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I finally saw a mature dawn redwood in person at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Honestly, I'd only ever seen pictures in books and they never did it justice. The trunk base was easily 8 feet across with these huge, fluted buttress roots. What got me was the bark, it was this deep reddish brown with long, stringy fibers peeling off, totally different from our local pines. Has anyone else worked on one of these and know if the wood is as soft as it looks?
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ryan_clark402mo ago
Worked on one trimming back some storm damage a few years ago. The wood is even softer than it looks, almost like a cross between redwood and balsa, cuts like butter with a sharp saw. You'll want to be REAL careful if you're climbing or doing any removals because the bark can peel off in big sheets and leave you with zero grip. The sap has a weird spicy smell too, not like pine at all, more like cedar mixed with some kind of incense. Great tree to work on though, just steady yourself and don't trust the foot holds too much on the trunk.
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reese864mo ago
Remember reading they were thought to be extinct until found in China. Makes seeing one feel like spotting a dinosaur.
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