Jurassic Tree (Dawn Redwood) | Seed Grow Kit | The Jonsteen Company

This fanciful grow kit, with its charming dinosaur-themed packaging, brings a smile as well as everything needed to germinate a tree that has existed on our planet for millions of years - a living fossil. Growing these ancient organisms is like taking a ride in a time machine! Up until the mid-1900s, the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) was known only in the form of fossils collected by paleobotanists, thought to have been extinct for perhaps 20 million years. That all changed in 1944, after a living specimen was discovered alive and well by a surprised Chinese forester near the remote village of Motao-chi in the Chinese province of Szechwan. In time, The Arnold Arboretum of Boston and California's Save the Redwoods League sent expeditions to the area. The seeds and cuttings collected during these outings were shared with botanical gardens, universities, arboreta, and private nurseries around the world, and, today, this amazing "living fossil" is available from nurseries like Jonsteen. Mature Dawn Redwoods are broadly conical, and grow to typical heights of 50 to 100 feet tall from thick buttressed trunks. The foliage is wonderfully soft, presenting different tones throughout the year, and the needles very closely resemble those of the Dawn's close relative, California's Coast Redwood. The largest Dawn Redwood tops 160 feet tall with a trunk approximately seven feet across - in stature and form very like California's redwoods, but smaller. Unlike the famous California Redwoods, Dawn Redwoods are deciduous, shedding their needles each fall and sending out bright new growth each spring. Dawn Redwoods are very cold hardy, easily handling temperatures into the -20°'s F. They can grow successfully in diverse settings and situations, but thrive best in full sun and moist soils. They are a good candidate for bonsai, amenable to pruning and shaping.