Tree · Cupressaceae
Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
A living fossil that flames russet-bronze every fall and races skyward fast enough to watch.
Full sun
Every 3–10 days
USDA 4–8
70–100 ft · 21.3–30.5 m
Overview
Few trees stage a comeback like the dawn redwood. For ages scientists had only fossils to study, then living trees appeared in central China in the 1940s, and seed from that find scattered the species into temperate gardens far and wide. It ranks among the rare deciduous conifers, pushing soft green needles all summer and then casting them off as fall arrives.
Hand it space and it pays you back fast. The trunk drives upward at a brisk pace into a tidy pyramidal shape topped by one straight leader, and a veteran tree can stretch to 70 to 100 feet over a wide, fluted, buttressed base. All that speed and bulk rule it out of a tight yard, yet they make it a knockout for a park, a pond edge, or a wide-open lawn.
Autumn is when it truly performs. Right before the needles let go, the entire canopy lights up in warm russet-bronze to orange, a display few conifers can rival. Through the rest of the year it asks for next to nothing, provided the soil stays moist and leans acidic.
Care
The short version: give it full sun and deep, moist, slightly acidic soil, leave loads of room for a big fast-growing tree, and keep the water steady while it's young and through any drought.
Light
Drop it into full sun and you'll get the finest form and the richest color, though it puts up with a touch of afternoon shade. Starve it of light and it turns thin and sluggish, never knitting together the tight pyramidal shape that makes its name.
Water
This one loves wet feet. Keep the soil consistently moist and deep, and it'll even handle boggy or waterlogged ground. Water it without fail while it's young and right through any drought, since a long dry stretch is more than it can take.
Soil
Set it in deep, moist, humusy, acidic soil that still moves water along. Clay and wet sites don't faze it, but it goes chlorotic and yellow on thin ground over rock or on high-pH alkaline soil. Shoot for a pH of 5.0 to 6.5.
Temperature
It's a tough customer over a broad span, hardy through zones 4 through 8 and brushing off cold all the way down to about -29°F (-34°C) while taking summer heat as high as roughly 100°F (38°C). The early spring flush is its lone soft spot, since a late frost can pinch the tender new shoots.
Humidity
Open-air conditions suit it perfectly, so forget any humidity reading. What it genuinely craves is steady moisture at the roots, not damp air around the leaves.
Feeding
In good ground it hardly wants feeding at all. Should growth lag, mix in a balanced slow-release tree fertilizer in early spring, and pass on it altogether where the soil already runs rich.
Pruning
Skip most of the pruning, because the tree raises its own sturdy pyramidal frame around one central leader. While it sits dormant in late winter, simply cut out any dead, damaged, or competing leaders to keep that crisp shape intact.
Repotting
Think of it as a landscape tree, not a long-haul container plant. Nursery or bonsai specimens want repotting every 2 to 3 years in early spring, and the tip-offs that one is overdue are circling roots, roots poking out the drainage holes, and stalled, yellowing growth.
Size & spacing
Brace for a giant. A grown tree climbs 70 to 100 feet (21 to 30 m) tall and spreads 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.5 m) wide, so place it well away from buildings, foundations, and pavement and turn the roots loose on open ground.
When to plant
You plant dawn redwood rather than sow it where it stands, and it thrives across zones 4 through 8. Get stratified seed going indoors in late winter, then move young trees outside in spring once frost lifts or settle them in during early fall. No flowers call for your patience here, only that russet-bronze foliage signing off the year each autumn.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter to early spring (stratified seed, 8-10 weeks before last frost)
- Plant: Spring after last frost, or early fall
- Harvest: Non-flowering; russet-bronze to orange fall foliage in autumn before needle drop
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
A thriving dawn redwood barely puts a foot wrong, and the few problems that crop up nearly always lead back to stress or a soil mismatch. Keep an eye on the needles and the fresh growth, because they flag trouble first. Match what you spot below and step in while it still does some good.
Washed-out new shoots while the veins keep their green
When the newest growth pales between still-green veins, you're looking at chlorosis, and iron locked away by a high-pH or thin soil over rock is almost always behind it. Grab a pH test to nail down the cause. Push the reading toward slightly acidic with elemental sulfur for a lasting fix, deploy chelated iron when you want the canopy greening up quickly, and pile on mulch to deepen and cool the soil over the roots.
Fix:
- Test and lower soil pH toward slightly acidic with elemental sulfur
- Apply chelated iron to green up foliage in the short term
- Mulch and improve soil depth and moisture over the root zone
Caved-in cankers on the stems with dead growth above
Cracked, sunken, off-color bark with dead wood beyond the wound flags a fungal canker, and stress tends to set the stage every time, whether from drought, frost, or an injury. Cut the diseased wood away a good distance below the lesion, and swipe your blades with disinfectant after each cut. Your strongest move is steady moisture and a generous mulch ring, because a relaxed, well-fed tree shrugs cankers off.
