Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, The Living Fossil in my Yard
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Dawn Redwood is a living fossil endangered in the wild that you can grow. Dawn redwood is a magic tree - this mighty tree with such delicate foliage is a giant that produces cones the size of marbles. It is coniferous, yet deciduous. Dawn redwood's cinnamon colored bark catch the sun in late afternoon and faeries seem to lurk in the deeply rippled trunk. Grow Dawn redwood and touch antiquity.
Many people here in the US are familiar with the coast redwoods and giant sequoias of California, those magnificent giants that turn a forest into a cathedral. some of us easterners dream of those beautiful places, of the nobility of those ancient trees that seem to stand like ladders to heaven.
But you don't ahve to travel to California. You can plant a Dawn redwood, a metasequoia glyptostroboides - providing yu have a large enough piece of property or are crazy - like me!
Okay, so my husband was right. Maybe it is too big for our yard. But Dawn redwood is the tree of sweet dreams, of soft feathered foliage, of cool, deep shadows and some mystical connection to the native spirits that dwell in those branches.
Dawn Redwood History
Dawn redwood was known to arborists only through the fossil record from its heyday 50 million years ago. Dawn redwood fossils have been found in northern Canada and in the badlands of western North Dakota.
Then, in the 1940's, a forest of Dawn redwoods was fund growing in the remote province of Szechwan, China. In 1948, seeds were collected and shopped to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University where they were studied and cultivated.
In the 1980's, it was noticed that the second generation of Dawn redwoods suffered form inbreeding depression. Since only three threes were used as the original source of seeds, there was no genetic diversity. Second generation Dawn redwoods were susceptible to disease and reproductive failure. In the 1990's, seed collecting expeditions were sent to China and new seeds obtained. the genetic diversity available due to the collection of more specimens resulted in hardy, healthy trees.
Dawn Redwood
Dawn redwoods are deciduous coniferous trees - that is - the trees produce cones but lose their foliage in the fall. They can be confused with Bald cypress but Bald cypress leaves are arranged in spirals while Dawn redwood leaves grow in an opposite arrangement. Dawn redwoods will not grow knees like Bald cypress, a tree that enjoys swampy conditions.
Dawn redwood appreciates full sun and moist, deep, well drained soil. they withstand flooding and are somewhat drought tolerant. A fast grower, Dawn Redwood reaches 70' - 100' in height with a 25' spread.
Dawn redwood trunks are remarkably straight and the tree grows in a tall, slender, pyramidal shape. They are hardy and care-free. With their cinnamon exfoliating bark and deciduous nature, Dawn redwoods are quite the conversation piece. the leaves turn a cinnamon-bronze in fall.
In order to cultivate a Dawn redwood with the distinctive contorted boles that produce the rippled effect of the trunk, do not limp up. Purchase a tree with lower limbs intact and do not remove those lower limbs.
Dawn redwood is monoecious, which means the tree is both male and female, bearing both seed producing cones (female) and panticles (the male part)which are clusters that hang from the branches. I've had two saplings - one given away, another sold at a flea market. This spring, I found several tiny seedlings growing near the tree and hope to nurse them along to a decent size for sale or to attempt bonsai. Check out the little babies in the photo as well as the tiny cones.
The nearest Dawn redwood that I know of is about 1.2 a mile away, grown by some other Dawn redwood besotted fool - only theirs' is in the front yard. About a mile and a half away, two Dawn redwood grow in the front yard of a house, giving the home the look of a cottage in a fairy tale.
Dawn redwood with bird calls
Dawn Redwood - Endangered in the Wild
There is only one remaining Dawn redwood forest in existence in China with approximately 5,000 trees. Due to prolific cone collecting, the number of seedlings are in decline. Without natural reproduction, the beautiful Dawn redwood forest of Sichuan, China is an endangered ecosystem. How sad that the popularity of this incredible specimen should be the cause of its demise in the wild. I hope that China restricts cone collecting in order to protect the Dawn redwood forest.
In the Eastern United Stantes at Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Nature Preserve in North Caroline, attempts are being made to reintroduce the Dawn redwood into a natural setting.
