bald cypress design???

JavaScottC

evel,
Since you're italian, i'll let you in on a secret...ok, woulda anyhow. BC's like to be kept wet, from spring, once frost chances are past, to fall, before frost comes back. I keep my pot in a 2 1/2 inch oversize tray, and keep it filled with water. Every couple days, dump the water so you don't start colonizing mosquitoes, but you'll see how it takes off. You can also lop off all those branches, like Tim suggested. Heres a pic of mine in the spring. You have your pick every year, but for taper, I let the top apex grow free. So I'd suggest repotting it in something that can stay in water 24/7 during the growing time in your area. Fertilize, and have fun.

Scott

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badlad52

I actually have some of these going now, bought as 3 year seedlings from Musser Forest. They were about 3.5-4 ft. tall, and quite spindly (perhaps an inch to inch 1/2 at the root junction). They've been in the ground since last spring, when they were chopped down to 2-3 inches (depending upon where that all important lowest branch appeared...). The cool thing is that they all put on 8-10 inches of growth during the last season, and because of the technique used to chop them, there is barely any noticeable cut left. I plan to allow another 2-3 feet of growth, before I chop again to 2-3 inches, and lift to prune the roots directly below the trunk, etc., and repeat this as many times as needed untill they are as tall as I want them (some will be shorter than others...).

The idea is to develop good taper, and strong nabari, and I like to get that done long before I begin to develop the branches (although I am mindful of where they need to stay for the future). You will hopefully begin to develop a trunk which is somewhat triangular or square in cross section, and will greatly enhance the future appearance of the tree. That's why I'm "waiting, waiting, waiting!"

A neighbor a couple houses down recently cut a HUGE BC (actually in his yard! I'm from Montana originally...) down to a stump (blocking his view) and is pruning it into a big round pom-pom (just to give you some idea of how much these trees can take).

sauce

Just curious could you share your trunk chop technique? Is it the same technique that is on bonsai4me.com? I'm curious also as to why you would continue to cut it back to "2-3 inches" unless you are buttressing the base. Wouldn't you get much better taper by continuously chopping higher?

badlad52

Gosh, I looked on that site and can't find what you were refering to, so I'll explain what I'm talking about briefly, and you can let me know if I need to go more in depth.

Basically, when doing the chop, do it at a sharp angle WITH the branch you intend to use as the new leader, and take off as much wood (without going into the bounds of what the branch requires) as is required to actually bend the top of the TRUNK with the new leader, so that the new leader sits somewhat on top of the old trunk, on center.

And sorry, that was a misthought on my part about going to 2-3 inches. What I meant was to cut the trunk back to 2-3 inches from its PRIOR cut. Hope this clarifies a little, though I'm known for having poor communication skills!!!

LinK

http://www.bonsaisite.com/chopping.html
Do you use this technique? Would you post a photo of how it looks right now??

rockm

Glad the guy let it go for $40. I'm surprised the seller was asking that much for such a young tree...That's about what it's worth. I have purchased larger BC with more butress in the roots for half that at landscape nurseries in Texas.

Anyway, I would avoid going for the "Flattop" style as a beginning BC bonsaiist. That style takes some finesse in creating a believable canopy. I would plant the tree out in the yard for at least two years and aim for a more traditional pyramidal design. BC aren't worth having as bonsai without the tremendous root buttress they can develop. Nice rootage is the whole point of keeping BC as bonsai. They don't really develop it until they're five or six years old. They will not develop it in a container as quickly.

Plant the tree out. Let it grow for two years, three would be even better. Inthe meantime, get the Craig Coussins book "Bonsai School" It has an entire chapter written by Gary Marchal--a premier BC bonsaiist--on how to trunk chop and design this species, including not only effective ratios of height to trunk width, but also style variations, how to trunk chop--specifics on chop angles and how to best achieve them, etc.

And, for what it's worth, do not keep the tree submerged in water--as bonsai, or as a landscape tree. You will slow its development, not speed it up. BC live in standing water because they CAN, not because they prefer it. Sure they love water, but they don't require that much. The assumption that submerging a bonsai BC in a tub of water "helps" it in the growing season is simply wrong. Study after study by Southern U.S. universities on this tree have concluded that it grows best in seasonally flooded (usually in Autumn for a couple of weeks or so), or in partially drained locations, not in submerged locations.

This preference can be addressed in bonsai cultivation by using a more moisture retaining soil, 70 percent organic (composted pine bark or other) to 30 percent grit. BC bonsaiists in La. no longer submerge their trees in the summer. I have also stopped the practice after seeing that the treatment causes earlier leaf drop and stressed foliage in the summer--as the tub of water can actually parboil the roots if it gets really hot and the tub is in the sun--which is where the tree should be most of the time. Moving the tree to the shade causes lanky, lax growth.

John Dixon

I posted this a few months ago:

http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthr...referrerid=1743

The bald cypress subject in that thread is a prime example of what unrestricted growth can do to thicken a trunk - although in that case it was not planned. The biggest one was less than 1" thick when planted as part of a small group. it over-took the pot and sent roots out in a koi pond/bog. Now it exceeds four inches and has a decent nebari starting. It was probably 14' tall though.

Your b.c. needs to be grown for a while. No reason why you can't start training the branch structure, but a sacrifice leader has to be grown out the apex. Later on, it will be removed, but for now it will greatly influence the thickening of the trunk. The removal of the leader will be a prime consideration in the future styling of the bonsai. Done wrong, it will be very hard to make it a "convincing" specimen, but done correctly, the taper will be outstanding. For now, put it in a grow box or the ground. You will see great growth in 3-5 years.

But if you just can't wait, work on it and get experience. A wonderful attribute of bald cypress is its ability to bud back. If in later years you aren't satisfied, you can basically start over.

Good luck,

John

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John Dixon

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bwaynef

Re: BC's affinity towards water... I agree with Rock's sentiment exactly. Check evergreen's page on BC. You'll see that they're also drought hardy. These trees are simply tough as nails. Keeping them submerged is not necessary. I've seen scientific research (somewhere, but it was from *.edu) that stated BC grow more quickly in dry ground than submerged. People usually ignore this when I tell them though.

WF

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Sterling

would a BC be ok in the Southern California climate? Zone 9ish?