8/04/2013

Mapping The Giant Sequoias Of Victoria, BC


This map is interactive - click on the tree icons and get more information about specific sequoias. View a larger version of the map here: "Giant Sequoias In Victoria".


The same mild climate that grows the fattest, tallest native trees in Canada, also nurtures some amazing exotic trees on south Vancouver Island. A case in point are the Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum), many of which were transported here as seedlings over 100 years ago by settlers from California.

So loved were these California native trees that many made the journey north, and many were successfully planted. In just over a century some of these seedlings have reached, well, giant proportions.

The tallest and widest trees in Victoria are both sequoias which is not surprising considering this tree species is the largest in the world. Also not surprising is the fact that people are still loving these trees after 150 years of occupying their new home.

They are among the most photographed single trees in the area. My post on The Giant Sequoias Of Beacon Hill Park is the most viewed of all time on this blog. They are unique in this region and are far from their traditional range, making them of special interest.

The native range of the Giant sequoia is very restricted,
but they do grow successfully in Victoria, BC.

Giant sequoia occurs naturally only in California in a narrow band of mixed conifer forest, between 5,000-8,000 ft. elevation on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. Climatically, the Giant sequoia prefers the "Cool Summer Mediterranean" (Csb) climate.

Giant sequoia in its natural California Sierra Nevada range.


Victoria has a Mediterranean climate, and although we are north of their northern limits, the sequoias have done well here.



This Giant sequoia at the residential intersection of Moss and Richardson is the
tallest sequoia in the Victoria area at about 50 meters tall.

I am in the process of mapping the sequoias in the Victoria area that I am familiar with from wandering about town. Many I have found simply by driving around and looking for the tallest trees on the horizon, then navigating to their base for photos. But there are always more trees to be found.

Lately I have been cruising around town using Google Maps instead of my truck to see if I can find more of these big trees. I figure that Google has the cash - let them pay for the gas. I can also get reasonable photos by taking screenshots while on Street View.


A large sequoia on Douglas Street across from Beacon Hill Park.


Using the above map one could set up a walking, cycling, rolling, or driving tour of interesting sequoias in the downtown area.

Not downtown? Chances are there is a Giant sequoia in a neighbourhood near you. Check the map.

This beauty is at the intersection of Jutland and Burnside Rds - I added it to the map
after a reader mentioned it in a comment below.

There is even a small sequoia down the street from where I live in Sooke. It is a mere baby only a few decades old and stands at a tiny 10m (30ft) in height. Eventually it could outlive civilization, and end up the tallest, fattest tree in the new coastal wilderness.

It is a treat to get a feel for the mighty California sequoia forests right here on the south island. If you can't make the 15 hour drive to the Sierra Nevada, this is the next best thing.

Do you know of a Victoria area sequoia that you don't see on the map? Please leave a comment below, like Bernard did, and describe the location of any notable sequoia that you know of. I would like to continue including new trees in this mapping project, and your participation can go a long way to filling in much needed information.

Thank you. Now go enjoy the trees, even if it is on Street View on the map above.

55 comments:

  1. The corner of Burnside and Jutland/Finlayson has a very tall one that is light with Xmas lights each year

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    Replies
    1. Bernard, Thank you for commenting and reminding me of this tree. I will add it to the map.

      Cheers

      Delete
    2. Hey Greg, how about those beauties on the East side of St. Charles
      between Rockland and Fort St.

      Delete
  2. Hi Greg. Thanks for posting this. A couple of years ago I started to count the Sequoia's in and around Victoria, thinking there were only a handful. I stopped after seeing more and more of them all over and lost count. There are several along Beach Drive near the Oak Bay Marina, a few near Arbutus Road, and up at UVic. There are a few in Esquimalt as well; a grove along Wilkinson Road, a few in the Colwood area, and even a few up near Sidney. In town there a bunch of robust beauties on Rockland you're missing from your map; a weak one on the corner of Hillside and Blanshard, and one in front of the Central Park field on Quadra - to name a few. I'd be happy to help map some of these out with you if you're interested.

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    1. Hugh,

      Looking for Sequoia's on the south island is a fun pastime - they are hidden everywhere. There was even one smaller one that I found on Kaltasin Road in Sooke.

