Seeds: when the cones are fully formed and beginning to fall from the tree. Brent Walston of Evergreen Gardenworks (
blog and
website) says to use an ethanol soak for about 15 minutes to get a good yield from the seeds.
Re The chop: BC are perfect candidates. These trees are pretty resilient so you shouldnt worry too much about hurting them. You could work the roots and the chop at the same time. If you don't need a whole lot more caliper then I'd recommend leaving it in the pot (or a pot) to start working on taper. Look up Guy Guidry and see what his techniques are with Bald Cypress. Theres a procedure that he uses (I believe) that involves breaking the top as opposed to chopping it, and "tearing" off to the back to achieve some taper. Like I said, look at what he's doing and you'll see just how inadequate my words are.
Good luck,
Wayne F.