Bald Cypress Top Chop

[Shankapotomus]

Hi everyone! I have my first Bald Cypress and I think it’s beautiful. I’m not sure how old it is, but it has a natural knee already. I want to clean it’s top up a little and I’m not sure where to make the cut. It’s nicely proportioned right now with height and foliage in my opinion, but I’m open to suggestions. I’m new to this and don’t want to kill my tree

 

[Lutonian]

I would let it thicken for a bit then chop. don't worry about killing it I have one in the uk and its beast of a tree. It takes root work well, buds from being chopped back to a stump and freezes solid in the winter with no issues. Its a good choice for a beginner. If you are going to start building a bonsai as it is now remove branches that grow from the same place as others to stop lump forming. I cant offer much help on development as mine has just been grown out for 3 years and chopped once. Search bald cypress in the search bar on this forum and there are lots of great threads and progressions.

 

[Shankapotomus]

I would let it thicken for a bit then chop. don't worry about killing it I have one in the uk and its beast of a tree. It takes root work well, buds from being chopped back to a stump and freezes solid in the winter with no issues. Its a good choice for a beginner. If you are going to start building a bonsai as it is now remove branches that grow from the same place as others to stop lump forming. I cant offer much help on development as mine has just been grown out for 3 years and chopped once. Search bald cypress in the search bar on this forum and there are lots of great threads and progressions.

Thank you for the reassurance that the tree is durable! I’ve been hesitant with my trees still.

 

[Lutonian]

Thank you for the reassurance that the tree is durable! I’ve been hesitant with my trees still.

As a beginner I was reluctant to cut my tree or repot too then I went the other way to hard to much to fast. I will take time to learn how much you can do to a tree. We all kill trees even the japanese masters kill trees. But you have pick a robust tree that should thrive in your area with enough water so it should make things easier for you. Have fun enjoy the journey that's the most important thing

 

[HENDO]

Nice starter BC to have some fun with.

I wouldn't spend time trying to thicken it - just get another piece of material with good flare/buttressing for that, if that's what you want. Have fun with what you have here first.

For this BC it's not a good time to do any major chopping or profiling. Wait until next Feb-March.

Your current chop site already has some very unfavorable reverse taper due to leaving multiple shoots in that location. Next Spring, re-chop flat just underneath the start of the current reverse taper, wait for your new potential leaders to appear and select one on the front side - eliminate the rest. You will let this new leader grow to 3/4 of the trunk width and then chop it a few inches up - repeat to develop your new apex. A year after your new flat chop if the area has started healing well, you can then perform an angle cut.

@Zach Smith has an awesome BC development guide which would be applicable to your tree.

 

[Shankapotomus]

As a beginner I was reluctant to cut my tree or repot too then I went the other way to hard to much to fast. I will take time to learn how much you can do to a tree. We all kill trees even the japanese masters kill trees. But you have pick a robust tree that should thrive in your area with enough water so it should make things easier for you. Have fun enjoy the journey that's the most important thing

It’s in

As a beginner I was reluctant to cut my tree or repot too then I went the other way to hard to much to fast. I will take time to learn how much you can do to a tree. We all kill trees even the japanese masters kill trees. But you have pick a robust tree that should thrive in your area with enough water so it should make things easier for you. Have fun enjoy the journey that's the most important thing

I have it in a 90% inorganic “soil” in a grow bag in a bucket of water. Once a day I take it out for a couple hours. It got a little sad when I repotted it, but it was pretty root bound

 

[Shankapotomus]

Nice starter BC to have some fun with.

I wouldn't spend time trying to thicken it - just get another piece of material with good flare/buttressing for that, if that's what you want. Have fun with what you have here first.

For this BC it's not a good time to do any major chopping or profiling. Wait until next Feb-March.

Your current chop site already has some very unfavorable reverse taper due to leaving multiple shoots in that location. Next Spring, re-chop flat just underneath the start of the current reverse taper, wait for your new potential leaders to appear and select one on the front side - eliminate the rest. You will let this new leader grow to 3/4 of the trunk width and then chop it a few inches up - repeat to develop your new apex. A year after your new flat chop if the area has started healing well, you can then perform an angle cut.

@Zach Smith has an awesome BC development guide which would be applicable to your tree.

Awesome! Thank you. I shall let it do it’s thing this summer then

 

[Sekibonsai]

As Hendo said... and if you can't keep up with the water demands put it in a mortar pan. It is already looking droopy in the one pic. And it unlikely that is a knee. The tree is too young and dobtful it has ever seen the requisite conditions; more like a bent back root...

Let it grow freely until you can get a clear view of the root base and select the front from that.

 

[Shankapotomus]

As Hendo said... and if you can't keep up with the water demands put it in a mortar pan. It is already looking droopy in the one pic. And it unlikely that is a knee. The tree is too young and dobtful it has ever seen the requisite conditions; more like a bent back root...

Let it grow freely until you can get a clear view of the root base and select the front from that.

It’s in a bucket of water in a grow bag with about a 90% inorganic “soil” mix. I take it out once a day for a couple hours. It looked sad in these pictures from being repotted the day before. It was very root bound. Here is a better picture of what I thought was a knee...

 

[Shankapotomus]

Duplicate post

 

[Sekibonsai]

It’s in a bucket of water in a grow bag with about a 90% inorganic “soil” mix. I take it out once a day for a couple hours. It looked sad in these pictures from being repotted the day before. It was very root bound. Here is a better picture of what I thought was a knee...

I just let the water level in mine fade down for a while then replenish to mimic the natural ebb and flow of the bayou levels.

 

[Sekibonsai]

in a mortar pan

 

[Shankapotomus]

I just let the water level in mine fade down for a while then replenish to mimic the natural ebb and flow of the bayou levels.

That’s what I was trying to mimic as well with a tide change type thing