Info on lemon cypress

[0soyoung]

Your tastes are refined. I like that, but
I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT POP!!!! visually.

The foliage is a WOW for me. This ought to light it up, make it jaw dropping.

It does have a touch of 'in-your-face' doing this.
But so does making a bonsai of one of these.


I think.

... just the statement I would make (were it mine and were I able to make pots like ABCarve can)

 

[BonjourBonsai]

MAKE IT POP

Like lemon zinger! I like it!

 

[ABCarve]

OK.......Here's the new spring look. This is a very odd plant. It was in the old pot for 3 growing seasons and nary put on any roots. If it wasn't such a vigorous grower I would have thought this thing was dying from root rot. Did not have to root prune and was a little challenging getting hold of roots to tie it in. A huge waste of soil!! I really wish someone with more experience with these would chime in. I was reading a thread by @Eric Schrader and saw the scaled foliage on his is beautiful. That tree is what inspire me to fool with this. Lemons are the only ones available here.
Excuse the shaggy look, I'm gonna wait till it's vigorous to prune and style. @Osoyoung purple enough for you?

 

[Hartinez]

OK.......Here's the new spring look. This is a very odd plant. It was in the old pot for 3 growing seasons and nary put on any roots. If it wasn't such a vigorous grower I would have thought this thing was dying from root rot. Did not have to root prune and was a little challenging getting hold of roots to tie it in. A huge waste of soil!! I really wish someone with more experience with these would chime in. I was reading a thread by @Eric Schrader and saw the scaled foliage on his is beautiful. That tree is what inspire me to fool with this. Lemons are the only ones available here.
Excuse the shaggy look, I'm gonna wait till it's vigorous to prune and style. @Osoyoung purple enough for you?

View attachment 358795

The fact that you’ve made lemonade out of this tree is inspiring. Love what you’ve made of it. now that you’ve got, lavender and Rosemary (I think?) also looking amazing is a testament to your vision and commitment to the art!

 

[ABCarve]

The fact that you’ve made lemonade out of this tree is inspiring. Love what you’ve made of it. now that you’ve got, lavender and Rosemary (I think?) also looking amazing is a testament to your vision and commitment to the art!

Thank you!! I really enjoy foolin' with material that doesn't get fooled with much. My contrary nature.... You may enjoy this one if you're into herbs.

Bay Tree?

This is a bay tree grown entirely in a very large clay pot. It was given to me when it was about 8 ft. high a few years ago. Last spring I chopped it down and wedge cut the right branch close to the trunk to pull it down. The some of leaves are starting to reduce well (#3 pic) on that branch...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[ABCarve]

Its good, but I'd go more for a deep purple (i.e., exact digital complement of that lime green foliage).


I know just the guy to make one

 

[penumbra]

I think it looks fabulous and you have done a great job. Let me be clear. Was the plant kept outside? Somewhere I got the idea that it was not hardy here but preferred zone 7 or so.

 

[ABCarve]

I think it looks fabulous and you have done a great job. Let me be clear. Was the plant kept outside? Somewhere I got the idea that it was not hardy here but preferred zone 7 or so.

Thank you! it is kept inside.

 

[penumbra]

Thank you! it is kept inside.

Aha! Guess I will go ahead and try one.

 

[SilverShoe99]

@ABCarve - can you tell me more about the substrate you're using for this tree? What did it just come out of that didn't seem to stimulate much root growth? Did you plant it back into a similar mix, or did you change it up somehow?

I'm in the same boat as you in terms of information...I've got four Monterey Cypress on the go (two of this cultivar, and two "regular" non-cultivar) and I'm at a total loss for how to move 'em forward.

 

[ABCarve]

@ABCarve - can you tell me more about the substrate you're using for this tree? What did it just come out of that didn't seem to stimulate much root growth? Did you plant it back into a similar mix, or did you change it up somehow?

I'm in the same boat as you in terms of information...I've got four Monterey Cypress on the go (two of this cultivar, and two "regular" non-cultivar) and I'm at a total loss for how to move 'em forward.

It came out of Akadama/pumice/growstone 1/1/1. I've used Growstone (expanded glass) as a replacement for lava. They don't make it anymore so I'm using black lava. It's in a drier mix now. Less akadama more lava. It seems the area around the nebari never dries out even when it's hot and dry. This get full hot sun. The no root growth thing may just be a growth habit of the species (sheer speculation). The tree is plenty healthy and crazy vigorous during the growing season. They don't seem to back bud on old wood and wiring is really touchy on newer growth. Older wood is flexible but easy to blow out a crouch if you try to move it too much. The mature scaled growth almost looks like shimpaku but not as dense. I can only hope mine turns mature over time.

 

[CliffracerX]

OK.......Here's the new spring look. This is a very odd plant. It was in the old pot for 3 growing seasons and nary put on any roots. If it wasn't such a vigorous grower I would have thought this thing was dying from root rot. Did not have to root prune and was a little challenging getting hold of roots to tie it in. A huge waste of soil!! I really wish someone with more experience with these would chime in. I was reading a thread by @Eric Schrader and saw the scaled foliage on his is beautiful. That tree is what inspire me to fool with this. Lemons are the only ones available here.
Excuse the shaggy look, I'm gonna wait till it's vigorous to prune and style. @Osoyoung purple enough for you?

View attachment 358795

I've had this thread Watched for some time now, you've done some amazing & incredibly inspiring work with this tree. Glad to see it's still alive and kicking to this day, and appreciate that you've been documenting the process - getting info on these guys has been tricky, let alone for bonsai purposes. If I can get my hands on one for a decent price, I'll probably take a whack at training one myself - that foliage pops in a way very few cypress/pine/etc species do for me, and it really seems able to strike the balance of idealism and age that I like best in the Mame-Shohnin range, not to mention bonus points for being sub-tropical; I prefer things that can stay indoors overwinter since it means more time spent appreciating them when things are otherwise dreary.

That in mind, I am curious - what's your growth setup for it when overwintering? Growth lights are a given, but I'm curious to know if it needs additional humidity or the likes as well, haven't been able to find much data about that yet.

 

[ABCarve]

Quasi-greenhouse. Didn’t use lights until I started foolin’ with orchids. Lights from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Got plenty of natural light but it’s filtered so artificial fills in the spectrum. 55 F nights and 65 F days. Humidity fairly steady at 40.

 

[penumbra]

Quasi-greenhouse. Didn’t use lights until I started foolin’ with orchids. Lights from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Got plenty of natural light but it’s filtered so artificial fills in the spectrum. 55 F nights and 65 F days. Humidity fairly steady at 40.

View attachment 358826

That is truly a sweet spot with all the snow around it. I want to live in there next winter. What is the rent?

 

[darryl1]

I almost bought

OK.......Here's the new spring look. This is a very odd plant. It was in the old pot for 3 growing seasons and nary put on any roots. If it wasn't such a vigorous grower I would have thought this thing was dying from root rot. Did not have to root prune and was a little challenging getting hold of roots to tie it in. A huge waste of soil!! I really wish someone with more experience with these would chime in. I was reading a thread by @Eric Schrader and saw the scaled foliage on his is beautiful. That tree is what inspire me to fool with this. Lemons are the only ones available here.
Excuse the shaggy look, I'm gonna wait till it's vigorous to prune and style. @Osoyoung purple enough for you?

View attachment 358795

I almost bought a lemon cypress at a nursery yesterday. Loved the color, but the branches seemed too flexible and I didn't think it would make a good bonsai. This pic changed my mind. I'm going to have to go back and see if it's still there tomorrow.