      I am very interested in having you help out with mapping more of these beautiful trees in the area. I think I can make the map public so you can add trees. I will check it out.

      Thank you, and please do contact me so we can work this out.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous17/2/15

    There is a Sequoia near the northeast corner of Hillside and Blanchard. It isn't in great condition, many of the upper branches are dead but the bottom is very lush.

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  4. Anonymous13/4/15

    Robin Hood Motel right in the parking lot.. and across the street from us in the gorge apts. The motel one is gigantic and old. the gorge apt one is less tall but still pretty!

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  5. Anonymous27/5/15

    There are two across from Cordova Bay United Church.

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  6. Anonymous14/11/15

    I'm pretty sure the big red-wood looking trees on the grounds of Government House are sequoias? Anyone know for sure?

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  7. There's a Sequoia in Butchart Gardens near the Japanese section, by the fountain with the 3 fish sculpture, possibly 2 trees, but one for sure, I have many pictures of it. I wish we had more around here, I will plant some on my 5 acres near the ocean north of Bellingham, WA, if can find seedlings. Avenue of the Giants is the most awesome drive I can think of. R.L. Hamm

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    Replies
    1. I am sure there are nurseries in the Seattle area that stock Giant Sequoia seedlings. You can also get them on the internet.

      Delete
  8. This is to bring to your attention the intent of City of Saanich to cut down several trees along Wilkinson Road to make way for the changes needed for the bridge over Colquitz Creek, and the widening for the bike lane and sidewalks.

    The City feels a need to make a circuitous route from Quick's Bottom round to Mann (which further circuit is already in place). Nature-lovers who wish to do this route, it needs to be thought, will find themselves walking beside a busy (15,000 cars per day, City counted) polluted street; will they want to do that? Will they be happy to see the Sequoias sacrificed for that purpose, or do they value those trees?

    It will mean that 2 grand Sequoia trees will be cut down. Are you aware of all this?
    Are you in agreement that these beauties will be gone forever? Is the sacrifice worth it? Can an alternate plan be found to save the trees?
    The trees in question are on Wilkinson, by Miller Avenue, and the one on the corner of Mann Avenue. They don't look as good as once before, but are approximately 100 years old, have survived much in that time, and are good at recovering. The City claims to have 'unbiased' arborists who say “the trees are in decline” and falling branches will be a hazard to pedestrians. Have you ever seen (or ask long-time residents) any branches that have fallen from those 2 trees? Cones, yes. Branches from other trees, yes. Not the Sequoias, right? Even thru the harsh wind storms we experienced recently, no branches. They are tough, resilient trees, bringing pleasure to this neighbourhood, and the 15,000 plus travellers along this road daily

    The City has put up yellow 8 1/2 X 11 signs, dated January 8th, giving neighbours “10 days” to respond to or ask the City questions. Please note: the signs were not put up til January 13th, morning, thereby cutting the time in half. There are now only 4 days left to speak.

    There is a romantic history to the Sequoia tree by Miller Ave: Mr Layritz took his young bride to California for their honeymoon. He brought back a seedling Sequoia, planting it for his bride -same tree 100 years hence. I love that tree, do you? It is magnificent and a joy to behold every day, not to mention the birds loving it, and the enhancement to the neighbourhood. Aren't the trees one of the things that brighten up your journeys along that busy road? Too, the Layritz's planted many trees in this area, especially the Sequoias.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Please support the effort to save the Wilkinson sequoias and maples! posted here Jan. 19, 2016


    https://www.facebook.com/Save-The-Wilkinson-Trees-161023800934731/timeline

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  10. There is a magnificent Sequoia on Humboldt Street at Vancouver Street.

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  11. Are there any in the Royal Roads/Esquimalt Lagoon area?
    I saw an unusual tree at the new PacificLanding.ca development near Pendray House on the Esquimalt Lagoon.

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  12. Please consider your map of trees in the Fort st Rockland area not complete.There are two large trees here and the property has just been sold. A unit for selling real estate has just been dropped there.let's not let these be cut down as the one at Fairfield and Foul Bay was a year or so
    Address: 1201 Fort St, Victoria, BC V8V 4R2
    John

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  13. Anonymous4/10/16

    Royal Roads University has big ones.

