Bald Cypress - Best path forward?

[AcerAddict]

However, Vaughn Banting [...]

Wow...OK. You may have just completely changed my plans for this BC with the picture of that Banting tree. It doesn't sport the super-ultra-mega-fluted base that I see on so many BC bonsai, but I actually like the look of it a LOT, even though it's a flat top. Especially seeing it next to the fluted and tapered method and being able to compare the two. Now I'm not so sure I want to stick this tree in the ground anymore. Maybe a spring chop and repot is the way to go after all.

Gah, for every bit of great information y'all share, it creates even more difficult decisions for my mind to go through, LOL.

As far as a pot goes, how's this feed pan from Tractor Supply look as an option as opposed to me building a wooden box? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-feed-pan-7-gal

It's 22" in diameter and 6" deep. In comparison, 55 gallon rain drums have about a 22" outside diameter as well. The feed pan is definitely cheaper too, at just $11.

 

[Maiden69]

Here is a link to my BC progression. I followed the same procedures that @Mellow Mullet does to his BC, and the development of the trees in water is 10x if not more than the one in soil with escape roots. The bark in my 3 gallon BC started fissuring after a little over a week once I moved it into a bucket of water. I am keeping them in the water tub till we start hitting lower temps and I notice the tree moving into dormancy.

Bald Cypress group progression

I have 4 BC seedlings that I bought in March. They are all planted in inorganic soil, they do have 1/3" akadama, but that was not enough to keep them growing so I submerged the pots in water. I lost 2 to a hail storm. The other 3 are pictured here in order of time. The last one is a 1 gal tree I...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Cajunrider]

Wow...OK. You may have just completely changed my plans for this BC with the picture of that Banting tree. It doesn't sport the super-ultra-mega-fluted base that I see on so many BC bonsai, but I actually like the look of it a LOT, even though it's a flat top. Especially seeing it next to the fluted and tapered method and being able to compare the two. Now I'm not so sure I want to stick this tree in the ground anymore. Maybe a spring chop and repot is the way to go after all.

Gah, for every bit of great information y'all share, it creates even more difficult decisions for my mind to go through, LOL.

As far as a pot goes, how's this feed pan from Tractor Supply look as an option as opposed to me building a wooden box? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-feed-pan-7-gal

It's 22" in diameter and 6" deep. In comparison, 55 gallon rain drums have about a 22" outside diameter as well. The feed pan is definitely cheaper too, at just $11.

Down here I buy used plastic drum at $15 to $20 each and get two pots out of each drum from the top and bottom. I have used that Tractor Supply feed pan before. It is not as tough as they advertise but it will do what you want.
About the style, I am always attracted to the Banting tree style because that's what I see around me all day every day. Particularly after Laura and Delta hurricanes, there are lots of natural ones looking just like that. The only other thing I want is a slightly bigger base. I see BCs around me get big base fast when they are in unstable ground (swamp) and being push around by storms. They stabilize themselves by growing that big base.

 

[AcerAddict]

Here is a link to my BC progression.

Wow, that March-to-June growth was INSANE.

Down here I buy used plastic drum at $15 to $20 each and get two pots out of each drum from the top and bottom. I have used that Tractor Supply feed pan before. It is not as tough as they advertise but it will do what you want.

I'll look on Facebook Marketplace for some used ones then. The drums are no doubt made with thicker sidewalls than the feed pans are.

 

[Cajunrider]

Wow, that March-to-June growth was INSANE.


I'll look on Facebook Marketplace for some used ones then. The drums are no doubt made with thicker sidewalls than the feed pans are.

The drum usually comes in two colors of blue or white. The white ones are not as durable as the blue ones (less plasticizer used in the plastic to make them). The blue ones usually contains more plasticizer and are a little bit more sunlight resistant. Kept out of sunlight, they are the same. However, used as a pot in the sun, the blue ones last longer.

 

[penumbra]

I have found most feed pans to be very flexible and this is not a trait I much care for in a growing out pot. The exception is grow bags that are heeled in mulch or soil.
As the the dilemma of deciding which direction to go with you BC training, that is simple. Get another tree.

