Q. Tom in Westlake Village writes that he has 15 large, 20year-old Sequoia sempervirens, some of which are 60 feet tall, in an 800-square-foot yard. His question is, "What would happen if any need to be removed? A couple of appraisers assured me that I could sell them at a profit, over and above the cost of removal. Is this true"?

A. I also received another question regarding the adaptability of sequoias outside of their natural environment, so before I answer Tom's question, I want to be sure that everyone reading this knows what kind of tree we're talking about. In common terminology, Sequoia sempervirens is a coast redwood. These redwoods are the same species of tree that's indigenous to the coastal range of California from Monterey County up into the southern coastal area of Oregon. In their native habitat, coast redwoods have the distinction of being the tallest trees in the world, with some peaking out at more than 350 feet high.

There are thousands of redwood trees growing in yards and office complexes in Southern California. With proper irrigation they grow extremely fast and adapt remarkably well to our compacted soil and warm weather. Of the 43 trees that I have in my own yard, 19 are coast redwoods, and I love them.

Sequoia sempervirens, because of their name, are often confused with the giant sequoia trees (Sequoia gigantea) that inhabit Sequoia National Park, but they're a different species of tree. Giant sequoias have the largest trunk diameter of any tree in the world, with some being 30 feet in diameter. They can also grow to the height of 300 feet or more. Probably because giant sequoias like a colder climate, they're rarely found growing in this area.

Now to Tom's question. There are several tree moving and boxing companies that will buy specimen trees, but the tree would have to be an exceptional specimen and in high demand. Usually what happens, though, is the moving company will take a tree off your hands for free if they need it. The problem is that when digging out a large tree, a large stump ball has to be taken along with it, which means a substantial hole is left. So, unless you're prepared to have your yard dug up and be left with a hole that's large enough for a small swimming pool, I would suggest that you just have the tree removed and the stump ground out.

I've seen many mature redwood trees die or seriously decline within months after being transplanted. I suspect the reason for this is that during the digging process many roots are cut, and the loss of these roots restricts the amount of water that the tree can take in.

If you're still interested in trying to find a company that will possibly buy your trees, contact me again and I'll give you the names of some tree moving companies.

David D. Mortimer is a certified arborist with more than 30 years experience in the tree care industry. E-mail questions to dmortimer@theacorn.com