bald cypress design???

evelitalian

bought this b.c. last week at a bonsai nurserie.they had it marked for $100.00,after an hour of talking to the owner , he sold it to me for 40.00.its been in the training pot for over a year.its height at the trunk chop is 30", the base is about 3-4". my question is, how tall do i want the top branches to grow?as you can see they have already been pruned. do i want to keep it close to the heght it is now ? close to the trunk chop?what can i do to encourage more growth on the lower trunk.the pot is 14"round,how long should i keep it in this pot.any suggestions are appreciated.

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Ralph

Just my opinion fwiw, this trunk doesn't not have a lot of taper to it, but you can still work with this. Instead of looking to grow branches lower, I think you want to work with what you have, it appears the intent was to develop this into the classic flat top style for this species ala Vaughn Banting.

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robert1955

If your not in a big hurry, to get a better taper, you could put it in the ground or like I do, I put them in a large pot or growing box. Grow them for two or three years like that and see what you get. I've got about eight good size ones and twenty or more smaller ones in different stages. Good luck with it, there a lot of fun those baldies.


Peace
Bob


Oh yea, I have one that has a knee.

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Aaron_K

I agree with the above. The tree does lack taper for its height. Personally, I'd be tempted to either plant it in the ground or put it in a big training pot for a few years to get some girth.

All the best,

Aaron

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sauce

Do some searching and look at other BC bonsai to get an idea of what you want your tree to be. The flat top style which Ralph spoke of is an old mature tree and there are usually no lower branches, all of the branching and foliage is at the top of the tree. Low branches indicate a young or juvenile tree. Then again BC develop very nice tapered and fluted bases when aged in the ground or a grow box as Bob and Aaron said. It is a matter of what you want your tree to look like. Look at some pictures of other BCs and decide where you want to go with it. You can keep it in the pot and develop the top or plant it out and develop the trunk.

TimZ8

Don't worry about the branches. Put it inthe ground or a large training pot and remove the branches. New branches will pop this spring and you can pick the ones you want. If you don't like the placement, cut them all off next year and start over. Cypress will pop leaves all over if healthy so don't worry about working with the branches you have.

rschlafer

So why don't you wait till spring when it starts to pop leaves to see if it is healthy?

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badlad52

I will have to say that one of the most important things I learned upon being introduced to bonsai, is patience. This tree really looks like a juvenile, so needs some good, uninterrupted growing for a while. I personally would trunk chop it, too, upon the growth of lower branches. There are ways to do "the chop" that don't hinder the appearance of the tree. Also, BC lend themselves well to VERY formal upright, and untill it takes on a more aged appearance (i.e. bark, good nebari, etc.), that is the direction I would take it...

Hope this helps a little!

Lad

evelitalian

thanks guys,alot of info to think about.but if i were to chop it ,its 30" to the original chop now.how much should i take off? also i did look at the one b.c. from "vaughn banting" that trunk is pretty slender! wonder what the age is on that? it looks good though.thanks.