Flowers of Hungary as seen along the route
Metasequoia tree
Galleywood common

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

It's a tree ! We grew our first one in 1975 and then another one in 1978, which is the one in the two large images down below, as seen Feb and June 2005.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides in winter with no foliage

In winter with no leaves

Metasequoia glyptostroboides foliage detail showing the leaves

Summer foliage.

The metasequoia glyptostroboides tree has a reddish coloured tapering conical trunk and delicate branches which spiral, slightly - very unusual. The trunk also has a twisted appearance.

The foliage is lovely, coming out fresh each spring in bright green and fluttering in the wind. In the autumn is turn a beautiful brown before all the leaves fall. This is good as it brightens up the garden in winter and also reduces the chances of it being blown down in high winter winds.

Good links:

http://www.botanik.uni-bonn.de/conifers/cu/me/

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cjwillia/meta.html

Metasequoia glyptostroboides in summer with leaves

In summer with leaves

In the winter of 1005/2005 we noticed for the first time that there were a hundred or so small spherical cones with a spiral construction. These fell down and I put them in a cardboard box and rattled them from time to time. In May, I stared pulling the cones to bits and extracted all the seeds I could find. There were hundreds. The seeds are brown about 0.5mm, each at the centre of a thin brown disk about 3mm diameter.

I mixed the seeds with a little sand and added water so they got well soaked for 24 hours. I then put them in the fridge for one day and then in the freezer for 2 weeks. After taking them out I put then across the top of a small seed tray for two weeks. They were buried in sand/peat about 5mm deep. It was quite cool. Then the weather warmed up and it got quite hot in the conservatory with the sun shining in. After 10 days in the warm, suddenly about 25 shoots appeared.

Big disappointment - when they reached about 2 inches high I realised they were just weeds.
None of the Metasequoia seeds had germinated at all !

See images below..

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides germination

First single shoot about half inch long.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides seedling - second leaf appearing

Two leaves showing with larger one curling over a bit.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides seedling - now with three leaves - star appearance

Now with three leaves, approaching one inch long.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides seedling - now with six leaves

15th July. Many now with six leaves. BAD NEWS - THEY ARE ALL WEEDS

We have seen many of these trees growing at the Keukenhof gardens in Holland while on cycling and barge tours in Holland and by the warm Gyogyfurdo thermal spa pool at Hévíz on our cycle tour in Hungary from Vienna to Budapest via Lake Balaton.

► Page created 3 July 2005, amended 30 June 2008 Eric Johnston