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PLANT OF THE MONTH
December 2007
Metasequoia
glyptostroboides
Dwan Redwood
Type: deciduous conifer
Height: 25-45’ in VT or NH
Hardiness: Zone 4-9
Light requirements: Sun to part shade
Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Cupressaceae) is a
deciduous conifer known from fossils and assumed long-extinct before it was
discovered growing in the wild in the 1940s. Dubbed a "living
fossil" by media reports of the day, dawn redwood was described from
material growing in the village of Modaoqi, Sichuan in 1946. Seed became
available outside of China in 1948. Most cultivated dawn redwoods are
derived from the original seed source - probably a group of ca. 1000 trees
in an isolated valley in Hubei. The fossil record of the Miocene Epoch (23
to 5 million years ago) shows Metasequoia inhabiting sites throughout the
northern hemisphere, including what is now British Columbia. This tree, if
given bright sun and plenty of moisture, will grow rapidly and can attain
heghts in excess of 15m (50ft) in 20 years. The bright green foliage turns
golden-orange in the fall, and then drops to expose the red-brown bark of
the trunk. May be suitable for Bonsai culture, but little data is currently
available.
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