Sequoia sempervirens ‘Cantab’

As probably the most unusual tree in the Gardens as well as a beautiful one, it is fortuitous that Sequoia sempervirens ‘Cantab’ has such a prominent position at the top of the West Lawn, not far from the Pavilions.

From a witch’s broom (a mutation) spotted on the Californian redwood, S. sempervirens, in Cambridge Botanic Garden in the 1920s, a dwarf conifer was grafted onto a rootstock and grown on. Having a low, spreading habit it was called S. sempervirens ‘Prostrata’. It was distributed by the nursery trade from 1951, and one was planted in a bed here along with other dwarf conifers. But this one developed vertical shoots, eventually morphing into this fine tree. In 1977 Roy Lancaster named such trees S. sempervirens ‘Cantab’, recognising their Cambridge origins. They are still reckoned by the Tree Register of the British Isles to be rare, and ours is Yorkshire champion by girth and height.

The rest of the dwarf conifers were removed long ago, but this was spared, thanks to the exhortations of Friend of the Gardens, Kay Keeton.