Tree · Cupressaceae
Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
A living fossil that glows russet-bronze every fall and grows quickly enough to watch it happen.
Full sun
Every 3–10 days
USDA 4–8
70–100 ft · 21.3–30.5 m
Overview
Dawn redwood has one of the best comeback stories you'll find among plants. For a long time botanists had only fossils to go on, then living trees showed up in central China in the 1940s, and seed from them carried the species into gardens across the temperate world. Here's the unusual part: it's a deciduous conifer, so it grows soft green needles all summer and then drops the lot every fall.
Hand it some space and it pays you back in a hurry. It races upward into a tidy pyramidal shape with one straight leader, and a veteran tree can hit 70 to 100 feet on a wide, fluted, buttressed trunk. All that speed and size make it the wrong pick for a cramped yard, but a knockout in a park, along a pond, or out on an open lawn.
Autumn is when it really shines. Just before the needles fall, the entire canopy shifts to a warm russet-bronze to orange that few conifers can pull off. The rest of the year? It asks for very little, so long as the soil stays moist and a touch acidic.
Care
The short version: full sun and deep, moist, slightly acidic soil, room to spread for a big fast-growing tree, and reliable water while it's young or whenever a drought rolls through.
Light
Set it in full sun for the best shape and color, though it'll put up with a little afternoon shade. Give it too little light and it grows thin and pokey, never filling out into that tight pyramid it's famous for.
Water
This tree loves having damp feet. Keep the soil consistently moist and deep, and it'll even put up with boggy or waterlogged ground. Water it dutifully while it's young and right through any drought, since a long dry stretch isn't something it can handle.
Soil
Hand it deep, moist, humusy, acidic soil that still drains freely. Clay and wet spots 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 hardy thing across a big span, comfortable in zones 4 through 8, taking cold down to roughly -29°F (-34°C) and summer heat up to about 100°F (38°C). The one soft spot is that early spring flush, which a late frost can nip.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air is all it needs, so don't bother chasing a humidity number. What actually matters is steady moisture at the roots, not anything floating in the air.
Feeding
In halfway-decent soil it barely wants feeding at all. If it seems slow, mix in a balanced slow-release tree fertilizer in early spring, and just skip it where the ground is already rich.
Pruning
You'll rarely need to prune, since the tree shapes its own strong pyramid on a single central leader. While it's dormant in late winter, simply cut out any dead, damaged, or competing leaders to keep that form looking sharp.
Repotting
Remember this is a landscape tree, not something for a pot over the long haul. Nursery or bonsai specimens get repotted every 2 to 3 years in early spring, and the telltale signs it's past due are circling roots, roots poking out the drainage holes, and stalled, yellowing growth.
Size & spacing
Plan around a giant. A grown tree stretches 70 to 100 feet (21 to 30 m) tall with a spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.5 m), so place it well away from buildings, foundations, and pavement and leave the roots open ground to fill.
When to plant
You plant dawn redwood rather than sow it where it'll grow, and it does well across zones 4 through 8. Get stratified seed going indoors in late winter, then move young trees outdoors in spring once frost is past, or in early fall. There's no flower to look forward to, just that russet-bronze foliage that wraps up 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 happy dawn redwood is just about carefree, and the few problems that crop up usually come back to stress or the wrong soil. Keep an eye on the needles and the new growth, because that's where the earliest clues turn up. Find the match below and step in while it can still make a difference.
Pale fresh growth, but the veins are still green
When the newest leaves go yellow yet the veins stay green, that's chlorosis, and it usually means iron is locked away in a high-pH soil or a thin layer sitting over rock. A quick pH test confirms what's going on. For a lasting fix, nudge the soil toward slightly acidic with elemental sulfur, reach for chelated iron when you want the tree to green up quickly, and add mulch so the root zone runs deeper and cooler.
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
Sunken cankers on the wood with dieback past them
Bark that looks sunken, cracked, and off-color with dead growth beyond it is a fungal canker, and it nearly always shows up after some stress, think drought, frost, or an open wound. Cut the affected wood away well below the lesion, and wipe your tools with disinfectant between every cut. Steady moisture and a good mulch are the real safeguard, since a tree that isn't under strain hardly ever cankers.
