Dawn Redwood?

[Patrick NC]

I'm getting ready to take this tree down on a jobsite. 

 
 Google says it's a Dawn Redwood.  Anybody ever sawed one? 

[Texas Ranger]

Probably, maybe, could be,

[Patrick NC]

This site was a nursery for 35 years that dealt with a lot of different kinds of ornamental trees

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

Never heard of it but I would not let the opportunity slide by me!! Brian

[moodnacreek]

I will take all I can get. Very soft, I would say non structural.  Good for mantel pieces like in log cabin style construction etc.  Can be sawed thick and will dry and become very light in weight. Heartwood will turn dark burnt red with age. Sap wood will stain if not sawn soon.

[Patrick NC]

 

 

 

 
Looks like it has some character. Probably cut a bunch of mantles and see how they turn out

[Patrick NC]

These are the cones that came off it.

 

[Ianab]

Dawn Redwood can be confused with bald cypress, but if you check the leaves / needles, DW will be opposite on the twig. Bald cypress will be alternating on each side. 

And the cones are DW for sure

[moodnacreek]

The first time I got dawn delivered here I looked it up and it came out cypress but cypress does not grow here. It was supposed to be white cedar but the growth rings where so far apart. when I cut the large butt log off I thought it was rotten it is so soft. These trees can grow large in a very short period of time, like 20 years.

[Ianab]

These trees can grow large in a very short period of time, like 20 years

Yes the wide growth rings in the pictures are typical. They are most closely related to true Redwoods, but don't grow quite as big. The largest specimen in the US is over 6ft dbh now, and was only planted in 1948. Before that the tree was thought to be extinct, and only known from fossil remains. But living trees were found in a small area in China, seeds collected and it's now a common specimen tree in many parts of the World. Still endangered in the wild though. 

This is the largest one I know  about here in NZ, at a local public garden. It's 28m tall and over 1.6m dbh. It also must have been planted sometime after 1948
https://register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/711

[Southside]

Pretty sure @Poquo has sawn some. I may have dried some for him too, can't remember, he gets unique stuff like that.  

[Poquo]

Very soft and light weight once dried. Here's a picture of a small table, I attached a piece of plywood to bottom where post is worried the wood is so soft the screws would pull out if someone lifted it from the top.

 

[Patrick NC]

Very nice. Does it dry pretty stable,  or should I saw it thick and expect to resaw it once it's dry?

[Poquo]

The one that I have cut dried fairly flat except the center board cracked down the middle like an Oak.