Wednesday Street Tree #10
Giant redwood
Yep, a giant redwood growing in the street. In Manchester.Â
As Manchester’s skyline soars to ever loftier heights, so, it seems, will its street trees. Just outside the station on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Deansgate, a young giant redwood was planted in 2022. Since then it has grown about a metre each year, and it could continue to rocket skywards for the next decade or two until it starts slowing down, but even so, by 2050, this could be an arboreal landmark to add to Manchester’s many attractions.
My excitement at discovering this tree was tempered by concern that it may not be able to reach its full potential on this busy, urban corner. Giant redwoods have been growing in the UK for 180 years, and now, some of those Victorian trees are over 50 metres tall. That’s still some way off the ancient wild trees of California which reach over 80 metres, and the tallest – General Sherman – is 84 metres. I hope the urban foresters who planted this tree were thinking long term, it would be wonderful to imagine it thriving among the skyscrapers in a century or two.
What is it?
Giant redwood
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Where is it?
Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LG
///rental.major.edge | 53.474383, -2.251608
How very wonderful. I hope it has some porous paving, and that David is right, and it will outlast the skyscrapers. It’ll have a tough fight against those who complain about its shade, its needle drop, its invasion of underground utilities, its root heave, and risk of subsidence affecting said skyscrapers because of water uptake. Dealing with humans makes me such a pessimist,😆 sorry!
Manchester's Giant Redwood will most likely last much longer than the skyscrapers.