I have traumatic childhood memories of weeding our family garden which took up what seemed like at least a quarter of an acre.  The thought of slaving away in the hot sun hour after hour pulling weeds is about the farthest thing from a good time in my mind.

Over the years since I have become a grown up the idea of growing things has grown on me.  I’ve added a plant here and a plant there and have quite enjoyed taking care of potted things.  See my pretty deck garden!

I’m even growing, a boisterous tomato plant (which my dad totally set up for me).  I think I’ll have dozens of tomatoes to eat here in just a week or two. There’s only two things money can’t buy and that’s true love and home-grown tomatoes. 

After a whirlwind trip to San Francisco and a visit to the Muir Woods home to the world’s tallest trees, I’ve picked up a new plant to grow.   Well, it’s not really a plant, it’s a tree.  And… it might be the largest living thing on earth.  Why not plant it in my back yard.

I bought my daughter Alyssa a cute little tree seedling as a prize since she didn’t get to come with me on this trip.  It’s adorable right?!  It’s not important that someday the tree could grow 500 feet tall and 30 feet wide.  That certainly won’t happen in my lifetime, so…no big deal.  Who wouldn’t want a tree the size of the Statue of Liberty in their own back yard. (by the way…we live on a1/5 an acre of land)

So if you’ve ever considered growing a tree from a seedling, you might want to read on.  Here’s how to grow a Giant Sequoia in your back yard. Never mind if that’s a good idea or not.

First, you take it out of the bottle

and soak the roots in water for at least an hour or so. Dry roots tend to not be very helpful to a new tree.

After it’s good and soaked, you get your self a 2-5 gallon pot and fill it will good draining potting soil.  It helps if you look totally cute while you’re planting like these two did.  My husband Steve was surprisingly excited about this new adventure.  He likes when I do crazy things.

Then you make a hole in the soil with an inch to spare on all sides of the root ball.

Then you drop your seedling into the pot.

Then you cover your seedling and gently pack in the soil around it. Then you give your tree a big ole drink of water.

Be sure to give it plenty of water.  The potting soil can hold more water then you think.

The Giant Sequoia likes to dry almost all the way out between waterings.  So place your pot in a sunny place and watch the soil.  When it’s just barely damp it’s probably time from another drink.  Here it is with all the other plants in my deck garden. The sunflowers Alyssa planted in 1st grade from a seed.  They’re doing good too.

You may be asking yourself…”Why is she planting the world’s largest tree in a two gallon pot?”  That’s because it has to grow into a 5 foot tree before it can be planted in the ground.  So it’s totally meant to be enjoyed on a deck or as a house plant for 5 to 8 years.  Then…it can be planted in the yard where it will grow about a foot a year for around 500 years.

It’s kind of crazy to plant something you know will out live you and your children and their children.  It’s also kind of fun to stick some future generation with a $50,000 tree removal bill.  Ha! Hilarius!

If you’re interested in learning more about Giant Sequoia trees, so you can have one for your yard here’s where you can get more info.  They even have a facebook group that of course you would join so you could see all the tree geeks talk to each other.

If anyone is counting, this is # 268 on the list and I’m planning to get an eternity of pleasantness out of this one.

Here’s some of the super cute photos I couldn’t fit in this post in case you wanted to see them.