 

[Cajunrider]

I have found most feed pans to be very flexible and this is not a trait I much care for in a growing out pot. The exception is grow bags that are heeled in mulch or soil.
As the the dilemma of deciding which direction to go with you BC training, that is simple. Get another tree.

That is why I have two dozens of BCs.

 

[rockm]

Wow...OK. You may have just completely changed my plans for this BC with the picture of that Banting tree. It doesn't sport the super-ultra-mega-fluted base that I see on so many BC bonsai, but I actually like the look of it a LOT, even though it's a flat top. Especially seeing it next to the fluted and tapered method and being able to compare the two. Now I'm not so sure I want to stick this tree in the ground anymore. Maybe a spring chop and repot is the way to go after all.

Gah, for every bit of great information y'all share, it creates even more difficult decisions for my mind to go through, LOL.

As far as a pot goes, how's this feed pan from Tractor Supply look as an option as opposed to me building a wooden box? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-feed-pan-7-gal

It's 22" in diameter and 6" deep. In comparison, 55 gallon rain drums have about a 22" outside diameter as well. The feed pan is definitely cheaper too, at just $11.

FWIW, that Banting tree has had three consecutive trunk chops from what I've seen...I live near and see it up close...Vaughan did them skillfully, but they're there all up high.

 

[penumbra]

That is why I have two dozens of BCs.

I guess you do. They must grow like grass in your area.

 

[rockm]

Wow...OK. You may have just completely changed my plans for this BC with the picture of that Banting tree. It doesn't sport the super-ultra-mega-fluted base that I see on so many BC bonsai, but I actually like the look of it a LOT, even though it's a flat top. Especially seeing it next to the fluted and tapered method and being able to compare the two. Now I'm not so sure I want to stick this tree in the ground anymore. Maybe a spring chop and repot is the way to go after all.

Gah, for every bit of great information y'all share, it creates even more difficult decisions for my mind to go through, LOL.

As far as a pot goes, how's this feed pan from Tractor Supply look as an option as opposed to me building a wooden box? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-feed-pan-7-gal

It's 22" in diameter and 6" deep. In comparison, 55 gallon rain drums have about a 22" outside diameter as well. The feed pan is definitely cheaper too, at just $11.

As for the non-fluted base, well it's all a matter of scale. Flattops are supposed to be BIG massive trees but seen in a small space of the bonsai pot. In creating one in a bonsai pot, you are taking a "longer view" of the tree. Where a conical immature specimen is "up close," a flat top is "distant view." That means fluting and buttress can be smaller since, in essence the view is "standing farther away" in looking at the composition. Everything looks "smaller" from a distance. It's forced perspective...

 

[Cajunrider]

As for the non-fluted base, well it's all a matter of scale. Flattops are supposed to be BIG massive trees but seen in a small space of the bonsai pot. In creating one in a bonsai pot, you are taking a "longer view" of the tree. Where a conical immature specimen is "up close," a flat top is "distant view." That means fluting and buttress can be smaller since, in essence the view is "standing farther away" in looking at the composition. Everything looks "smaller" from a distance. It's forced perspective...

I have seen many smaller BCs down here with flat top. Practically every time a BC top is broken, you will get a flat top. I have seen it with BCs as short as 10 ft. The only difference is that, with older trees, the angle of the branches of the flat top are less acute. That to me is why Banting's flat top gives the appearance of an old huge BC.
PS: I aspire to get a fluted BC flat top. By growth or by digging in the swamp, I am going to get one with a fluted base.

 

[AcerAddict]

Everything looks "smaller" from a distance. It's forced perspective...

No doubt. Photography is yet another one of my hobbies, though I haven't participated in that one for a long time now. Portraits of people look far better when shot with a 200mm lens from 20 feet away as opposed to a 35mm lens from 3 feet away. Distance flattens the subject and makes it more appealing and natural looking to human eyes. That's why I hate "selfies" shot with a smartphone camera. Everyone's nose or chin looks big, while their ears or shoulders look tiny.

