How to Prune a Dawn Redwood Bonsai

Up until 1947, the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), a deciduous conifererous tree, existed to scientists only in the fossil records and was presumed to be extinct. When a botanist in China found a grove of the trees, he dispersed the seeds to botanists around the world, including the United States. Now a popular bonsai plant, it’s difficult to believe that it grows to 100 feet with a 25-foot spread in nature. Dawn redwood tolerates heavy pruning, keeping it diminutive enough for the bonsai container.

Root rake or chopstick
Small brush
Rooting hormone
Pruning scissors
Bonsai soil

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the dawn redwood from the container.
- 2
  Use a root rake or chopstick to remove as much soil as possible and to separate the roots.
- 3
  Cut out dead roots -- those that are black or slimy -- with pruning scissors.
- 4
  Remove overly thick roots, especially those that grow upward and those that are circling around the rootball.
- 5
  Use a small brush dipped into a rooting hormone with fungicide to dust the cut end of the thick roots.
- 6
  Place the dawn redwood back into the container and tie it in. Pour bonsai soil over the roots and work it around them with your fingers. Fill the pot gradually, patting the soil down occasionally to remove air pockets.
- 7
  Water the dawn redwood bonsai tree slowly to remove air pockets and settle it into the soil.
- 8
  Top the tree to the height you desire, just above opposite buds. Remove the back bud.
- 9
  Trim the dawn redwood into the shape you desire. Although it naturally grows in a pyramid shape, it adapts to a number of styles. Dawn redwoods grow quickly, so cut the largest branches back hard to establish the shape and then work on smaller branches.

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