees Too Close to Your Home?
One of the most common mistakes people commit when planting redwood trees is ignoring the tree’s root growth. Keep in mind that the tree’s roots may extend from 6 to 12 feet, even though they’re out of sight.
If you plant a redwood tree near your house, its roots might grow upwards from the ground, perhaps destroying your homes flooring. When deciding where to plant your redwood tree, remember the root growth.
What Are the Benefits of Growing Redwood Trees?
There are a few reasons to plant at least one redwood tree in your backyard, if the size permits. The presence of carbon dioxide is linked to the existence of redwoods. The process of photosynthesis is used by these plants to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen. Planting redwoods in your yard might help to reduce air pollution in the area.
If these trees are chopped down or burned, the collected carbon dioxide will be released back into the air, causing additional pollution rather than aiding the environment. Redwoods may also recover after a fire, whether by new sprouts at the base of the tree or through buds that develop inside the trunk and sprout higher up closer to the tree’s crown.
Are redwoods resistant to fire?
Since redwood trees are loaded with tannin and don’t generate pitch or resin, they’re inherently resistant to fire, fungus, and insects. The tree’s thick, reddish, pithy bark also serves as insulation and protection.
Step-by-Step How to Plant a Redwood Tree in Your Backyard
Planting a redwood tree in your backyard doesn’t require too much effort or time. Yet, there are a few more things to know when growing your own redwood tree.
1. Select an appropriate location for the redwood. Choose the place that’s at least 50 feet away from electricity lines and structures. After the latest predicted frost date in your location, dig a hole for your redwood sapling.
2. The hole’s size varies, depending on the tree size. In general, it can be 2 feet wide by 3 feet deep. Make the hole large enough to accommodate the roots without bending them. Inside the hole, make a tiny mound of earth.
3. In the hole, place the redwood sapling. Tease the roots to help them spread out around the dirt.
4. Begin filling the hole with dirt while holding the redwood in place. When the hole is halfway filled with ground, wet it to remove any air pockets.
5. Complete filling the hole with the remaining soil and water thoroughly.
How Do You Maintain a Redwood Tree?
The process of planting a redwood tree in your backyard goes beyond physical planting. For the trees to flourish well, you should provide regular maintenance. Redwood trees grow roughly 2 to 3 feet each year under optimum conditions.
Their development is hindered if they don’t get enough nutrition, water, or sunshine, and they can only grow an inch a year. As a result, you should also learn how to care for the trees. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1. Water your tree daily
A redwood tree needs a lot of water daily. They may require 500 gallons of water per day after fully grown. If you’re going to grow a redwood tree in your backyard, make sure you have enough water. Its roots are capable of completely absorbing subsurface water and completely drying the soil. As a result, it has to use its own irrigation system to ensure that it receives enough water.
2. Feed it biweekly
To maintain the tree healthy and enhance growth, combine compost or organic fertilizer like peat moss and manure into the soil every two weeks. Redwoods flourish in the damp, humid climate of Northern California’s coast, where marine fog provides the ideal growing environment. The fog gives moisture to the soil and aids in its retention by slowing evaporation.
3. Trim it regularly
Redwoods may certainly grow huge, however, they also need to be pruned properly. It’s an aspect that many people neglect. Although redwood trees may grow without trimming, having them in your garden requires you to prune them on a regular basis.
The dying branches of redwood trees can harm humans, houses, and even cars. Before using insecticides, it’s also a good idea to eradicate the pest-infested areas.
You can reduce the shadow cast of the tree by pruning off some of its limbs if you wish to. Every limb should be reduced by one-third of its initial size.
4. Climate
To thrive, redwoods require a warm, coastal climate. To defend themselves against dry periods and drought, they rely on the area’s regular fog. The redwood tree is shade tolerant, which means it can thrive in low light conditions. Small trees can survive for too many years in the deep darkness of the forest floor, then develop rapidly when events such as logging or fire boost the amount of sunshine they get.
How Long Do Redwood Trees Last?
Coast redwoods may live for over 2,000 years and reach heights of over 360 feet, redwoods are known to have an average longevity of 500-700 years. Redwoods are known as Sequoia sempervirens, or sequoia ever-living, because of their incredible lifespan.
Final thoughts
If you want to plant redwoods in your garden, keep these things in mind to avoid unpleasant shocks as they mature. Climate and temperature are also important factors in their growth.
The benefits of redwood trees to their environment are numerous. They can aid in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The main disadvantage of these trees is their size, water requirements, and nutritional requirements.
Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.