Why is my sequoia discoloring in the winter?Young giant sequoias typically undergo color changes in the winter and early spring. The younger the tree the more susceptible to the color change it is. Trees less than one year old are most often affected. I have seen this condition in trees up to five years old but never in older trees. The wintertime discoloration produces colors that are yet to be named by whoever names colors. The colors have been described as burgundy, purplish-red, rust, brown, and bronze. Those who try to describe the color struggle with an attempt to describe a color that has yet to be named. The discoloration does not occur every winter. It typically will come on suddenly in the wake of a cold snap after a period of unseasonable warmth. We have found that adequate water in the soil will help to reduce the burgundy discoloration phenomenon. Seedlings that are buried in snow do not discolor, only those that are exposed to drying conditions and the wind. The discoloration does not harm the trees it simply brings out a pigment that is already present. The condition will disappear when sufficient irrigation is applied and the temperatures remain warm for an extended period in the spring. You can see photos of this condition on
http://www.giant-sequoia.com/a…-sequoias/ page under wintertime discoloration.