AUTHOR: Scott Fraley, Staff writer, Manistee News Advocate
PHOTO by Terry Walker: Bob Skiera (left) and Paul Olen carefully plant young sequoias at Mangoon Creek Park in Filer Township.
A common aphorism states that “a society grows great when men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
Though the origin of this saying is unclear, its sentiment can be seen in Filer Township, where five giant sequoia trees have recently been planted.
If given the right conditions and enough time, a sequoia tree can grow upwards of 250 feet tall.
The saplings planted at Magoon Creek Park (in Manistee County, northwest lower Michigan) are hardly giants. At about 3 feet tall, they could take centuries to reach maturity. The young trees join three other giant sequoias already in the county located at Lake Bluff Farms, 2890 Lakeshore Road in Manistee.
The trees were provided by Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit organization that locates and propagates some of the world’s largest and most iconic trees.
“Archangel had a number of these sequoias that were about 3-feet-tall … and they would be available for planting in the area. (Zielinski) wanted to know if we would be interested in them — I said ‘for sure,’” Walker said.
Walker said that careful planning was put into deciding where to locate the trees at the park.
“They need a lot of sunlight, so we couldn’t plant them up in the actual park area where the pavilion and all the picnic tables are because there are just too many trees there,” Walker said.
Walker said he met with Don Smith, a board member for the ancient tree archive, at Magoon to plot out an open location where the trees could get sufficient light.
Bob Skiera, the township’s chair of buildings and grounds, and Paul Olen, a part-time employee, acquired five young trees from the tree archive in Copemish and later planted them on Nov. 1.
Walker said that growing the sequoias will be an ongoing commitment for several years.
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I visited the giant sequoia there and I wished the other unusual trees had been better labeled. Otherwise it was amazing.
Love this endeavor. My favorite tree is the Dawn Redwood.
We started a sequoia from seed 11 years ago. It is now about 4 feet tall. We planted a redwood 18 years ago as well. That tree is nearly 40 feet.
We started one from seed about 10 years ago. It is now about four feet tall. We also have a redwood tree that we planted about 18 year’s ago that is nearly forty feet now.
I purchased some Giant Sequia seedlings in the spring of 2016. Planted them in pots for one year. All got to be 20 inches plus or minus. I gave two away and planted one in my back yard. On Labor day 2022 it measured just over 9 feet. In the summer of 2022 in grew over 2 feet. I live in Holland Michigan.
Are there any sequoia trees available for donation to be planted in cheboygan Michigan?
I ordered 24 sequoia seedlings from a nursery in California back in April 2020, gave most away to family but kept 2 for myself and planted them in my backyard. They were only about4 inches tall but 3 years later, one is about 2 feet tall and the other’s about 16 inches tall.
Just bought an old home in southeast MI with a sequoia tree well established in the front yard. It’s about 12 feet tall currently and is beautiful!!
We started growing giant sequoias at our home in Bay City Michigan. We have 3 in the front yard and 3 in the backyard. I have 2 California coastal redwoods in pots but have not been able to grow them outside yet. I keep telling my husband we need a massive greenhouse to plant them outside. They are getting bigger and I will need to get them in the ground somewhere they can survive. I don’t want these 2 to die. Any suggestions? I don’t want them to be bonsai.