Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Miss Grace’ Dawn Redwood

‘Miss Grace’ is a rare dwarf selection of Dawn Redwood, with gracefully weeping branches. This deciduous conifer is easy to care for and displays beautiful color in spring, summer, and fall.
Dawn Redwoods species were considered extinct until 1941, when a specimen was discovered in Modaoqi, China. Fossil records indicate that the trees have existed for an astounding 50,000,000. The ‘Miss Grace’ cultivar is the first weeping Dawn Redwood discovered as a witch’s broom growing in mounded form in New York. It was introduced to the trade by the Buchholtz Nursery in Oregon.
‘Miss Grace’ grows at an intermediate rate of about 9″-12″ per year, attaining a height and width of 8′ × 3′ in 10 years. Without staking, it grows in a prostrate, mounding form, but with support, it is an upright dwarf with branches gracefully bending down. It is a deciduous conifer with feathery, lime-green foliage emerging in the spring. The needles progress to a medium green in the summer and turn to a bright orange-yellow as they close out the season in the fall. After the foliage has dropped, the graceful branches and peeling red-brown bark provide interest, even in the winter. The tree is monoecious, with both male and female cones on the same tree. Long, pendant male catkins pollinate the small green female cones in the spring, and seeds mature by fall.
Dawn Redwood grows in a variety of soils, such as clay, loam, sand, or silt, that are consistently moist, slightly acidic, and well-draining. Its best color is in full sun, but it will tolerate partial shade. It has average to high water needs and should be watered regularly after planting until it is established and during hot, dry periods, especially if it is growing in the sun in the hotter areas of its 5-9 hardiness zone. This little tree is a low-maintenance gem that is resistant to deer, disease, heat, pollution, and humidity and provides a cover and nesting place for birds.
With its small size and need for moist soil, ‘Miss Grace’ is perfect as a specimen tree in a low area or around a pool or pond. It is also a good choice for rock gardens, conifer gardens, urban gardens, or containers.
Companion plants will need the same cultural requirements as ‘Miss Grace.’ Choose plants that do well in either sun or shade and prefer moist, acidic, well-draining soil. Dogwoods, hollies, yews, and redbuds provide a contrasting backdrop for this tree, and flowering shrubs, like azaleas, rhododendrons, abelias, fothergillas, and hydrangeas, add a spot of color against the green dawn redwood foliage. Flowering perennials, such as astilbes, anemones, hellebores, dwarf iris, and groundcovers like pachysandra, moss rose, and bugle work together with ‘Miss Grace’ to create a picture-perfect grouping.