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  14. Anonymous9/1/17

    There's a Giant Sequoia at the foot of a garden on Cadboro Bay Road, just on the North corner of Gyro Park. The property is awaiting development so the tree might be lost soon.

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  15. Good stuff, thanks. Shame the images aren't very sharp, though.

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  16. There are majestic sequoias in James Bay in the park at the corner of Menzies and Michigan.

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  17. There are three sequoia on Madrona Drive in Deep Cove, North Saanich, in my back yard. One is very large, and the other two a bit smaller. Beautiful trees.

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  18. nice one on my street south of saanichton, on the east side of chatwell dr.

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  19. I have a huge sequoia tree, I think it is a sequoia anyways, on arrow rd. The actual street address is 3954 Bow rd. The tree is in the back yard visible on Arrow rd. This is a rental house, so it’s only my tree in passing...

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  20. There’s a beautiful specimen near the entrance to Highlands Pacific Golf on Creed Rd.
    https://goo.gl/maps/8X5qdzSTKamKnpdu6

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  21. Hello! There is a lovely one by Government House in the park just south east of the sunken rose garden near Lotbiniere ave. It has a very peaceful energy. :)

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  22. There's a nice sequoia on the corner of Austin & Cowper.

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  23. there is a small grouping of young giant sequoias at UVIC outside the McKinnon Building

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  24. There are many Sequoias in the Cowichan Valley, that I suppose would have been planted about the same time.

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  25. There is a few sequoias up near the corner of Sea Terrace and Dunsmuir Road that are in danger of development at the moment. These were planted by the lieutenant Governor of BC, Sir Frank Bernard and family, around 1900 when he was building his home "Clovelly" on a large parcel of land which is now Bernard Park and area. The trees, and many more around Victoria, were a gift from the Governor of California.

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  26. Anonymous3/5/22

    There are two sequoia at the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club in Tsehum Harbour and also another grand one on the north end of Ardmore Drive near the sharp curve on the water side in North Saanich.
    Paul Stenner,
    North Saanich

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  27. Anonymous5/6/22

    Irving Park James Bay has 4

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  28. Anonymous22/6/22

    On Northcott ave in Vic-West there is a beautiful, large and full sequoia.

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  29. Anonymous2/9/22

    There is a Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) on the grounds of Point Ellice House, planted by Peter O'Reilly in 1876. He ordered it from San Francisco. A photo can be seen on the Point Ellice House website.

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  30. Anonymous9/1/23

    The giant sequoias on Cordova bay golf course make for a nice walk

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  31. Anonymous6/2/23

    I planted 3 big ones in Agassiz BC sequoia giganteum and I planted 180 liners of sequoia semperviron about 900 meters from maivellette beach Nova Scotia in October 2022

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    1. Anonymous2/3/23

      I would like to see those trees at Maivellette beach some day. What a great thing to do... plant trees, and lots of them. Thank you.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous19/3/23

    I was also tracking the sequoias in Victoria and writing an essay about them. I heard somewhere that there are 29. But it looks like you've identified far more. How many have you found so far? I'd love to talk to you about this work. Are you free for a chat?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous20/3/23

      I can be reached at gkoepper@yahoo.com. Nice to see your interest in these beautiful trees.

      - Gregg

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    2. Anonymous20/3/23

      Thanks to Greg's initial idea, this winter we have made an effort to identify as many sequoias in Victoria as possible while walking all around the city. We have actually found more than 350(!) of them (including a half dozen Coast Redwoods), much to our surprise. We have put them on a map, and can share a link when we have finished checking it over.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21/3/23

      350 is a lot of big trees! Please do share your link with us. I look forward to promoting it here on our blog. Thanking you in advance for what must have been a lot of (enjoyable) hard work.

