Metasequoia glyptostroboides |
Native Region: Western China
Zone Range: 06-09
Preferred Climate: Temperate
Harvest Date: Sunday 14 November, 2010
Seed count: 30-40
Description:
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.
Notes:
A magnificent specimen tree with an ancient past. Long believed to be extinct, palaeobotanists had assigned the name <i><b>Taxites</i></b> based on fossil records, but in the 1940’s several eminent Chinese botanists discovered living specimens in Hubei and Sichuan. They shared seed with the Arnold Arboretum, which in turn has made the trees and seeds available to many gardens and gardeners in the west.
Cultivation:
For maximum freshness, please keep seed refrigerated in its original packaging until it is time to plant. Seed may require cold stratification for best germination. Sow seed in a seedbed in autumn. Grow in humus-rich, damp neutral to acidic soil. This species can tolerate seasonal flooding, and may even be grown in swamps or bogs. For maximum freshness, please keep seed refrigerated in its original packaging until it is time to plant.
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