Coast Redwoods

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/s/oDs8gHhBqc

r/Think_Happy_2

  • Not every coast redwood tree is a perfectly upright tree contrary to popular belief. [Poster had] seen many twisted, leaning, curving redwoods.

  • Coast Redwood trees have 6 sets of chromosomes unlike humans with only 2 sets. These 6 sets allow bizarre mutations to occur at a far more rapid rate than other species. Generally, the most mutations can be found in the foliage of the tallest and oldest redwood trees. The amount of possible different Coast Redwood phenotypes is limitless.

  • Research horticultural development of redwoods: start researching redwoods and eventually you might stumble upon the work of Dr. Zane Moore...read his work, go down the rabbit hole, and it might open your mind about the potential of redwood styling options.

  • There is a reason they've been around for so long in so many areas around the world and will continue to be around as climate change occurs. These trees have a better chance to evolve based on current factors to be able to survive than most trees imo.

  • Heard about a Giant coast redwood with a 70 meter drop branch that reaches down to a creek to get the only available sunlight to the tree based on the growth surrounding the tree. [Encouraged to] begin styling a bonsai based on the design of the real redwood.

https://www.mdvaden.com/grove_of_titans.shtml

Coast Redwoods Site

  • Coast redwood is evergreen and monoecious, forming male and female reproductive parts on one tree.

  • Pollination occurs mostly during winter. Apparently seeds from coast redwoods over 250 yrs. old are more viable than seeds from young redwood trees.

Yew

  • Near the Pacific coast, Yew may be the only other indigenous evergreen that could be confused with coast redwood, but only in the early years of growth or size development.

  • At a quick glance, Taxus brevifolia (Yew) has similar looking needle foliage to Sequoia sempervirens, including tapered tips. But the underside of Yew leaves lack white bands (stomatal bloom) whereas redwood should have two white bands beneath.

  • Yew foliage has the appearance of two bands but the needles should appear pale. And redwoods have small, almost woody feeling cones with multiple seeds, whereas yews have a single seed with a modified coating called an aril which is red, pulpy and berry-like. Yews normally don't reach even 100 ft. in old age.

Michael Wei