Hidden in plain sight: Huge redwoods grow in Raleigh, Wilson, Chapel Hill

In the redwood forest in California, the trees are so tall they block the sun, forcing drivers to use their headlights even at noon. The trees are so thick that cars can drive right through the middle of some redwood trunks.

Many people have no idea that a few of these giant trees also grow right here in the Triangle.

In fact, there may be as many as 25 redwoods hiding in plain sight in Raleigh – and even more across the state.

"There should be at least 25 of them around the Triangle area somewhere," said David Thome, a landscape designer who lives in Raleigh. He bought a bunch of seedlings from a place in Oregon about 18 years ago and gave them to local families.

His sister, Donna Thome, has one of the rare trees in the back yard of her Raleigh home. Tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac, passing drivers would never realize such a unique tree is behind the house.

At only 18 years old, their redwood is just a teenager – thin, tall, still growing.

It's about 50 feet tall, but at full height, it could reach over 100 feet tall, towering over nearby oak trees and pines.

There are at least two redwood trees in Raleigh that have reached 100 feet tall, and the tips of their branches can be seen overlooking Hillsborough Street near Meredith College.

The homeowner said the two trees came with the house when he and his wife purchased it in the 1980s, and they have grown even more tremendous since he first moved in. He said he believes the trees were planted in the 1940s.

In fact, he said he thinks there are redwoods at Pullen Park that were planted from his own trees seedlings.

With trunks three or four times as wide as a person and reaching heights of over 100 feet, those trees provide a glimpse of how the Thome family's redwood could look in half a century.

In fact, if David Thome's redwoods still exist, there could be around 25 full-grown redwoods across Raleigh in the future.

The redwoods have plenty of time to grow, considering the trees can live for up to 2,000 years.

The redwoods of Wilson are perhaps the most well-known in the state. According to residents, the soil in Wilson is similar to the tree's native habitat in California.

While the Raleigh redwoods were distributed around 18 years ago, the Wilson redwoods have been growing in local yards for decades.

One enormous redwood stands at the corner of Raleigh Road Parkway and Sunset Crescent. It's on private property but can easily be viewed from the street.

Wilson resident Woody Harrison said his grandfather got a few redwoods from a Norfolk, Va., nursery, and they thrived. Over the years, more people added redwoods to their yards in Wilson.

“Several people have learned how to root them and have grown them,” Harrison said.

The image was attributed to a woman named Mary Wezyk.

Lynne Blanton, who was a resident of Raleigh, said she planted a Sequoia by her pond 15 years ago. "The house is gone now, lost to a tornado. I don't know if the tree is still there or not."

Other Raleigh residents said they'd sighted redwoods in a neighborhood in the Five Points area. Another said there are redwoods in a churchyard in Tarboro.

The JC Raulston Arboretum has several photos of Dawn Redwoods and Sequoia Sempervirens taken in the arboretum.

The teenage redwoods planted in Raleigh and 50-year-old redwoods in downtown Raleigh and Wilson may be hidden now. But because these trees grow enormously tall over the course of hundreds or even thousands of years, who knows how future generations will enjoy these unique trees, all because a few people scattered seedlings around North Carolina.

If you have photos of a redwood you've seen in North Carolina, send a photo to hleah@wral.com to potentially be added to the story.