It is around 5 years old, 8’ tall and has a bare area of several feet on its trunk, as well as a bad lean. Any advice would be much appreciated. It is in Rhode Island. There doesn’t seem to be an option to attach a photo.
First thought was not enough water … I did some checking and found this site “Dawn Redwood Growing Profile” – The Spruce … and this suggests maybe it’s too cold in Rhode Island as well …
Is the soil acid enough, are there spider mites on it? … is there a local agriculture extension office near you? …
ETA: Welcome to the SDMB … enjoy your stay …
The lean is something you should correct, using guy lines and stakes.
From the description I was expecting to see signs of deer browsing, but the area lacking bark in that photo looks pretty smooth to be browsing damage. So there may be a cultural problem of some sort.
If the lean is detracting from the tree’s appearance, you may be able to cut off the leader and select one of the sprouts below the cut to be the new leader, removing the rest after they’ve started to grow strongly. An alternate idea would be to dig up the tree and replant to correct the lean, using support stakes until it’s re-rooted.
Rhode Island certainly shouldn’t be too cold for these trees, which are hardy into USDA zone 4.
You wouldn’t be the same Mike who posted about a leaning DR on GardenWeb a couple of years ago?