You can see Dawn Redwoods at the United States National Arboretum in Washington, DC; at Longwood Gardens in eastern Pennsylvania; at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St.Louis, and at Marquand Park in New Jersey.
If you are passing through a neighborhood and spot a tall, gracefull tree poking up above the canopy, check it out, it may be a Dawn redwood.
If you know of a park or public garden where Dawn redwoods grow, please leave the information in a comment below so that people can see a magnificent Dawn redwood in person.
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- DC Outdoors - the National Arboretum, Our National Tree Museum
the US National Arboretum, America's tree collection and national garden is a sprawling botanical garden in north west Washington DC for DC visitors interested in plants, trees, nature, shrubs, landscaping, Bonsai, conifers, perennial gardens and spe
Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwood Nature Preserve
Very pretty bonsai including a Dawn redwood
Arbor Day Foundation
- China -- Botanical Paradise in Peril Photos, Download, Photos -- National Geographic
See pictures of Chinese plants and download photos at National Geographic.
Jon D suggested this site
Metasequioa in Delaware
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Comments
What an awesome tree. I'm an Easterner longing to get out to the west coast to see those mammoth trees! Great Hub! Thanks.
Nancy, I love pine too and wanted a white pine but thought it was too big....there is nothing like a big tree for shade, it's dense shade and can feel 10 degrees cooler in the summer.
C, me too. I'd love to visit the big trees. There is a book by Julia Butterfly Hill that really takes you into the redwood forest on a spiritual journey.
Thanks for commenting, Nancy and C, I really appreciate it.
What a beautiful tree...and great topic of your great Hub.
Thanks...
Thank you, Tatjana, it surely is a beautiful tree. Some of them have huge, wide trunks when the lower branches are left on, very cool deep boles.
WOW Amazing article, Dolores. I want one. Nice that yours has a boyfriend!
great tree, I never found it in my region.thanks for share
We even have some tall red wood and sequoias here in Southern California mountains. Unfortunately some of the taller ones burned in the recent fires, which makes me sad.
Thank you, Frieda, yes, now we'll have all those little redwoods to think of what to do with, if the rabbits don't eat them.
prasetio, I am glad you enjoyed my hub, and it is a fabuous tree.
SweetiePie, thank you for visiting. That's a shame about the burnt trees, all trees are prescious but the loss of a very old tree is a tragedy.
Watcha Dolores,
well constructed article. It's sad that these giants are threatened, at home we can all grow them, as bonsai if our gardens aren't big enough.
best Mick
Thanks for commenting, Mick. I've attempted bonsai, had a lovely beech tree, the branches perfect but when we went away the stupid kid across the street forgot ot water it and so when we got back - dead bonsai beech tree.
We were sad about the fires to, but climate change and the bark beetle lead to dry conditions and fires. That is why it irritates me when people say there is not evidence of climate change as obiviously they have never spent an extended amount of time in certain parts of the United States anyway.
a 30 tree plot of dawn redwoods can be found at the OARDC in Wooster, Ohio. http://www.skidmore.edu/gis/research/metasequoia/S link will takes u to history of this historic tree in my home town.
SweetiePie - People experiene a cool dday in June and say - oh see, there is no climate change, but it's bigger than local. One should check out ice melt, late freezes up north, and global temperature increases. 3 degrees can make a big difference if it's 3 degrees above or below zero F.
JonD - gee thanks a lot, will check it out and post it in a link!
I agree climate change is worldwide.
Hello there-
I am the founder of the Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Preserve, and the reason your tree has seedlings, is because the tree is monoecious; that is, both male and female cones appear on the same tree. The male cones, or strobili, appear as strands of green pearls on the ends of lower branches, in August. If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to email me though the website.
Swetie Pie, thanks for your comments. It's great to have you stop by.
D.A. Hanks, I certainly appreciate your reading and commenting on my hub. I read that Dawn Redwoods are either male or female on one website. I must give a good long look at the tree in August, that is really interesting. Whoo, better change the hubs as I'm sure you know what you are talking about way more so than I. I just don't remember seeing the strobili in past years. But we don't always see what's right in front of our noses. Darn, I liked the idea that my tree had a boyfriend.
