Giant redwoods – the world’s largest trees – are flourishing in the UK and now even outnumber those found in their native range in California. The giants were first brought to the UK about 160 years ago, and a new study suggests they are growing at a similar rate to their US counterparts. An estimated 500,000 trees are in the UK compared to 80,000 in California. However they aren’t yet as tall. In California they can reach 90m-high, but in the UK the tallest is 54.87m. But that’s because the introduced trees are still very young. …To assess how these towering giants are adapting to their UK home, scientists selected a sample of nearly 5,000 trees to study at Wakehurst, Benmore Botanic Garden in Argyllshire, Scotland and Havering Country Park in Essex. …It will be a few more centuries before the UK’s trees grow as tall as those in California.