Giant Sequoia redwood trees are “thriving” at a Sussex garden, new research has found.

Studies of the redwood trees in the United Kingdom found that species of the world’s largest tree are growing well across the country including at Wakehurst Gardens.

New studies show that the trees, first imported to the UK in the 19th century, are now growing as well as they do in their native North America.

Research from University College London analysed nearly 100 different trees across three sites and found that by “weighing” the trees the giant sequoias are growing as well as in California.

The trees can grow up to 90m in height and live for more than 3,000 years. They were first introduced to the UK in the Victorian era and became a symbol of wealth at the time.

Redwood trees at Wakehurst near Haywards Heath grew at a similar rate to those in the US but were slightly shorter and wider than other giant sequoia trees in Scotland.

One of the giant redwood trees at Wakehurst is also used as the tallest living Christmas tree in the UK. It stands at 36m tall.

Another of the trees at Wakehurst’s Horsebridge Wood site was also grown from seeds from the second largest tree in the world, General Grant, which is over 80m tall and stands in California.

The study’s lead author Ross Holland, formerly a master’s student at UCL and now at East Point Geo, said: “Giant sequoias are some of the most massive organisms on Earth and in their native range make up some of the most carbon dense forests in the world due to their great age.

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“We found that UK redwoods are well adapted to the UK and able to capture a large amount of carbon dioxide.

“We hope that these findings can help guide decisions on future tree planting and management.”

Giant sequoia trees in the UK can also lock up carbon at a rate of around 85kg a year, the study showed.

Each of the trees at the study were “weighed” using a laser scanning technique which makes detailed measurements of the trees to determine their biomass.

The technique means that the Giant redwoods can be accurately weighed without needing to cut them down.