Metasequoia glyptostroboides "Dawn Redwood"

[Elias]

Hi All,

Has anyone worked with Metasequoia glyptostroboides "Dawn Redwood" ? Would be interested to hear peoples opinions and or experiences with them...
I purchased some of these to play with nothing substantial, I think they are beautiful trees, I was thinking of doing a forest planting with some and let the others mature.

[Leigh Taafe]

G'day mate,

I used to buy small starter stock in 4 inch pots from Grant Bowie when he used to propagate for all of us bonsai nurseries. I never had them on the benches long enough to get any stock of substance. Grant might be able to fill you in.

cheers,
Leigh.

[Elias]

This is good info I found:

Metasequoia is a genus of one species of deciduous, monoecious, coniferous
tree from valley forests of Central China. Metasequoia had been described
from fossils by the Japanese but was believed to have been extinct until a
small grove was discovered growing in Central China in 1941. Seeds were then
introduced to the rest of the world where the Metasequoia tree has spread
rapidly through cuttings.
The Dawn Redwood has 2 ranked, flattened needle like leaves 1-3.5cm long
that are a pale green turning to red in the Autumn. Particularly admired for
its thick, fibrous, orange-brown bark. Can reach heights of 40 metres when
mature.

Bonsai cultivation notes

Position: Full sun. Fully hardy.

Feeding: Fortnightly through the Spring and summer after new leaves appear.

Repotting: Every second year when buds extend, repot in basic soil mix, this
tree will benefit from inorganic matter in its soil mix as too dry a mix
will slow growth. However still allow for good drainage.

Pruning: A very vigorous tree, continually pinching out is required
throughout the year.

Propagation: Sow seed in Autumn. Hard-wood cuttings in winter, semi-ripe
wood cuttings in mid-summer.

Pests and diseases: None

Styles: Best suited to formal upright styles either with single or multiple
trunks. Also group plantings. All sizes.

Their are three distinct species, two of which hold a record. The Coast
Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), holds the record for the tallest tree in the
world, at about 112m (360+ feet). The foliage resembles that of the Yew
having flat needles.

The Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), a.k.a the Wellingtonia, after
the Duke of Wellington, has more Juniper like foliage, holds the record of
being the largest living thing on the planet.

The Third of the redwoods, the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostrobides),
also has flat needle like foliage.

All three will make excellent bonsai their cultral and training needs are
identical, needing an open loamy soil, perhaps a bit less grit in the
compost.

[bonscythe]

Gotta love the sequoias, although they arn't technically the largest living thing/organism.
Fungal mycelium/hyphae hold that record apparently!
Using DNA analysis, they have determined that some single hyphal masses cover hundreds of hectares and can be thousands of years old.
Just thought I'd add that, as I too was told that these sequoias were the largest living organisms.

[Grant Bowie]

In a nutshell; Treat em like a Taxodium(Swamp Cypress)

[Grant Bowie]

I thought I had better expand on my comment.

Nearly all the information relating to Taxodium will hold for Metasequoia.

Taxodium mucronatum Montezuma Cypress in summer.jpg

Taxodium distichum Swamp Cypress in Autum color.JPG

The only major quirk is that they have deciduous branches. What that means is that some branches that grow late in the season and don't reach a certain thickness will drop off with the foliage, so the Metasequoia can look a litte less dense than the Taxodiums.

They like water, fertiliser, and can grow to massive proportions so go for it. Once you have an established tree you will need to pinch new growth like crazy to keep it compact.