They like moist, but not badly-drained boggy sites. If the site is really wet, try Baldcypress, or Atlantic White Cypress if you want something evergreen.

Resin

I agree with Resin. I have about 20 of them planted in different situations, none in a bog. Genetically, they are set up for summer monsoons. They like summer water with good drainage. They can handle a surprising amount of dryness, but basically they are heavy water users. When I cut the branches, they wilt very fast for an evergreen. My local florist won't use them because of that.
Mike
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Thanks for the speedy replies. I have seen seeds for sale on Ebay, but the only place I know of for small trees is ForestFarm. Is that the best place to buy China Firs? How long does it take to get something big enough to set out if I start from seeds? My husband used the downed China Firs to build 2 arbors for my garden and they've lasted for nearly a decade in South Mississippi. I loved them. The cats would seek out their trunks as scratching posts too.Can't wait to have some again. Thanks again. :)

I've never grown them from seeds, just cuttings rooted in the Fall.
Buchholz & Buchholz also sells them. Wholesale only. Maybe you can have your local nursery order one from them for you.
They sprout from the trunk, even when cut down. Not common for evergreen trees.
In the picture shown below, a sprout is on the bottom right from a tree on the upper left.
Mike
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Did someone mention sprouting from the base? This is on a 40 year old tree grown from a cutting.

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Seed collected in Georgia/USA germinates readily.

The sprouting from the base is so reminiscent of coastal redwood. guess what, one of mine that leaned over/got pushed over, in turn, developed a row of trunks on the upper side of the downed original trunk -- just as seen on so many downed coastal redwoods in Northern California.

Denser crowned and deeper green in good soils and rainy summer climates.

Here's a partially downed coastal Redwood where some branches are going vertical. I have plenty of room there so I'm just going to let it 'do it's thing', and see what happens. I can always cut it down and then chose the best sprout from the stump to grow another tree. First I would have to remove the large native trees on one side of it that caused it to lean over in the first place and catch more ice than it could hold without tipping over. Those Acer macrophyllums cast a lot of shade.
Mike

I put mine near, but several feet above, a rill that always has at least a bit of water in it. So that once it is large, it will never have to seek water. It's growing well and had essentially no damage this winter. It is definitely at least a half zone hardier than Sequoia sempervirens.
Mike, how did that happen? Wind storm or snow storm? I thought you didn't have very serious ones of either in the PNW.

This post was edited by davidrt28 on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 13:44

We have the occasional strong windstorm and I, up in he foothills SE of Seattle see severe ice storms every few years that take branches and trees down. One ice storm a couple of years ago was so bad it took me two days to cut my way out of my 1/4 mile long driveway, and I can handle a chainsaw rather well. I heat my house exclusively with wood and I have a set of climbers. I use a chainsaw almost daily. I have lost power almost every winter and sometimes it's been over a week despite my power being underground the full length of my driveway.
Lower elevations closer to the salt water have milder temperatures, both in the winter and summer. I have less wind, but when I do it can be way stronger as it comes east through the mountain passes. Sorta like the Santa Ana winds in southern California.
We also get a lot of wet, heavy snow that can do a lot of damage. I have to prune accordingly and as my garden has aged, it's become more and more a priority.
Another factor is that I'm on a east facing bluff 500 ft above the valley floor. I'm exposed. ;-)
Notice the broken branches caused by ice on the Dawn Redwood that is just beginning to leaf out. Of all the pictures I've seen posted on this forum, I've never seen any broken branches on a Metasequoia. All 5 of mine have damage, including a Bald Cypress. I can get hammered.
Mike

Mike, thanks for the background.
Is your annual rainfall higher than Seattle's because of your 500 ft. elevation? To be sure I'm not mixing you up w/someone else, you have that beautiful large China Fir that's by a pond, right?

Yes, I have one on a small island in a pond. It's planted about 3ft. above the water. I have more that I also started from cuttings years ago.
From right to left; Cunninghamia l., 'Glauca', Abies procera, Ogon Dawn Redwood, and then normal species Dawn Redwood.
Mike
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A couple more. There's about 20 in my garden scattered all over and all started by cuttings a long time ago.
Mike
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