Advice on Bald Cypress Forest Spacing

[jstef]

Hey everyone,

I just received a Bald Cypress forest from Wigert's and I’m super excited to get started with it! The trees are currently planted very close together, and I’m a little unsure about how best to handle the spacing. My current plan is to leave them as-is through the summer to let them settle in and grow. Then, once winter hits and they go dormant, I’m thinking of carefully separating the roots and spreading the trees out a bit more to give them better spacing long-term. Has anyone done something similar? I'm a little worried about leaving them so close together. Should I try to separate sooner? Is there anything I should watch out for when it comes time to separate the roots?

I’d love to hear any tips or suggestions you all might have!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Shibui]

Separating is entirely up to you but if this was mine I would.
Each trunk will slowly thicken - on all sides. They will not move further apart by themselves so eventually you'll have a clump style tree with a single thick base and several upright trunks.

No real problem separating trees from a cluster. It's something we do all the time with seedlings and cuttings grown in community trays. The roots are likely to be entwined so you may need to cut some roots to get them apart but BC tolerate quite severe root reduction so I would not hesitate to do it.
I've had best results by removing as much soil mix as practical by shaking combing or washing. Then take hold of trunks and pull. Push and pull seems to work better than a single sustained pull if that makes sense. Keep trying different trunks as some will separate easier than others. Each one that comes out will make it easier for the others to separate so keep working different trunks to gradually unlock the tangle. If cutting a root or some roots is required the do it.