Enjoyed your article on the Dawn Redwood. I've got the space in my yard for one. It would sure make a nice addition to the family.
What a great hub. They grow so fast. I have seen the biggest tree in the world, the General Sherman tree in Sequioa national park. And I have seen some of the tallest trees in the world, Sonoma redwoods near the coast. A coastal redwood somewhere north of that is the tallest tree in the world.
I hope you have a chance to see them because they are quite remarkable, with the General Sherman tree being 25 feet in diameter and over 100 feed round at the base.
I planted mine last fall. It seems to be doing well, however I have noticed the tip of some of the leavs are turning brown. Any ideas...should I be worried?
Well, Olive, dear, I've had two saplings and will have more in the future and you are welcome to one.
bgamall - Someday. I've been to beautiful California 2x and would love to go see the Big Trees. Check out the book by Julia Butterfly Hill (did I mention her earlier?) who came to fame during a brave tree-sit and speaks of her first visit to a redwood forest as a spiritual awakening.
Patrick, I think the Dawn redwoods like a lot of water. If you live in a dry area of the country, you might want to water it copiously. I hope you watered a lot the first year. Mine sits in a spot in the yard that floods after a rain so seems very happy with tons of water in the spring.
Beautiful tree and the bark is especially interesting. Thanks for this article.
Patrick, if the tips of your leaves turned a rusty/bronzy color sometime in the spring, it is due to frost nip. If they are actually yellowish-brown and falling off, then it is from a lack of water.
I have a lot of people contact me in a panic every year, that the leaves are turning red or brown on their tree(s), and those that send a pic usually just have frost bronzing. It's very easy to identify.
Dolores, I forgot to thank you for the link to CRDRP. It is appreciated. :-)
DA Hanks, I am honored by your interest in my hub. I love the beautiful dawn redwoods and admire your goal to create a habitat for a dawn redwood forest. Thank you!
Fantastic! I want one of these now. I really do. I wonder if they would bother our apple trees? We have an acre, so I should be able to plant one far enough away that it wouldn't matter. Sorry I missed this!
Pam, they grow pretty fast and pretty big. We planted ours about 18 years ago, a bit too close to the house to make sense. But it's one beautiful tree. I've seen them planted in mini-groves, 3 trees close by each other and it is quite a sight. Make sure you do not remove the bottom branches, allow branches to grow close to the ground for that rippled affect. Good luck and thanks for commenting !
i really like your post and research you made in this topic. keep it up
Thanks, Tips, I'm glad you liked the hub and I sure appreciate that you took the time to comment.
This is a fascinating article, Dolores. I've not seen them except in pictures. Of course, being a westerner, I have visited and hiked through redwood groves like the Muir Woods in California. In Colorado there are fossilized 50 million-year old redwoods at Florissant Park west of Colorado Springs. Some of the petrified trunks rise some twenty feet high--just stumps, mind you.
juneaukid - how I would love to visit the Muir Woods. It would be like a pilgrimidge. Someday....Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I have been madly in love with all things redwood since visiting the John Muir woods in California years ago. I have bought over a dozen saplings as gifts for my "homeowner" friends and family, one person was able to grow them for two years, then those perished, same with all the others. I'm so glad to see you've had success, and thanks for the education on another species! Some day if my meditations and prayers and hard work is answered, I plan to own property, and you can be sure there'll be some sort of species of redwood there!
Also, your husband is an understanding guy.
Ben - Someday I'll go see the John Muir woods, see the really big trees. But, meanwhile, I got my own little redwood. Well, maybe not little. But they are magical trees. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Dolores - do you know if they like the New York climate? Fascinating hub, many thanks for it.
beccas - New York? I guess it depends on where in New York that you live. Upstate NY gets so cold so early, I don't know. But there is not much of a climate difference between lower NY and New Jersey is there? And they grow in NJ. Thanks for stopping by!
Nancy's Niche says:
6 months ago
WOW! Now that's a tree that grows and shades. I love tree's---especially pine....