      - Gregg

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    4. Anonymous27/3/23

      The map showing all the sequoias we have found so far around Victoria is now online at www.notonlynatural.com We hope that people here will find it interesting/helpful. Yes it was a bit of work looking for them, but also quite enjoyable - and thought-provoking. Please have a look at the map and let us know what you think - and if you know of any sequoias we have not yet seen. (We haven't included dawn redwoods, just because they seem to be in a different category than the redwoods that naturally grow south of here.)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous5/10/23

      no mention of the 5 -7 sequoias on Menzies St in James Bay that I walk by every day. 5 of them in Irving Park at Michigan, planted I presume by the Irvings in 1880s anf 2 more a block south

      Delete
  33. Anonymous27/3/23

    (Also, we forgot to mention that many of the sequoias that we have located are not yet big trees, probably having been planted within the last few decades. We are still in the process of uploading photos of the trees to the map.)

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  34. Anonymous29/3/23

    i have 5 on my property north of Duncan..3 young ones and 30ish old ones..2 different kinds

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  35. Anonymous23/4/23

    There is another one missed from the map on Oakcrest Drive near Knight St. in Saanich.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous3/5/23

      Have you checked the map at www.notonlynatural.com ? We have shown a giant sequoia near Oakcrest Drive and Knight St. Is this the one you are thinking of?

      Delete
  36. Anonymous24/7/23

    I have a beauty in my back yard at 954 Inskip Street in Esqimalt. The story we have is that the previous owner’s son brought a sapling back in his backpack after a bicycle trip to California- planted about 1970/80?
    Apparently the tree barely survived for its first several years. There is a picture of it during the 1996 snowstorm where it is standing about 10 feet or so. It has since thrived, standing at what I would guess is 30-40 feet. Shortly after moving in to the house in 2003, we planted a weeping sequoia in the back yard. Curiously, a tree that looks identical to the original sequoia is now growing straight up out of the trunk of the weeping sequoia- like a little sibling to the original, but growing at a beautiful, though alarming rate.
    Loving these trees, but becoming somewhat concerned with how much they are thriving.
    Also, knowing nothing about trees, am not sure if it is actually a sequoia- I think we were told it was a California Redwood.
    Anyway, quite a specimen with no indication of slowing down.
    Yard is shrinking as I type!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous13/11/23

      Thanks, that's an interesting story. It seems curious how many redwoods have been planted around Victoria, for a variety of reasons. The giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, now native to the inland California foothills, have been planted here in far greater numbers than the coast redwoods, Sequoia sempervirons. The coast redwoods apparently require a lot of fog to prosper, which Victoria generally lacks. We have added the giant sequoia on Inskip St. to the map at www.notonlynatural.com

      Delete
  37. Anonymous11/9/23

    There is one on the Western Forest Products facility at 8028 East Saanich Road.

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  38. Anonymous2/2/24

    I love that so many people have the same interest as I do in these awesome trees. Back in the 80s I visited the sequoias in California and if I remember it correctly, you could purchase seedings there.
    And now I have my own property with Giant sequoia 3 were planted in the late 70s and 3 more later on. Largest being just over 4 meters in circumference. Not on the island but in the West Kootenays ,Robson Bc.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6/2/24

      It's interesting that you planted the Giant Sequoias in Robson that long ago, and that they have apparently done well. There are a number of other Giant Sequoias in the West Kootenays - some in Nelson, and others on the North Shore of the West Arm.

      There are also Giant Sequoias scattered around Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. It would be cool if someone tried to map all the Sequoias and redwoods in British Columbia. We were surprised to see how many are growing right around Victoria. We have added even more trees recently to the map at the website: www.notonlynatural.com

      Delete
  39. Anonymous28/2/24

    there is a sequoia tree, tall, beautiful, very healthy at 3353 Salsbury Way in Saanich, just off Cook St which is in danger of being removed because the property is to be developed

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous29/2/24

      Definitely sad when that happens. Hopefully they will find a way to incorporate this tree in their plans.

      - Gregg

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2/3/24

      That tree is on our map at www.notonlynatural.com and does seem to be quite healthy. It appears to be close to the lot line, so possibly they will be able to let it continue to grow. On the map, we have used a scissors symbol to indicate the giant sequoias and coast redwoods that appear to have been cut down in the last 5 years or so.

      Delete

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