its hard to believe.. but this is a conifer that losses its leaves ... go figure on that .... they grow like weed in my z5 .... but get hit hard by late hard frosts in spring.. sometimes losing all its spring growth 2 or three times each spring ... but always coming back.. and growing aggressively ... frankly this is one hardy tree ... in my z 5 ... and if resin says its OK in z4 .. so be it.. find something else to worry about ... leaf fall is normal ... ken

well.. if you already see damage.. then i guess the odds are high ... that you will have damage .... beyond that.. i dont know what you want us to tell you ... mother nature is a cruel mistress ... keep your fingers crossed.. make a sacrifice to the pagan dawn redwood gods.. and good luck .... i had one.. that for 5 years straight .... got blasted.. twice a spring by frost/freeze [completely denuded of growth] .... and grew bigger than its twin sister [which never frosted].. 6 feet higher on the hill ... then the main trunk died at 3 feet ..... no clue if related to frost issues ... and its still bigger than the other from new growth .... if plain old.. plain old... [not some foo foo cultivar derivative] .... you are going to have a hard time killing the thing ... and a little cold weather isnt going to do much to it ... other than make it not look pretty soon enough in spring ... ken

i wouldnt go scratching around on something this small .... just give them time ... i have two ... one is about 5 feet lower down the hill than the other ... the lowest being near the lowest part of the yard ... they were 4 footers when planted ... now both are about 15 ... the lower one get frosted once or twice per year ... the intervening 2 or 3 weeks before releaf is maddening.. and they surely look dead ... but they always bounce back ... one would think the higher one.. which only gets frosted every other year or so .. would be significantly bigger.. yet it remains the smaller .... in my pure sand... i tend to think the lower one gets more water to the roots in rain storms... than the one higher on the hill ... who knows ... i am sure they are seedlings.. so the growth rate difference could be genetic.. who knows.. just give them another month ... good luck ken

Okie, I like your plantings! Metasequoia is one of my favorites. I agree with Dax your tree looks pretty good. Heck, the grass sneaking up to the trunk looks plenty green even! My Metasequoia is similar size and has some interior branch browning/foliage loss presumably due to shade, some Japanese Beetle damage. How long has yours been in the ground and what part of the country are you in? Mine was put in as a foot tall Arbor Day special six, seven, eight years ago, whatever it was. Last month was really hot and dry for St Louis. Some Acer Palmatums and my yard seemed to want watered. I decided to drag out the sprinklers for about forty five minutes or so once a week. I never really focused on the Metasequoia but I made sure the grass outside its drip line got watered.