CYPRESS
- Thread starter August44
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rockm
Spuds Moyogi
FWIW, I've found that Bald Cypress tend to be more vigorous and hardy than pond cypress, particularly those originating in Louisiana. Fla. collected BC and pond cypress don't seem to be as winter hardy as La. BC. I've overwintered both kinds side by side. Pond cypress eventually declined and died over a few winters, while La. BC didn't seem to care about winter all that much (although in the last few years, unpredictable weather has impacted them, like all of my trees overwintered outdoors.)
All this really depends on what you have available and who you're getting them from. Also FWIW, Height doesn't really matter all that much. A large percentage of larger BC are collected and reduced to around those heights initially. Doesn't mean that's how tall they will be as bonsai (further reduction is typically done down the road) also doesn't really have much bearing on health of the collected tree. What is more important is nebari and trunk diameter at ground level and the amount of taper in the shortest space. Some collected trees can look like telephone poles, others have wide buttressed bases which are preferable.
Another thing to note is that I've noticed that almost all the Fla. collected BC I've seen tend to look like they've cross-bred with pond cypress. They have the awl-shaped foliage of pond cypress, while more northern collected BC (SC, NC, Texas and La.) have feather shaped leaves. Sometimes individual trees can push both kinds.
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Well Bald Cypress it will be then. Obviously I have to buy on-line as non around here. I will have to protect in the winter a bit, but I do that with a lot of trees anyway. Tough to get a nursery to show me what the lower trunk looks like. For some reason they say they can't do that. I don't want to pay for a nice tree and then get a stick with no branching low down and no nebari. Help appreciated.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Don't worry about no low branching. Believe me, it won't be a problem. BC backbud prolifically when pruned and chopped. Any topped tree will likely push hundreds of buds below the chop that can be developed into branching. What you should pay attention to is the nebari--the wider, the better. If you want an optimal BC for bonsai, ask around here. I'd bet you'd come up with something. Nurseries can be funny about stuff. I got a pretty nice, 20 foot tall BC with a 7 inch nebari from a nursery. It was $100 bucks, as it was a containerized plant that had grown out of thecontainer and into the ground.
I told the salesperson I wanted to buy it. He called over six guys to dig it out for me. As they were digging I mentioned that I was going to make a bonsai out of it by chopping the top 16 feet off of it. The salesman said "you know that will void the health warranty?" I said well, yeah...He then said they dug and chopped landscape trees pretty regularly for customers doing bonsai. "This bald cypress ain't gonna care about it. It will be fine."
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
As prolific as bald cypress are in budding and forming branches, developing branches is not really a problem. Nebari development is not that big of a deal either since BCs throw roots like there is no tomorrow when in the right growing environment. However the big buttresses that some people really usually don't come easy unless you buy a big collected BC with buttresses already there.
You make it sound like I'm looking for a girlfriend.
I'll take one!
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
I like big buttresses and I cannot lie.You make it sound like I'm looking for a girlfriend.
What say you on building a buttress on a smaller tree that does not have one? Can that be done or do I have to purchase yamadori that has one already?
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Other experts on BCs @johng @Sekibonsai @Mellow Mullet etc. may want to chime in on this. My limited experience shows that we can build a really good root flare quickly but the buttresses that widen the base of the BC and run a long way up the trunk are hard to develop. I haven't seen any sign of such development on my BC prebonsai.
You can build radial roots for sure but I've rarely, if ever, seen fluting on container grown trees... The fluting requires that the roots really extend... not my photos but this is how fluting, and knees, develop naturally. These photos are from a lake in Texas...maybe Lake Caddo??
Here is a seedling that was container grown for nearly 30 years...great radial spread but absolutely zero fluting. No long roots, no fluting... my photos
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
That settles it.
I may like buttresses but I cannot grow!
Still a very nice tree without fluting! Thanks for all the info. You are a big help!
Thanks, and it certainly is a very nice tree that was grown by a friend of mine...just recently came into my possession. It desperately needed repotting...zero soil in the pot...solid wood and roots. I am going to give it one more growing season to get healthy again and I will do some drastic work to it.
And what fertilizer routine do you use on these if I can ask? I read somewhere that they need "rich" soil.
I use a quailty potting soil from the time of collection until I am ready to start refinement. At that point I use a more standard bonsai soil or straight akadama. I don't use any special fertilizers....just a liquid every other week in the growing season and Osmocote plus once or twice a growing season. In my neck of the woods the main pest is root aphids. I used to use ant killer for those but have had to up my efforts to a twice a year root soil soak in malathion....as a side note, don't spray new leaves with malathion!
The potting soil contains fertilizer?
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
The primary reason bald cypress are collected is for an established buttressed root base. I also have never seen decent buttressing on completely container grown BC. Buttressing is built by unrestrained root run, which isn't easy in a container.
BTW, the way BC develop buttressing in the wild is variable, and can be shaped by local environment. Water depth has a lot to do with it. For instance the trees pictured from Lake Caddo are typical of BC growing submerged in shallower water (the water level in Lake Caddo is very low in those photos probably because of drought--have relatives living nearby, so been there a few times). The water level typically covers up to where the knees on the roots begin. In deeper constantly submerged conditions, the root flare can make trunks bottle shaped....
Bald cypress are unique trees and have many interesting characteristics. If you can find an affordable copy, the book "Baldcypress: The Tree Unique, The Wood Eternal" is very much worth having.
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where I’m located in South Carolina, the bottle-shaped bases are pond cypress here and I completely agree with you, Rockm, that they are only about one half as hardy and vigorous as bald cypress. Another very interesting observation, at least to me
, is that in South Carolina and I suspect the rest of the SouthEast, Pond cypress are only found in Carolina Bays. Whereas, Bald Cypress are found along the rivers, lakes and swampy areas attached to rivers and lakes. I have yet to find any areas where both grow.
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rockm
Spuds Moyogi
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