If you’re looking for a garden tree with both beauty and history, the Dawn Redwood fits the bill perfectly. Its distinctive feathery foliage creates a lovely lime-green canopy that brightens any garden setting, while its natural pyramid form brings structure and grandeur to open spaces.
The story behind this tree reads like a botanical thriller. Lost to time until 1944, a small collection of these prehistoric trees was found growing in China. Though now planted worldwide in gardens, parks and estates, its natural populations remain at risk, making it a precious part of our natural heritage.
The appeal of this tree changes with every season. Its fine, lacy needles shimmer and sway in summer breezes, creating constant movement in the garden. The autumn display brings rich bronze-orange colours before the needles fall, offering a spectacular finale to the growing season.
Winter reveals the handsome bark, peeling in cinnamon-coloured strips, while the bare branches create beautiful silhouettes against winter skies. Unlike its evergreen cousins, this conifer drops its needles each autumn, making it rather special among redwoods.
When spring returns, fresh lime-green needles emerge, bringing renewed vitality to the garden. The straight trunk and symmetrical branches create a natural architectural feature that draws the eye upward.
It’s important to know that these trees are deciduous, dropping their leaves in late autumn and remaining bare until early spring. This makes them quite different from other redwoods, but offers a wonderful display through the year.
Plant your Dawn Redwood in moist, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. While it grows well in most soil types, it particularly enjoys rich, slightly acidic to neutral soils. Water regularly when young and during dry spells, though established trees become quite drought tolerant. No regular pruning is needed as it naturally forms an elegant shape. A yearly feed with a balanced fertiliser in spring will keep it growing strongly. The tree is fully hardy throughout Britain but appreciates some shelter from strong winds while young.
Ultimate height
Higher than 12 metres
Time to ultimate height
20–50 years
Ultimate spread
2.5–4 metres











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