Wakehurst Place is administered by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and houses the Millenium Seed Bank where they hope to save species from extinction. The building where this work is being done is glass sided and the public can walk along viewing the various stages of seed preparation and progress by the many technicians employed there. The first Redwood that you may encounter in the gardens is a variation called Pendulum. This very peculiar tree looks nothing like a Giant Redwood until it is examined closely, when the bark and the foliage reveal its true origins. This oddity comprises a single stem that leans precariously over to one side, with mane of straggly foliage dangling downwards. Shortly after that (travelling clockwise around the gardens), there are several very young Giant Redwoods and then by the house, several huge and fine examples. One of these is adorned with lights at Christmas and can be seen over two miles away at Balcombe.
Visit information
- Access
- Access unknown
- Last verified
- 11 Apr 2026
- Official site
- redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/ardingly.htm
Redwood species here
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in parts of their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Present. Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume
Native to the fog belt of coastal California and Oregon, coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth. In Britain they thrive where rainfall, humidity, and sheltered woodland conditions echo their native range, forming narrow, soaring avenues and groves with reddish fibrous bark and flat fern-like foliage.
Redwood World WGS84 reference: N51.06582 W0.09130.
9 recorded by Redwood World.
Field observations
Photos
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Redwood at Ardingly - Wakehurst Place
About this place
About Ardingly - Wakehurst Place
Ardingly - Wakehurst Place is located in Ardingly, Sussex, England.
Species Present
Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impressive heights in the UK. The tallest known coast redwood in Britain is over 50 metres.
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relatives, the dawn redwood loses its needles in winter, turning a striking copper-bronze in autumn.
Data sourced from Redwood World (redwoodworld.co.uk) and enriched by Redwood Finder.