All Species > Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Dawn Redwood

The Dawn Redwood is a fast-growing deciduous conifer with ancient lineage — a true living fossil once thought extinct and rediscovered in China in the 1940s. It's highly regarded for bonsai due to its soft, opposite, feathery needles that turn bronze in fall, its buttressed trunk with reddish bark, and its rapid, predictable growth.

Seasonal Care Guide

Placement & Seasonal Notes

  • Placement: Full sun to partial shade
  • Notes: Provide afternoon shade in very hot climates.
  • Winter: Protect roots from deep freeze in containers.
  • Summer: Ensure consistent moisture during peak heat.

Leaf Traits

  • Persistence: Deciduous
  • Form: Conifer

Watering & Fertilization

  • Watering: High
  • Notes: Soil should remain evenly moist; never let it dry out completely.
  • Season: Spring → Autumn
  • Fertilization: High nitrogen in spring
  • Notes: Switch to balanced or low-nitrogen mid-summer to avoid leggy growth.

Training Techniques

  • Wiring: Spring or Autumn
  • Notes: Use guy wires when possible; branches are brittle and prone to scarring.
  • Pruning: Structural in early spring, maintenance through summer
  • Notes: Pinch or prune vigorous shoots to encourage ramification.
  • Repotting: Every 1 - 2 years
  • Notes: Repot in early spring before bud break; root growth is vigorous.

Propagation

  • Method: Cuttings or seed
  • Notes: Air layering possible but less common than softwood cuttings.

Zone 8b Considerations

Protect roots if temps < 20 F