Dawn Redwood

If you are the kind of person who needs to have the biggest and best, this is your tree.

If you are a history buff with a love of paleobotany, this is your tree.

Weight-lifter, plant fanatic, Chief Executive Officer or tree hugger? Yup, this is your tree.

For an incredibly impressive statement in a large landscape, plant the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia, glyptostroboides). It soars to great heights - quickly! - and brings a wonderful visual strength with it. You will love the look, and so will people for blocks around you.

This is a tree you can see from a far distance. It creates an immediately recognizable landmark. Really, this tree has an incredible sense of style, gravitas and mystique.

Use it in a commercial setting, on a corporate campus, or in a "blank slate" back yard with plenty of elbow room. Please select a permanent planting site with care and a thought for future generations. After all, the tallest specimen to date has grown a whopping 200 feet tall!

Site this tree carefully. These trees grow fast and in time get quite large and for that reason should be planted where they have plenty of room to grow.

We just know you'll fall in love with this tree. After all, this is an important plant with an amazing story.

Beautiful "Living Fossil" Tree

Large in stature, the Dawn Redwood was found throughout the global fossil record from 50 million years ago. It grew in many places, including the United States. However, for thousands of years, people thought it was extinct. It wasn't until China opened up to botanical exploration in the 1940's that it was rediscovered.

Explorers found a small population growing in the wild. They lived in a 13 square mile forest in central China's Hubei province. Upon this miraculous chance discovery, the precious seeds were distributed throughout the world.

Since that time, it's been planted and enjoyed as a marvelous ornamental tree all around the world. Dawn Redwood has become a popular landscape plant, park tree and forest reclamation plant.

People are taken by the beauty of the Redwood and its ancient history. It's also an ornamental tree with a lot of desirable attributes.

It's pristine pyramidal shape (strongly conical when young) makes it quite attractive. Its branches grow horizontally, and they begin at the trunk, right next to the ground, so this tree always looks established, even when just a few years old.

Delicate Dawn Redwood leaves transform over the course of the year. They're spritely green in spring and deepen to a rich and handsome green in summer.

As fall arrives, these dainty leaves change color from orange to a red bronze. The best fall color is attained when the tree is grown in full sun and receives plenty of water.

Unlike its close evergreen relatives, the California Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoia giganteum), Dawn Redwood is a deciduous conifer. Like the Larch (Larix) and Bald Cypress (Taxodium), Dawn Redwood loses it needle-like leaves in the wintertime. This trait makes it the cold hardiest of all the Redwoods.

The feathery, fern like leaves are a perfect contrast to the big, muscular and flared trunk. As the tree matures, the trunk grows to an enormous caliber, or circumference. The rough-textured, exfoliating bark adds winter interest.

You'll enjoy its lovely nature and how much character it will add to your landscape. Order one from us today!

How to Use Dawn Redwood in the Landscape

Imagine, in just ten short years.... Filtered light radiates through the canopy provides a cool ecosystem when these trees are grown in a grove. As one of the fastest growing trees, you can enjoy the shade this lovely redwood has to offer within just a few years.

If you want to walk beneath these beautiful behemoth, you can always trim its bottom branches back to the main trunk.

They make a great statement anywhere you might want summer shade and winter heat when the leaves drop.

This tree works great when used in a Rain Garden, where it can tolerate the occasional wet feet.

The Dawn Redwood also is tolerant of the urban air and traffic pollution found in inner city gardens.

Dawn Redwood trees are deciduous conifers. These fast growing trees have light green, fern-like foliage and grow into large trees.

Feathery leaves contrast delightfully with the strength of the highly textured, deeply flaring at the wide base of the trunk.

The tree has an architectural quality, from the buttressed roots of the flared trunk to the lovely, intricate small cone held on stalks. Use this tree as a delightful focal point in a Meditation Garden. Create a comfy spot to commune with it with ground cushions or exterior seating.

Outspread branches tilt upright to give an alert appearance. It is a symmetrical tree, that becomes a signal of strength and peace. The contrasting play between the fern like foliage and the wide, stolid trunk capture the imagination beautifully.

You'll never, ever grow tired of this tree.

For a long, continuous hedge, plant the trees 10 - 15 feet apart on center. Measure from the trunk of the first to the trunk of the next.

To create a grove of specimen trees that stand alone as individual trees, widen that planting width to 20 feet apart on center.

#ProPlantTips for Care

As with other Redwoods, the tree's trunk becomes deeply fissured and quite attractive when limbed up and exposed to allow pedestrian traffic underneath.

Dawn Redwood likes a regular schedule of even moisture. The trees really benefits from a 3 to 4-inch layer of mulch out 3 feet beyond the canopy. This is particularly important in drier climates.

Plant it in full sun with well-drained soil for best results. It will grow especially fast on moist sites.

Primarily suited to Zones 4-8, the Dawn Redwood will grow in zones 9 if located on the east facing slopes of the coastal mountain range.

Each fall, you can rake the needles from this deciduous conifer. Use as a beneficial mulch for Azaleas, Blueberries and Japanese Maples. Any acid loving plant will appreciate the gift.

This long lived, fast growing tree is an international treasure. Do your part to preserve this tree's legacy by planting one in your yard or commercial property.