I have seen many smaller BCs down here with flat top. Practically every time a BC top is broken, you will get a flat top. I have seen it with BCs as short as 10 ft.

That's why I was thinking if mine were planted in the ground and a storm broke off the top, how cool that would look.

 

[Cajunrider]

I guess you do. They must grow like grass in your area.

Pretty much. I just pickup the cones around the neighborhood in November, put them in a cloth sack and beat them with a baseball bat, then toss them into a giant pot of compost in December. Come February I can pick them out and pot as many as I have pots.
PS: I wish I live in an area where I can do the same to JBP.

 

[Cajunrider]

No doubt. Photography is yet another one of my hobbies, though I haven't participated in that one for a long time now. Portraits of people look far better when shot with a 200mm lens from 20 feet away as opposed to a 35mm lens from 3 feet away. Distance flattens the subject and makes it more appealing and natural looking to human eyes. That's why I hate "selfies" shot with a smartphone camera. Everyone's nose or chin looks big, while their ears or shoulders look tiny.


That's why I was thinking if mine were planted in the ground and a storm broke off the top, how cool that would look.

That's why selfies are popular with the young. Everyone's boobs and pouted lips look big. Bahahaha.

 

[Maiden69]

I would suggest that you mount it on a tile/wood board on your first repot. Try to get it as close to the bottom of the tree as possible. That will push the roots out and improve your basal taper. I was able to move one of my trees into a tile a few weeks ago. I will move the other ones soon without disturbing the roots. I had no idea how fast the seedlings were going to grow once in water and they are pushing all the soil out the top of the pots right now.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Tractor Supply feed pans have become my favorite for large BC. I usually drill 3 holes around the bottom edge and make wooden plugs to hold water in for a month at a time. I then let them drain for a week and fill them back up.

Here is one that's already pretty good size ...... almost 10" across the base. This is 90% through only it's second season from a stump. The apex is just about finished. Oh, and almost pure organic soil is what we've found to work best in the growing stage.

 

[AcerAddict]

Tractor Supply feed pans have become my favorite for large BC. I usually drill 3 holes around the bottom edge and make wooden plugs to hold water in for a month at a time. I then let them drain for a week and fill them back up.

Great feedback and clear evidence of the TSC feed pans serving well for this purpose! I was planning to grab a couple on my next visit there to have for various other garden uses like mixing soil, so I'll snag an extra to set my BC into next spring.

Oh, and almost pure organic soil is what we've found to work best in the growing stage.

Yep, I read this many other places as well. With such a water-loving species, soil that retains tons of moisture is understandably best for rapid growth.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I haven't done it yet with these pans, but if you scuff a plastic pot down and paint it with a reddish-brown paint made for plastic, it makes a pretty good representation of a clay pot.

 

[AcerAddict]

I haven't done it yet with these pans, but if you scuff a plastic pot down and paint it with a reddish-brown paint made for plastic, it makes a pretty good representation of a clay pot.

This looks like a decent color option...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-FUSION-ALL-IN-ONE-Satin-Spiced-Amber-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-In-One-NET-WT-12-oz/1000460201

The other, far more expensive option is a mica pot, which costs $55 + shipping for the 21" x 14" x 6" oval size at Wigerts...

Mica Bonsai Pots – (OVA) Oval Series – Wigert’s Bonsai

 

[Maiden69]

This looks like a decent color option...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-FUSION-ALL-IN-ONE-Satin-Spiced-Amber-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-In-One-NET-WT-12-oz/1000460201

The other, far more expensive option is a mica pot, which costs $55 + shipping for the 21" x 14" x 6" oval size at Wigerts...

Mica Bonsai Pots – (OVA) Oval Series – Wigert’s Bonsai

I wouldn't consider a pot at this stage. BC grow stupidly fast when pushed, and a pot that size will not last for long unless you start refining and slowing the growth. I recently moved mine into grow bags to see how that impacts root development, it will be interesting to see the difference between the super thick roots circling the pot vs. a bag that is design to prune the root and force it to ramify. Maybe it would be counter-productive as I think that the reason why they get so wide at the base may be due to the thickening and elongation of the roots.