Good morning Lynnette,

I hope you had a great weekend. I just finished my morning walk at Venice Beach. I love to see these huge pelicans flying high in the sky and suddenly dive straight down into the water in order to catch a fish.
http://www.venicebeach.com/

My wife would kill me if I did not answer a question from someone in Virginia. My wife came here to go to college. She cried like a baby her first Christmas in California. The temperature was eighty (80) degrees and no snow. Being a good boyfriend, I drove her to see General Sherman at 10000 feet and plenty of snow. She was nothing but smiles. She still calls the area “God’s Country”.

We still do a lot of camping and hiking throughout the Mighty High Sierra Nevada Mountains. We usually hike over Kearsarge Pass, which is an old Indian trail, to Bull Frog at 10,000 feet with peaks reaching over 14000 feet as a backdrop.

http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/KearsargePass/KearsargePass.htm

I remember as kids we would lie in our sleeping bags and count shooting stars all night. Your mind would run amok with the wonders and vastness of space. You could point out and view constellations which until then were part of chapters in a school text book. We would fall asleep viewing the heavens and our own Milky Way. In the day we would fly fish in dozens of small crystal clear lakes. The lakes were full of wild Golden Trout which are only found in California’s high mountain ranges. We would marvel at 3000 year old, born before Christ, redwood trees in which not even fire could destroy. There is an excellent picture of General Sherman half way down the website below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)

YES, you can grow a redwood in Virginia. Check out the website below. The figure #2 shows redwoods growing in South Carolina. Also click on “redwood questions” at top of page. There is a nice picture of a 3.5 year old baby Giant Sequoia growing in Huntsville Alabama. Virginia has better soil than both states (smile).

http://home.hiwaay.net/~redwood/rwmyths.html

I understand why you would want to grow one of these beautifully magnificent trees. I hope you have seen General Sherman. If not, I hope you will someday see him. A picture truly cannot explain the feeling. The first website will explain how to plant. The second website is for you to keep in your favorites. It is a detailed report on everything you will need to know about redwood trees.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5899463_plant-sequoia-tree.html

http://www.sustainablehorticulture.com/bigtree.htm

Ask you note, both websites talk about pH levels. I do not know if you are aware of how important your soil’s pH level is to plant/trees especially a redwood tree. Make sure you adjust your pH soil level BEFORE you plant your tree. I included two of my favorite websites which fully explains why pH levels are so important.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/atoz/ph.htm

http://www.frostproof.com/soilph.html

Good luck Lynnette. You and your family have a beautiful week. Peace, from Los Angeles.