I don't know how the zone 9 will effect the winter dormancy, but how to grow it is to plant it in the ground outside in the sunshine. It will grow or die, not much else you can do unless this is for a bonsai or something.

-Has it always been in the greenhouse, or did you move it there?

-Zone 9... is this a very hot summer desert zone 9 or a mild California zone 9? Florida zone 9?

-Problems may stem from it being in a pot, the soil, and/or being in a greenhouse.

-The tips of the branches is new growth, new growth will be lighter in color.

Zone 9 in what part of the world?

he's also asking about the lighter tips ...

i think it looks kind of normal ... i would do nothing about it.. other than maintain proper water ...

ken

what i mean.. is unlike a lot of other conifers which only have one push per growing season ... maybe this is a secondary push .. and the growth has just not greened up all the way ...

if that is correct.. then any reaction by you.. may not be good ... just observe...imo...

ken

It a Mississippi zone 9. Since I got it, it has been in the greenhouse. These tips werent that color a week ago. This spring when it was sprouting buds they were never that pale.

Dawn Redwoods first push out the needles, but doesn't initially grow new wood growth... then into summer the tree grows new branches until autumn, and yes, the new growth is a lighter green which darkens over time.

I don't think there is anything wrong except you need wind, sun, and rain for the tree to grow normally... otherwise the tree will be rather weak and limp.

What the others said. Get it out of the greenhouse. It should be fine in the ground in Miss.

I also agree that it looks pretty fine. I have a 8+ ft dawn redwood in southern Alabama (z8b/9a) that is probably pretty similar conditions. It's been alive for about three years now and is taking off in growth this summer. Mainly, they may need supplemental watering if your soil is sandy and there is any extended dry period in the summer. Also, if you have a warm winter (like last winter), it may be slow to leaf out in the spring. Seems to need at least some sustained level of cold to fully reset for spring growth, and I've heard they can be more difficult much further south than north Florida.

Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice. I would plant it in ground but I'm using it for bonsai. I want the trunk a little thicker. Also the soil ph is 7.

Also I'm only 20miles from the Gulf of Mexico

Eric, I think it will do fine in Mississippi as your average precipitation and humidity are high enough..., despite the heat. If you get into drought, it will need supplemental watering until established. My ground planted one has grown AMAZINGLY fast here in NJ. (I think my eventual goal is to establish a grove of them.--I also have a half dozen in pots. LOL!)

I don't think that have neutral soil pH (7.0) is an issue either. The one thing that they ARE intolerant of, is SALT (so not a tree for the shore)!

After searching a few sites, I see that some limit their upper zone to 8, but a lot others end it with Zone 9. (Monrovia says up to 11, but I don't buy that. I would not expect them to succeed from zone 10 up..., anywhere without some 'Winter' weather..., albeit limited in some areas._ They have quite a versatile range for a non-native tree (at least non-native in modern times). I have seen them grown as fine specimens into Bar Harbor (northern Maine coast), and apparently they continue on into Nova Scotia, Canada. So, about an approximate range of 1,000 miles as the crow flies.

Good luck!

Maybe somebody has personal experience with a Dawn Redwood bonsai... but to get the trunk and branches to grow properly I think you need the tree to be outside in some of the wind, sun, and rain. This is not a very good houseplant.

No matter what it will be outside. I understand new growth won't be a vibrate green but the paleness I'm having is receding towards the branch and no longer new growth

My guess is that your greenhouse covering is shading your DR causing lighter needle color. If you do put it out, expose it to full sun GRADUALLY, otherwise the strong Mississippi sun will burn it to a crisp.

The high soil temperature of being in a pot in the South may also be making it unhappy. The Gulf region has been pretty warm this summer, particularly with high night temps. That can induce photorespiration in the plants, meaning they are burning more food than they can produce. This is one of the main reasons northern conifers end up dying in the south. Dawn redwood seems to handle it better, but if the soil is >85 degrees or so most of the time...

I've noticed some of my conifer seedlings suffering in the heat, but improving once I managed to shade their soil and pots a little better. You could even bury the pot a little in the greenhouse.

how did you shade your pots and not the tree? I'm using a 5 gallon bucket. I'm thinking rapping the bucket in tinfoil

We are growing them here at Leu Gardens in Orlando, zone 9b/10a. They grow well here but much slower than further north. The first one we planted was put in about 20 years ago. It was a 5 gal. specimen about 3ft tall. Today it is around 15ft.

Here they need moist soil, they have no drought tolerance on our sandy soil. They also seem to grow better as young specimens in bright shade or dappled light under high canopy, at least in summer afternoons with the intense sun. Ones planted in sun tend to get burn on the foliage edges in summer.

The only other specimens I have seen planted around here are at Disney's Animak Kingdom in the prehistoric garden adjacent to the Dinosaur ride. Same with Ginkgo. We have nice Ginkgos growing here along with a bunch of dwarf cultivars.

If you can keep the sun from directly hitting the sides of the pot (e.g., putting other pots around it) that can help. Also, if you can shade the top of the soil (I've used mesh suspended above the soil). This doesn't really keep the soil cool, but it can help keep the temperature from baking. Remember that even in hot climates, naturally, the sun can only hit the soil from above, not from all the sides like in a pot.

Tinfoil might work.....

I have a couple in pots. I keep them mostly in the shade. They grow slower and don't need watered as much.

Hey!

Hard to tell from the photo but are those seedlings in that first photo Bald Cypress?

No it's a 5 yr old dawn redwood.

Also now my shoots are starting to turn a brownish orange. Is that just how it looks when turning into a branch? And paleness is getting worse. Slowly introducing it to being outside. From what I remember their wasn't many feeding roots. I believe someone said its burning more food than it can produce. Would adding a balenced organic fertilizer help?

Now that I see a clear picture I am more certain it is a bald cypress. Bald cypress have alternative needles.. Dawn redwood have opposite needles.. Overall though, it looks pretty healthy.. Cheers!

I am a bit confused too.

Taxo_man is correct though, if the leaves are alternate..., it is definitely BALD CYPRESS..., if opposite, definitely Dawn Red.

Once trees get larger, it is earlier to tell them apart based on other characteristics, but on little trees, this does work to distinguish them. Your first photo does seem to be alternate (therefore, BC), but your second photo seems less clear. Regardless, BOTH trees LOVE WATER and it would be nearly IMPOSSIBLE to overwater either in the Summer heat. If you feel your trees are stressed regardless of cause, DO NOT FEED THEM.

I trusted the vendor I purchased it from so I never looked that close. But you're right it is a bald cypress.

Good catch thank you

For what it's worth, pretty much this whole discussion still applies, and bald cypress make fine bonsai as well. And the shoots turning orange may just be the wood seasoning and hardening off. If you are wanting a dawn redwood, you can grow them pretty easy from seed and they get big fast (I have some over a foot tall that were seedlings this spring). If you know of a mature coning specimen (college campuses usually have a few), snag some fallen cones in the late winter. Get a lot. The seeds are mostly unviable, but you get a lot of seeds per cone. Germinate in baggies and transplant out. Damping off can be a problem, but you'll probably have more seedlings than you know what to do with if you got enough seeds.

There isn't many redwoods around here so finding them wood be difficult. I would probably have to purchase them.

For what its worth, I bought some trees from https://www.giant-sequoia.com/ last year, including a dawn redwood. Decently priced, shipping not too bad. Need to be repotted ASAP because they are shipped in growing tubes.