Metasequoia glyptostroboides Gold Rush - Dawn Redwood

Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Gold Rush' is a beautiful Japanese selection with golden foliage, also known as Water Fir or Chinese Sequoia. This large deciduous conifer develops very bright light-yellow foliage in spring, turning yellow-green in summer, then golden, before turning russet in autumn. Growing more slowly, it also has less significant growth than the type, which allows it to be adopted in a medium-sized garden. It is not lacking in appeal in winter, when it exposes its cracked reddish-brown bark. Offer it a prime location, plenty of light, and moist soil. 

Metasequoia glyptostroboides, cousin of the Sequoiadendron, is a large conifer of the Cupressaceae family. It originates from China, more precisely from the west of the Sichuan province, where it was only discovered in 1941. It is the only surviving species of a very ancient genus, dating back to the Cretaceous period, simultaneous with the extinction of terrestrial dinosaurs and the beginning of an ice age. Its species name, glyptostroboides, refers to the cone-shaped fruits (strobili), which are very similar to cypress fruits. In its natural environment, under good conditions, it will reach a height of 40m (131ft) with a spread of 10m (33ft), and develop a conical and erect habit, sometimes almost columnar. This species shows very rapid growth in moist soil. It appreciates temperate climates as well as marshy, non-calcareous soils.

The cultivar 'Gold Rush' was, at the time of its introduction in Japan, named 'Ogon'. It has a more modest-size, with much slower growth and curiously yellow foliage, particularly in spring and late summer. It develops a ribbed trunk at the base, covered with a cracked reddish-brown bark. In our gardens, the tree will reach an average height of 15m (49ft) with a spread of 5m (16ft) at maturity. Its branches are arranged in an opposite manner and spread out into long persistent stems that themselves bear short deciduous branchlets. The deciduous leaves are arranged in two opposite rows, along a common axis and on the same plane. They are linear, 8 to 15cm (3 to 6in) long and 1 to 2mm (1in) wide, flexible, flattened, and pale-yellow in spring. They darken slightly in summer, turn bright yellow in late summer, then take on various shades of russet and copper before falling. Flowering occurs on mature individuals. The inflorescences are globose, scaly and pedunculated cones, measuring 2 to 3cm (1in) in diameter.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Gold Rush' is perfect in a garden large enough to accommodate it. If the conditions are met, it will be an exceptional tree, which will make the gardener who plants it proud. It can be planted as a focal point, or as a hedge, by a watercourse, or on the outskirts of the countryside, placed in front of a curtain of Phyllostachys bambusoides, the giant bamboo. Such a tall tree requires a solid base; its location should be carefully chosen, in deep soil and in a well-exposed position. It requires little or no maintenance after the first few years and goes well with other large conifers with autumn foliage such as Larch or Bald Cypress. The sculptural qualities of conifers naturally impose themselves in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes and textures to the fleeting appearance of flowers. This one, with its beautiful structure and twisted trunk on mature subjects, loses none of its majesty in winter.