Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Dawn Redwood Bonsai bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Dawn Redwood Bonsai, Living Fossil Tree (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).

More about dawn redwood bonsai

About Dawn Redwood Bonsai

Metasequoia glyptostroboides · also called Dawn Redwood Bonsai, Living Fossil Tree · flowering

Dawn Redwood is a fast-growing deciduous conifer — a 'living fossil' once known only from fossils — grown as bonsai for its feathery foliage, fluted trunk, and vivid autumn colour. Unusually for a conifer it sheds its needles each winter. An outdoor tree, it loves full sun and abundant water, tolerating wetter soil than most conifers.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Mistaken for dead in winter: Being deciduous, it drops all needles and looks bare and lifeless from late autumn to spring — this is normal dormancy, not death. Keep it cool and lightly watered until bud break.

The reasons dawn redwood bonsai isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming dawn redwood bonsai traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding dawn redwood bonsai a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get dawn redwood bonsai to flower

Maximise sun. Give dawn redwood bonsai the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for dawn redwood bonsai and get the feeding right with the dawn redwood bonsai fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Dawn Redwood Bonsai flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full dawn redwood bonsai care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Dawn Redwood Bonsai blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my dawn redwood bonsai flower?

Dawn Redwood Bonsai blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make dawn redwood bonsai bloom?

Give dawn redwood bonsai the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does dawn redwood bonsai normally bloom?