Ideas for bald cypress

[Tbrshou]

Want to purchase this bald cypress and make it a shohin but everything I picture just doesn't seem right to me. Any ideas?

 

[19Mateo83]

Damn nice base! Is it a named cultivar of BC?

 

[Tbrshou]

No that I saw just a regular bald cypress its at a regular plant nursery put it on hold till tomorrow

 

[19Mateo83]

@Cajunrider & @johng are the resident BC experts. They may have some good recommendations. Personally I would get it. You don’t see many with that much movement that low.

 

[eugenev2]

Want to purchase this bald cypress and make it a shohin but everything I picture just doesn't seem right to me. Any ideas?

By no means a bald cypress expert, but personally i think those two branches are too thick in relation to the trunk, especially if a shonin sized tree.
Personally i would cut down to just after the first branch and grow the first branch as the new leader for a year or two. If it grows anything like mine, this "branch" will be or almost be as thick as the rest of the trunk, which should make the taper change less dramatic. During this time i would attempt to encourage the lower buds that i see to form branches, taking care to not let them thicken up too quickly.

One possibility is the below

Or possibly apply above and wire the new leader across for a more classic style

There is another more slanting style on the other side, but i prefer the above two possibilities .

Now to se what the pro's say

 

[eugenev2]

First picture, not sure why it didn't post first time round

 

[Cajunrider]

First picture, not sure why it didn't post first time round

I am no pro but this will work nicely to me. Don’t worry too much about the branches. Chop it where you see the trunk movement and taper ends.
My first chop is at the black line. 2-3 months from now the blue line. Dunk the pot to 1” below the current soil line and put a tiny bit of bark over the top roots. They will swell to a nice base. You can put it in a shohin pot later. Do it now it will be hard to get a nice base.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I will say...having a small bald cypress. That it pushes hard with upper growth. Keeping the top in check on a small stature tree. For me, I found very challenging. Which is why I ended up cutting everything off and changing plans to do weeping. It's far easier to keep in check...for myself anyways.

First few years it took me to understand...I couldn't keep up with that upper growth. While worrying...where the balance was to ensure I kept it strong and healthy.

Tree is 9 1/2 inches tall while dormant.

 

[rockm]

Shohin sized BC are not easy. As Cadillac noted, the species is EXTREMELY apically dominant. I have am constantly having to reduce and slow down the apex branching on my old BC bonsai (which I've had over 25 years). Inverse taper happens quickly with branches that pop after a trunk chop. As the years go by, you have to remove and/or re-create the apex a number of times. The smaller the tree, I'd think that issue would be even more pronounced.

 

[Tbrshou]

So overall I'm seeing the outcome possibilities that you all for that. After doing a little digging and reading your replies bald cypress are very strong apical growers and honestly the movement just seems a bit out of reality for me. I'm still gonna purchase the tree as it's priced cheaper due to the movement and plant nurseries tend to value straight trunks. Slowly work on it and maybe it grows on me

 

[Cadillactaste]

I actually enjoy the species. Don't get me wrong. It's in my top 4 favorite trees I own. It just took me a bit of time to understand it.

I don't do cookie cutter trees...so it's trunkline to me. Is worthwhile.