Bald Cypress Beginner Advice & Progress Thread

[jkennedy2316]

I walk nearly every day in the National Arboretum near my place. There are so many amazing groups of bald cypress. The cultivar is quickly becoming one of my favorites with the added bonus of a personal connection. I don't know why I even write this part, who is it for? XD

I scored an amazing collected BC from fellow nutter Cajunrider. I am stuck between styling the large collected BC as a flat top or a forest planting. My concern is that it is so large that a forest would only work if I got similar sized trunks.

I purchased two smaller ones with interesting movement. In my head I was imagining a "grandfather of the forest" with the big one flanked by smaller trees. Are these too dissimilar in proprtion for that to work?

I live in Washington DC, 8A. Its getting cold. Do I need to take additional winterization steps than what I've already done?

 

[johng]

It doesn't look like your big tree is much larger than the main tree in the group I posted here. IMO it is certainly within size to make a group with. Personally, I generally like the trunks in the groves I create to have similar character but that doesn't mean they have to...only you have to like it. It looks to me as if your winter protection is good. If you are going to get super low temps (say teens or lower) and your trees aren't buried in snow, I might consider temporarily moving them to an unheated space unitl the temps normalize.

 

[19Mateo83]

Take a look at @johng ‘s recent visit to three sisters swamp in eastern NC. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/a...-bald-cypress-inspiration.67092/#post-1160036
You can see the sizes there where some ancient ones were spared the ax back in the 1800’s. John did a great job at showing the new forest structure and the young cypress growing among the ancients ones.

 

[rockm]

You’re good on winter protection. I’ve had bc bonsai for 25+ years here in No Va. La collected trees tend to be hardier than Fla trees here. I’ve had both. The Fla trees died off over their first five years here. Below is one of my bc (its n the middle) in winter storage

Trickiest time for them is in early spring. Late frost and freezes after very warm spells that make them lush new foliage are dangerous to deadly. Once green bumps develop on branches and trunks a late hard freeze can kill the tree. I learned the hard way
Also agree that trees with similar characteristics work best in groups. Forest trees weather things alongside one another and dramatically differences in trunks don’t develop

 

[jkennedy2316]

Take a look at @johng ‘s recent visit to three sisters swamp in eastern NC. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/a...-bald-cypress-inspiration.67092/#post-1160036
You can see the sizes there where some ancient ones were spared the ax back in the 1800’s. John did a great job at showing the new forest structure and the young cypress growing among the ancients ones.

Amazing thread thanks for clueing me in on it. The knees on some of those trees... wow.

The world is small but the bonsai one smaller.... Last night I watched a guest lecture from Randy Bennett on BCs. Had to double take when I saw his face again in @johng's pic.

 

[jkennedy2316]

Points well taken. Not often in my nascent bonsai research I'm being steered away from trunk movement, but I appreciate and agree with the points made.

 

[jkennedy2316]

You’re good on winter protection. I’ve had bc bonsai for 25+ years here in No Va. La collected trees tend to be hardier than Fla trees here. I’ve had both. The Fla trees died off over their first five years here. Below is one of my bc (its n the middle) in winter storage

Trickiest time for them is in early spring. Late frost and freezes after very warm spells that make them lush new foliage are dangerous to deadly. Once green bumps develop on branches and trunks a late hard freeze can kill the tree. I learned the hard way
Also agree that trees with similar characteristics work best in groups. Forest trees weather things alongside one another and dramatically differences in trunks don’t develop

Unless this the one burst of snow we got last year - I can't remember this much snow in the area for a good long while.

 

[rockm]

That’s from a few years back I’ve had that bc for going on 30 years here