Dappled Shade for a Dawn Redwood

Identification

• Native to central and western China, the dawn redwood is winter hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. Pyramidal in shape, it can grow to between 70 and 100 feet in height and spread to between 15 and 25 feet. Like other deciduous trees, the dawn redwood has foliage -- in this case, needles -- that changes color in the fall, usually turning a deep, bronzed red before it falls off the tree. The foliage that reemerges in spring is lighter than more mature summer foliage.

Shade Tolerance

• Research shows that when it naturalizes in the wild, dawn redwood can tolerate quite a bit of shade. In their native China, dawn redwood seedlings must grow up from the forest floor, where the canopy overhead produces dense shade. They also grow in cold, shaded conditions on the moist slopes of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, where they have naturalized in the U.S. Under cultivation, however, the dawn redwood grows best if given full sunlight and plenty of space in which to grow. When growing it as a seedling, you should be especially careful to provide enough light.

Planting Considerations

• Because a lot of light filters down through the crown of the dawn redwood, you may need to weed underneath it more than you would with other conifers. However, due to the same light filtration, you can also grow a wider variety of sun-loving plants beneath it. Its relative shade intolerance under cultivation means that you also cannot grow it very near other trees, even of its own kind. It does, however, grow well in wet soils and tolerates clay and deer. If you provide ideal growing conditions, you may be able to grow it under dappled shade.

Shading Capacity

• Although it prefers full sun itself, the dawn redwood does provide some shade when in leaf. If you are looking for a shade-giving tree that also possesses good ornamental qualities, therefore, the dawn redwood may be the tree for you. Its needles aren’t very dense, which means the shade it gives off is dappled. In the wintertime, when the needles drop, it gives off no shade at all.