The stumps remain today, but at least one of the virgin redwoods remains amongst the second growth on the property of a Master Gardener in Calistoga. It is an enormous tree, measuring seven-and-a-half feet in diameter at chest height.

The California coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) can reach 20 feet in diameter and 350 feet or more in height. It can live for 2,000 years. It is believed to attain the greatest height of all trees.

The giant sequoia redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) can have an even larger trunk than the coast redwood. The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park, which measures more than 26 feet in diameter, is thought to the be largest giant sequoia,  but at 275 feet in height, it is shorter than its coastal cousins.

Trees that are outstanding because of their beauty, age, size or historical interest I often refer to as heritage trees. The Master Gardener’s Calistoga redwood makes the list, not only because of its size, but also because of its historical connections.

How did it escape the logger’s axe a century ago? The property owner had heard that there were several graves near the base of the tree. However, we could not find a trace of them when we went to measure the tree.

The tree’s location alongside a live creek appears to have been at the rear of a pioneer homestead. There is evidence of creek embankment rockwork, probably a catchment for the settler’s water supply.

Downstream are some exotic shade trees, including a southern magnolia and two large pecan trees, and there is evidence of former fields and orchards. No buildings remain. Whoever logged the hillside behind this farm spared this one tree, perhaps to shade the tiny cemetery nearby.

I have a cursory inventory of other large coast redwoods in the city of Napa. The two largest are in Fuller Park. They measure almost six feet in diameter at chest height. Other large specimens are planted curbside on Franklin Street between Pine and Laurel Streets. The two largest there are a little over four-and-a-half feet in diameter.

This is an impressive block-long grove, and as I walk down this sidewalk, I experience the same feeling of awe that I feel in the groves at Muir Woods or at Richardson Grove State Park. These are majestic trees.

For ornamental use, the coast redwood is unsurpassed in rate of growth. It puts on a tremendous spurt during its first 25 years, making it useful for quick screening or shade in the large garden or estate. It is too large for the average suburban lot.

The coast redwood does require summer irrigation in Napa Valley. Its natural habitat is on the coast, where it gets plenty of winter rain and summer fog. The fogs condenses on the leaves, then falls to nourish the roots.

Its natural range extends as far from the coast as the eastern and northern slopes of Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain. North to south, it thrives from the southwestern corner of Oregon to Big Sur. It grows naturally nowhere else today. However, fossils indicate that it was widespread in the Northern Hemisphere millions of years ago.

The coast redwood has been widely planted in parks and gardens in temperate climates throughout the world. It is popular in England, Italy and New Zealand and is even used for reforestation in the latter country.

Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://cenapa.ucdavis.edu) answer gardening questions Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at the UC Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa, 253-4221, or toll-free at 877-279-3065 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              877-279-3065      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

(Source: http://www.allvoices.com/)