Fix:
- Prune out cankered wood well below the lesion, disinfecting tools between cuts
- Improve growing conditions to reduce stress
- Keep the tree adequately watered and mulched
Bronzed, speckled needles wrapped in fine webbing
Those stippled, bronzed needles spell spider mite trouble, and they pile in during hot, dry weather, usually on a tree that's already running short on water. Hold a sheet of white paper under a branch, give it a tap, and watch for tiny specks crawling across it, then flip a few needles to spot webbing underneath. Knock the pests off with a sharp blast of water, reach for insecticidal soap or horticultural oil if they linger, and keep those roots watered and mulched so stress never opens the door.
Fix:
- Spray foliage with a strong jet of water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to affected foliage
- Keep the tree well watered and mulched to reduce drought stress
Lacy, gnawed foliage arriving in early summer
Shiny green-and-copper beetles swarming over chewed, lace-thin foliage are Japanese beetles, the classic summer visitor to this tree. Pluck them into a bucket of soapy water at first light while the cool keeps them slow, and call in an approved insecticide only when a thick swarm truly demands it. A bit of nibbling looks alarming yet barely touches an established tree.
Fix:
- Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in the early morning
- Treat heavy infestations with an approved insecticide if warranted
- Tolerate light feeding, which rarely harms an established tree
Blackened, drooping new growth following a spring frost
Dawn redwood breaks bud early, which leaves the youngest shoots open to a late-spring frost even as the older wood sails through unharmed. Snip the burned tips once growth picks back up, and the tree typically pushes a fresh round of shoots all on its own. Steer it clear of low spots where frost settles and pools, or the same scorch keeps coming back.
Fix:
- Prune out dead frost-killed shoots once new growth resumes
- Allow the tree to push a second flush, which it usually does
- Avoid planting in frost pockets
Toxicity
Pet owners can breathe easy: dawn redwood is not toxic to pets, livestock, or people. It never made the ASPCA's list of dangerous plants, and the most a curious nibble might cause is a brief stomach gripe from eating too much of any greenery. Plant it freely, no matter who roams beneath the branches.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Cats can roam right past it, since the needles carry nothing toxic. Should a cat overdo the greenery, expect a quick, mild tummy gripe at most and nothing beyond that.
Dogs None
Dogs face no toxins here, so a nosy chew shouldn't worry you. Down a whole mouthful of foliage and you might see some loose stool, which goes for nearly any plant a dog samples.
Horses None
Horses won't be poisoned by it. Those soft, feathery needles stay perfectly harmless when a grazing horse reaches up for a low branch.
Rabbits None
Rabbits are in the clear. They can crunch fallen needles or graze low shoots and never run into a toxic risk.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep are all safe, free to browse the foliage with zero chance of poisoning.
Birds None
Birds have nothing to fear, free to perch in it, raise a nest in it, or peck at the seed cones.
People None
People are safe around it too, with nothing on the tree calling for cautious handling. It just isn't grown for eating, so no part of it belongs on a plate.
No special handling precautions are required; this is an outdoor landscape tree.
Varieties
Nearly every dawn redwood you'll find for sale is the straight species, yet a few picks earn attention for their color or their silhouette. Here are the names worth keeping in mind.
'Gold Rush' ('Ogon')
Its soft, feathery foliage glows golden-yellow straight through summer, shifts to orange-brown by fall, and climbs at a gentler pace than the standard species.
'National'
Picked in 1958 at the U.S. National Arboretum, this slim, columnar form keeps an especially tight pyramidal habit.
'Miss Grace'
A scarce weeping dwarf whose branches spill downward, keeping it low and mounded unless you stake the leader upright.
How to propagate
Dawn redwood propagates with ease, whether you kick things off from cold-treated seed or strike a cutting from a tree already on the property.
SeedModerate
Late winter to spring after cold stratification · 1-2 years to a sturdy seedling
Long known only from fossils until living trees surfaced in China in the 1940s, the dawn redwood sprouts willingly from seed once you give that seed a cold-stratification spell. Sow from late winter into spring, then count on 1 to 2 years for it to bulk up into a sturdy seedling.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Softwood cuttings in early summer or hardwood cuttings in late fall to winter · 2-4 months to root, then a season to establish
Cuttings are the dependable path here. Pull softwood cuttings in early summer or hardwood cuttings from late fall through winter, give them roughly 2 to 4 months to root, then a full season to truly settle in.
Myths
Dawn redwood is just another name for bald cypress or the evergreen coast redwood.
Dawn redwood stands on its own as Metasequoia glyptostroboides, and a handful of plain markers give it away. Look at the needles: they pair up opposite each other, whereas the bald cypress it gets confused with sets needles alternately and pushes up woody knees wherever it grows in standing water. Unlike the evergreen coast redwood, dawn redwood is deciduous and lets its needles go each fall once they fade to russet-bronze.