I have been debating on wether or not to buy a mature bald cypress that I think will need some work or buy nursery stock to grow out and would like a few other perspectives.

The mature tree is 35 years old and was collected 8 years ago. It measures 43 inches tall and 9 inches in diameter. The hesitation with this tree comes from the fact that the trunk chop was never carved in an attempt to produce taper in the trunk. The chop was done at an angle, but is still a blunt cut. In addition, the leader is not even straight up, it is at probably a 45 degree angle from the trunk. It doesn't appear to have had much training with any of the branches either.

The nursery stock are in 5 gallon containers. The average height of the 1/2 dozen they have is 7-8 feet tall, and 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter.

The mature tree is $320.00 + $215.00 shipping and the nursery stock are $39.99 each and a 240 mile drive one way.

What are some of the pros and cons of each in your opinion? Is the mature tree even worth what they are asking if it needs work?

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Terri

Here is a picture of the front of the tree and a side view of the trunk chop. Sorry that it is a little bit fuzzy. That is they way it was sent to me.

Attached Images

cypress.jpg (68.1 KB, 275 views)

215 shipping. Wow. That is a bundle. Can I pick c) none of the above? I don't know where Herald is, but if you can swing a plane ticket or gas money in lieu of that $215 shipping, I would get myself invited on a dig and collect a few of these things.

A collected tree is absolutely the way to go for a specimen Bald Cypress. From garden center material you could get a forest going in a decade or so, but, when there are 50-100 year old trees out there waiting for you for the price of a club membership and a saw, I'd say, go for it.

P.S. That is a clumsy trunk chop. The tree might be worth a couple hundred bucks delivered, but that is too much as a total.

Regards,

Matt

Thanks for the reply Matt. Going collecting would be GREAT!! I would most certainly LOVE to go collecting. Just not sure how to go about that or who to ask. Any opinions on that would be most appreciated!

IMO, the only reason to use young bald cypress would be for a forest planting. If you would like to make a forest planting, then this would be the way to go.

For a single tree, collected material is the best way to go for this species. Like Matt said, I do not know where Herald is, so I am not able to tell if you are in a close location to collect them. If you are living close to them, the time to collect is in the winter.

The tree that you have shown is nice, but not worth the $535 price tag. Jim Smith is selling a bald cypress for $400 which is much more developed and I will gurantee that the trunk chop is good. Here is the link to the page- http://www.jimsmithbonsai.com/New_D...INTREE%2094.htm . His homepage can be found at www.jimsmithbonsai.com. His shippping prices will be much lower also.

Thanks charles. I saw that one a few nights ago and was looking for it last night with no luck. I will certainly contact him about that tree. I think that collecting one of my own woudl be my first choice though. If anyone can tell me what clubs I might be able to look into that go collecting, that would be great!

The price naturally depends on where you live and the local availability of the tree in question.
Best I can give you is a guess based on where I live. And from what I can see in the pictures you have supplied.
The tree in the picture to me are no where worth the asking price. One similar to them would sell for around $50 -$75 each. Here at least. The cuts seem to be quite amateurish. Not worth trying to save. If the price on them was a bit better ( a lot better actually) and you got them you would still have to re-top them and start all over again.
It would be just as fast and a lot cheaper to get nursery stock and do the work yourself.
So if it were me, given the choices you mentioned I would go for the nursery stock. But drive there to get it. Select something worthwhile to work with. That $215 in shipping charges will more than likely pay for the trip. And maybe lunch also.
Hope that helps. I hate to be negative but I also hate to see anyone waste their money on substandard junk.

I'd also watch out about buying trees that were covered in so many weeds. No telling what you will get with that guy. Even the background of the photo is loaded with weeds!

Chris

You could start out by contacting one of the major clubs in the area. I don't know if you're closer to Texas or Louisiana, but some of the clubs have sites with posted newsletters and activities like auction and dig events:

A place to start:

GNOBS <-- Double click

Thanks Ron and Chris. I tend to agree with both of you. But since I am new to all this I thought it best to get a few more experienced opinions.