Bald Cypress Back Budding?

reefed419

Sapling
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Hello Growers,
I am very new to bonsai and found a nice bald cypress at the local Lowe's. However the lowest branches are at least 4' from the ground. I am wondering how much of a drastic cut back is needed to get back budding lower on the trunk? Any insight would be great. Thanks
 

JudyB

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BC back bud rather well. What you should do is determine the height of the tree you want, and take into consideration how fat the trunk is so you can have a good proportion to height. I lopped mine off where I wanted the height To be and carved from there. It back budded like crazy. There are lots of BC growers here, I'm sure they can give you better help than me.

I would not do the cutting now, going into winter, better to wait till winter is over.
 

sikadelic

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They backbud very easily. As Judy mentioned, wait until next Spring to chop it to prevent it from dying back.

Feel free to post some pics if you feel like it. I have never seen them at my local lowes so I am curious to see what they look like.
 

Wee

Chumono
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They have some at one of the Lowe's I frequent....Tall and slender with trunks around the size of a golfball.,,,They were about $20. I found some really nice ones at a nursery close to the office while I was looking for my BSC entry....Not cheap $89 for a 15 gallon and $149 for 30 gallon....I didn't buy because I figured it was the wrong time of year to chop them I had no way to get it home unless I chopped it.

I figured seeing them at that one Lowe's was just a fluke...I'm interested in seeing pics as well.

Brian
 

JudyB

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Reefed, you should update your profile, so we know where on earth you are.

If the base of the tree doesn't have any significant size compared to the place you will chop (creating taper from bottom to top) you'll want to grow this out in the ground for a couple years or at least a large tub. Or you'll wind up with a phone pole tree. Maybe some pics?
 

reefed419

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I updated my info on this site. I will try to post pics tomorrow if I get the chance to get over there. The tree was about 10-15 feet tall, and looked to be in about a 10-15 gallon pot. Priced at $79.98 I believe. trunks were pretty straight so would need to be in the ground for a few years, but figured if I chopped and started working on getting lower branches and getting them strong, I might save a little time. Sounds like spring is the time to chop.
 

edprocoat

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I bought one a few years ago at a Lowes in Apopka Fl. , they had a bin full for $29 each. They had 3 to 4 inch wide trunk bases and pencil thick roots from 2 to as far as 6 inches up from the soil growing down into the root bound pot. I bought one that had lower roots and cut the pot in half and chopped it at 11 inches. Two weeks later my other BC started to bud out and within a week it had growth all over it, the Lowes one never sprouted at all. I got back to that store about a month later, I was hoping to get another as I feared I killed it with the work I done. They were gone so I told the guy I wanted to get another one as mine died and he said " Just bring it back in with the receipt, all those were dead and we are offering refunds or another tree of the same value. " Naturally I never kept the receipt knowing the guarantee would not have worked bringing in an 11" stump that was once an 8 foot tree ....

ed
 

Zach Smith

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Hello Growers,
I am very new to bonsai and found a nice bald cypress at the local Lowe's. However the lowest branches are at least 4' from the ground. I am wondering how much of a drastic cut back is needed to get back budding lower on the trunk? Any insight would be great. Thanks
You'll get back-budding up and down the trunk forever, which is awesome in the beginning and annoying later on. The ability to pretty much choose where you want branches is one of the things that makes BC about the best deciduous bonsai subject there is.

Zach
 

DougB

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you might get a head start by buying from someone who specializes in BC and there are several. One I have dealt with and will again is Sunbright Bonsai http://www.bigbonsaitrees.com/default.asp. John Geanangel in SC also occasionally has some collected trees. And check out his exceptional videos on YouTube.
 

reefed419

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you might get a head start by buying from someone who specializes in BC and there are several. One I have dealt with and will again is Sunbright Bonsai http://www.bigbonsaitrees.com/default.asp. John Geanangel in SC also occasionally has some collected trees. And check out his exceptional videos on YouTube.

Thank you for the site. This looks like a better deal then what I might get at the local Lowe's. I will have to check out what shipping would be for a couple of these trees.
 

sikadelic

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Look around for freshwater ponds/lakes in your area. You may be able to collect one much nicer than you could ever afford. Just some food for thought!
 
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