Yes, there is a giant redwood, although it's not quite a giant yet. This Sequoiadendron giganteum, or giant redwood, stands right by the entrance to the Children's Garden. It's a very nice tree, but don’t expect to see a tree hundreds of feet tall. This one is a baby, and it grows really really slooooowly.

There is a small grove of dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) in the Benenson Ornamental Conifer collection as well. You'll find this collection on the far side of the Garden near the Nolen Greenhouse. These dawn-redwoods were  grown from seed obtained in 1948, the first year this living fossil was available outside of China, where it had been discovered only a few years before. A close relative of bald-cypress, dawn-redwood is a deciduous and loses its needles each autumn. We also have a dwarf dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Bonsai', growing in the Rock Garden.

If you are thinking of growing a redwood, you might want to consider the bald-cypress. It might be a better choice since it is native to the southeastern US. It can handle the hot summers here in the Northeast. The redwoods come from northern California, which is typically cooler.

Both trees are deciduous and become sort of coppery bronze in the fall. They both can grow to be very large trees with a very wide spread, so you will need to have a large property to accommodate either of them.

For tips on a variety of gardening topics, see our Plant Information Guides.
- Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service