TarheelTrees.com

Botanists had only ever seen it as a fossil. Then a forester noticed a strange tree by a roadside shrine.

In 1941 Japanese paleobotanist Shigeru Miki described a fossil conifer he named Metasequoia, assumed long gone. Three years later, Chinese forester T. Kan saw a living specimen in Modaoxi, Sichuan province, that local farmers called shui-sha or "water fir." Seeds were collected in 1947, and the Arnold Arboretum in Boston distributed them worldwide in 1948. Every dawn redwood in cultivation today traces back to that single grove.

What makes it stunning for fast-tree gardeners is the combination almost no other species offers. Deciduous like a maple, so it lets winter sun into the yard. Soft, feathery foliage that turns copper in fall. Tolerates clay, wet feet, urban pollution, and temperatures from minus 20 F to over 100 F. Grows straight up with a clean central leader, so it almost never needs structural pruning.

For a homeowner who wants real shade in a decade without the headaches of silver maple or the disease curve of hybrid poplar, dawn redwood is one of the few honest fast options. Plant it 20 feet from the house, water deeply once a week the first two summers, then leave it alone. By year 10 you will not believe what you paid for it. [6RZAS]