Bald Cypress

Redwood Ryan

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Hey all.

I am looking for seeds or live Bald Cypress trees. I can trade seeds I have for the trees/seeds you have, or I can pay for them. Thanks so much!

BTW, the size of the tree(s) doesn't matter. I'm just looking for some I can bonsai. And I wanted to ask here instead of going to an online site.


Ryan
 

johng

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Have you considered collecting as a option? Virginia is a big state but I am sure you can find somewhere to collect some BC trees...

Here is one I collected this week...:)
P1120347.jpg

So maybe you don't have to go for anything this big but there is a great big world out there and you don't necessarily have to start from seed!

Good Luck!!
John
 
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rockm

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Collection is not easy here. BC is not that common here in No. Va. We're at the Northern end of its range. There are stands of BC in Maryland and even up into Delaware, but most trees are in protected parkland.

The closest place to find them in any abundance is in the Tidewater, down in Suffolk, New Kent, King and Queen counties and extreme southeast Va. A lot the swampland down that way, however, is also protected or owned by the military.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncEIf.shtml


Not saying collection can't be done, just that it will take some homework on where you can find a landowner with some to collect.

The more expedient thing to do would be to invest in a larger nursery stock tree, plant it in the ground for five years or so and wait. This will give you a 10-15 year jump on growing from seeds. Seeds can also be a problem depending on where they came from. Fla. BC are very different in hardiness than La. or Texas trees. Seedlings from Fla. stock may not be cold hardy enough to survive our winters in ground.
 

johng

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The more expedient thing to do would be to invest in a larger nursery stock tree, plant it in the ground for five years or so and wait. This will give you a 10-15 year jump on growing from seeds.

Expedient??? hardly...but you can virtually guarantee that a tree acquired from nursery stock will lack any character that would lead it toward becoming any thing more than an average bonsai.

Ryan...Here is a counter suggestion to Rock's 5 year plan to start working on a tree... Save your money on the nursery stock and the seeds...invest instead in a weekend drive south...map a course that will let you visit some of the coastal rivers and lakes in NC and SC. Enjoy the natural trees...explore a little..take pictures and make drawings...visit some parks...be observant... Then, be inquisitive and friendly when you come across areas that have potential for collecting some young material. Collect several small trees. Take them home and get comfortable growing and caring for them in your area. Make some mistakes...celebrate successes. After a couple of years of experience you will be ready to collect/purchase some material that can be developed into a reasonable bonsai.

I have always had the best experiences in bonsai when I am not afraid to take a little risk and have some adventure. I can't argue with Rock's advice over what you are currently doing, but there are certainly other more interesting and exciting ways for a newbie to go about this hobby other than just buying a tree and sticking it in the ground for the next 5 years.

just saying...
John
 

rockm

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"Expedient??? hardly...but you can virtually guarantee that a tree acquired from nursery stock will lack any character that would lead it toward becoming any thing more than an average bonsai."

Simply not true. If you work with nursery stock in ground, you can definitely develop character in the trunk. I've seen it done here in Va. to great effect in five years or even less, depending on the quality of the stock used.

Investing $100 in a nursery stock tree is about what you'd spend in gas to get to and from an undetermined somewhere in N.C. If the trip is multiple days, then you're also talking about room and board expense--which isn't free, unless you have a friend to stay with. All this doesn't take into account the time and effort involved in actually getting a tree out of the ground--which would include finding a site, getting permission to dig on that site and then digging the tree up all in one trip...
 
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