Dawn Redwoods at Kew Gardens

A few weeks ago, while in the UK, I made sure to stop by at Kew Gardens to see their redwoods. They really had an impressive collection of sequoias, coast, and dawn redwoods. Unfortunately, I forgot to see their wollemi pine.

Seeds Tough to Sprout

Very good news (for a tree nut)...

Of my two-hundred dawn redwood seeds, I finally had a second germination in one of my seed/soil baggies. In a few days, when some green starts to show, I'll plant the new sprout and upload a photo. In the meantime, I'm not going to wait around for another -- I just ordered five-hundred more seeds from a different vendor to try a shotgun approach :) Even with a low germination rate, I should get a few sprouts out of the bunch. And, just for one last insurance policy, I'm also going to try to get some seeds from a local arboretum.

I don't know why these seeds are so stubborn...

Seed #1 - A Very Sad Sprout (But Getting Better)

About a week ago, I left my only dawn redwood seedling out on my deck... Just long enough for my dog to eat it. After a cooling off period, I put the tree back under the lights and hoped for the best. About half of the stem and one seed leaf seemed intact - a few secondary leaves were barely hanging on.

I guess I was too upset to snap a photo at the time, but after that week long rehab, this little guy is starting to grow a new shoot! The last remaining seed leaf is starting to wither, but it looks like the new shoot is already off to a good start. Once the dying part of the stem falls off, this shoot should take over, and all should be well.

Seed #1 - Transplant

This seedling was ready for transplanting, so I moved it into a six-inch pot with a well-drained soil mixture, consisting of:

• cheap potting soil
• vermiculite
• perlite
  
• sphagnum peat moss
• sand (just a bit)

Seed #1 - First Branches

Three weeks ago, I setup some grow lights for my seedlings. Since then, my only dawn redwood seedling has doubled in size, and has grown its first two branches. This is very good news - once seedlings make it this far, they have a much better chance of surviving.