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 wearing a bit of webbing
What you're seeing is spider mite trouble, and it tends to flare up when things turn hot and dry, usually on a tree that's already thirsty. Hold a sheet of white paper under a branch, give it a tap, and look for tiny specks that move, then flip a few needles to spot webbing. A hard blast of water knocks them loose, insecticidal soap or horticultural oil handles stubborn cases, and keeping the roots watered and mulched stops the stress that invites them in.
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, chewed foliage showing up in early summer
Those shiny green-and-copper beetles huddled on lacy, see-through foliage? Those are Japanese beetles, and they treat this tree as a summer snack. Early in the morning, while they're still slow and groggy, pluck them off into soapy water, and only bring out an approved insecticide if a real swarm shows up. Light feeding always looks worse than it is and seldom bothers a settled 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, droopy new growth after a spring frost
Dawn redwood leafs out early, which leaves the youngest shoots open to a late-spring frost while the older wood sits unbothered. Once growth picks back up, snip off the dead tips, and the tree usually throws out a fresh round of growth all by itself. Just keep it clear of low frost pockets where cold air pools, or you'll see the same thing again.
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
Here's a relief if you've got animals around: dawn redwood is not toxic to pets, livestock, or people. It's nowhere on the ASPCA's roster of harmful plants, and the worst a curious nibble might do is a brief stomach upset from overdoing it on greenery. Plant it freely, no need to fret about who's poking around beneath it.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Perfectly fine around cats, since the needles carry nothing toxic. If a cat goes overboard on greenery of any kind, you might see a quick, mild tummy upset, and that's really as bad as it gets.
Dogs None
Nothing in here harms dogs, so a curious bite isn't worth a second thought. A big mouthful of foliage could mean some loose stool, which is true of most plants anyway.
Horses None
There's no poison here for horses. Those soft, feathery needles are harmless if a grazing horse reaches up for a low branch.
Rabbits None
Totally safe for rabbits. They can chew on fallen needles or low shoots without running into anything toxic.
Livestock None
No worries for cattle, goats, or sheep, all of which can browse the foliage without any risk of poisoning.
Birds None
Birds have nothing to fear, whether they're perching, nesting, or pecking at the seed cones.
People None
Harmless to people too, with nothing on the tree that calls for careful handling. It's just not a food plant, so there's no part worth putting on your plate.
No special handling precautions are required; this is an outdoor landscape tree.
Varieties
Most dawn redwoods you'll find for sale are the plain species, but a couple of selections earn attention for their color or shape. Here are the ones worth recognizing by name.
'Gold Rush' ('Ogon')
Its soft, feathery foliage stays a golden-yellow right through summer, shifts to orange-brown by fall, and it puts on growth more slowly than the regular species.
'National'
A markedly slim, columnar selection made in 1958 at the U.S. National Arboretum, chosen for its compact pyramidal habit.
'Miss Grace'
An uncommon weeping dwarf whose branches spill downward, staying low and mounded unless you stake it up.
How to propagate
Dawn redwood takes to propagation without much fuss, whether you're starting from cold-treated seed or rooting a cutting off a tree you've already got.
SeedModerate
Late winter to spring after cold stratification · 1-2 years to a sturdy seedling
For ages this tree was known only from fossils, right up until living ones were spotted in China in the 1940s, and it sprouts willingly from seed once that seed has had a cold spell. Sow from late winter into spring, then count on 1 to 2 years for it to firm 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 way to go. Take softwood ones in early summer or hardwood ones anytime from late fall through winter, and they'll root in roughly 2 to 4 months before needing a full season to 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 features make that clear. Its needles grow in matching pairs, whereas the easily confused bald cypress carries them alternately and pushes up woody knees when it's planted in water. Unlike the evergreen coast redwood, dawn redwood is deciduous, so every fall its needles turn russet-bronze and let go.