The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina undoubtedly features some of the tallest and largest Metasequoias in the southeast, which is surprising because of the relatively mountainous climate in which it is located. This 426 acre arboretum is located in Asheville, North Carolina in the southern Appalachian Mountains. While the idea of having an arboretum in the area was planted as early as 1898, the site was not officially established as the North Carolina Arboretum until 1986. In that year, a site in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest was established, and in 1989 the site was officially named as the North Carolina Arboretum. Since 1986 it has been affiliated with the University of North Carolina system. The arboretum features many trails, a bonsai collection, a holly garden, a stream garden, and many other gardens.

This site is very interesting because of its climactic conditions. Located in the middle of the Central Appalachian broadleaf forest, it is the only site in my research in the middle of this ecosystem. The garden seems to be in an unusual valley area in the Appalachians, as my maps indicate. It is on the fringe of a lot of climactic areas. It is on the northern edge of Hardiness Zone 7, a more tropical zone, and the Southern edge of Hardiness Zone 6, a more temperate zone.

What is most incredible are the wind and precipitation numbers in the area. Asheville is surrounded on all sides by very windy areas because it is in the mountains. Yet Asheville itself seems to be located in some sort of valley with low winds. This makes sense because Metasequoias do not grow well in areas with high winds. Further proof that Asheville is located in an unusual climactic valley are the precipitation numbers. Precipitation in Asheville is generally average, yet if you travel southeast 15 or 30 minutes, you wind up in areas with more than twice as much annual precipitation, again probably because of the mountains. The dominant soil orders are Inceptisols and Ultisols.