Dawn redwood

Dawn redwood: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Deciduous conifer of 20–35 m, slender and conical with a single leader.

Needles

1–3 cm, flat, soft and light green, opposite in two rows on short side shoots. Russet in autumn; they fall together with the side shoots.

Bark

Orange- to red-brown, fibrous; the trunk has deep flutes and ‘armpits’ beneath the branches.

Cones

Round cones 1.5–2.5 cm on a long stalk.

Difference from swamp cypress

In swamp cypress the needles and side shoots are alternate rather than opposite.

Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: Soft needles · Needles that fall

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Swamp cypress Taxodium distichum: needles and side shoots are alternate rather than opposite. Difference from swamp cypress

Why grow it?

• A ‘living fossil’ with a story: first described as a fossil, only later found alive.
• Soft, fresh green needles in spring and superb russet autumn colour.
• Grows fast and tolerates wet soil: ideal by a pond or in a damp meadow.
• In winter an elegant bare cone with an orange-brown, fluted trunk.

Dawn redwood: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Moist to wet, fertile soil; it grows poorly on dry sand.
• Tolerates wet ground and occasional flooding, but likes standing in water for long periods less than swamp cypress does.
• Too big for an ordinary garden: allow for 30 m tall and 7 m wide or more. Plant it in a park, a large garden or beside a large pond, well away from buildings.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Moist to wet

Size

30 m tall, 7 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Swamp cypress: Together by a pond: two deciduous conifers whose differences you can clearly see.
• Alder: A native tree for the same wet soil, with cones that siskins feed on in winter.
• Common dogwood: A native shrub for a damp edge, with white flowers and black berries for birds.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Dawn redwood: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March when the ground isn’t frozen; a pot-grown tree can also go in later in spring.
2. Choose a young tree: it establishes best and soon puts on growth.
3. Dig a large planting hole, mix compost into the soil and plant at the same depth as before.
4. Put a stake on the windward side and tie the trunk loosely; remove stake and tie after 2–3 years.
5. Water generously after planting, and in every dry spell during the first few years.

Care

Watering

Plenty of water in dry spells during the first few years: it likes moist soil.

Feeding

Not needed; leave the fallen needles as a mulch.

Lower branches

Leave the lower branches if you have the room: it looks best when branched to the ground.

Autumn

Needles and shoots fall together; scoop or sweep them off a pond or patio.

Tip: On very wet soil or in shallow water, swamp cypress is the better choice; on moist soil dawn redwood grows faster.

Dawn redwood: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. Any formative pruning during winter dormancy.

How:

• Keep the natural conical shape; maintain a single leader.
• On a young tree, remove a second, competing leader in good time.
• If you want to walk under the tree, remove the lower branches gradually, over several winters.

Caution: Never top a dawn redwood: it would lose its beautiful conical shape.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

Summer cuttings of young shoots (June–July) root fairly easily in a moist propagator under plastic; hardwood cuttings in a cold frame also work.

Dawn redwood: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• In winter the tree is bare: that is normal for this deciduous conifer.
• Young shoots can be frosted by a late spring frost; the tree then simply regrows.

Diseases and pests

• Brown needles in autumn: Normal: it is a deciduous conifer. The needles fall with the side shoots and the tree comes back into leaf in April.
• Drought: Brown, dried-out needles as early as summer, especially on dry soil. Water young trees generously.
• Late frost: Frosted, brown young shoots in April–May. The tree regrows; trim off dead tips in winter.

Through the year

• January: Formative pruning during winter dormancy, if needed.
• February: Prune and plant in mild weather.
• March: Last month for pruning; planting.
• April: Fresh green needles appear; watch out for late frost.
• June: Take summer cuttings; water young trees in dry spells.
• August: Water in dry spells.
• October: Russet autumn colour.
• November: Needles and shoots fall; planting and pruning seasons begin.
• December: Remove dead branches; formative pruning possible.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Fast grower for parks and pond edges, with superb russet autumn colour.

Also used for

A ‘living fossil’, fun to plant for the story it brings to the garden.

Did you know?

• Was known only as a fossil until living trees were found in China in the 1940s.
• In 1948 seed was sent all over the world: the oldest dawn redwoods in our parks are less than 80 years old.
• Everything is opposite: needles, side shoots and buds.
• Fossils show that millions of years ago Metasequoia grew right across the Northern Hemisphere, Europe included. It survived in the wild only in central China.
• The first dawn redwoods in Europe grew from seed sent out in 1948 via the Arnold Arboretum in the USA to botanic gardens all over the world.