Monterey Cypress From Seed On A Whimsey

[Stratified]

Hello from Central California!

For my 40th birthday in 2022, fam and I took a little trip to Bodega Bay. On a lark, I snatched up some cones from a Cypress tree and stuck'em in my pocket. I figured I would suss out how to get the seeds out of there later.

Coming home to a-- much-- warmer climate, I tossed the cones on the work bench in the garage, and went about my business. The following weekend, the cones had opened, and all the seeds had literally just spilled out on the counter. I surmised that late August in 100+ temps ain't really the time to be planting anything at all really, so I bagged em up and stuck em in a drawer.

In the spring, I read about how to go about germinating these guys, and had some success. Left in the fridge for most of March, planted in April 2023, and then...




Some germination occurred... more than expected actually...



Summers in Fresno are hot. I kept the seedlings in the shade under my back porch, where they only received direct sun for the first few moments of the morning. Watered daily. Then when it cooled in November (2023), I checked how extensive the root systems were. They were more established and intertwined than I would have ever expected! And so I made a fast decision to get them out of their group homes and into individual cute lil' plastic Bonsai pots I found on amazon for cheap



I also found a mix of lava, pumice and akadama on amazon and did the best I could, adding a touch of compost to the mix with the idea that I would want just a tad more water retention than is typical due to the heat. Everyone survived the move into their own homes, which was a bit of surprise given the amount of the roots that were not able to make the transfer.

Now in November of '24, things are looking a bit...taller!



The Fresno heat only claimed one casualty this summer as once again the little pots stayed in the shade except for some direct sunlight early in the morning. I was out of town and forgot to remind my wife to water them regularly. The loving wife she is, and tolerant of all my little hobbies that pop up like this, remembered to water them in my absence tho maybe a day or two too late for that one discolored guy in the rear there. This is still way more success than I would have ever expected from sticking some cones in my pocket on a whimsey!

Most are about 2ft in height at this point, even with having been in these little pots their whole life. Most trunks are a pencil width or better:



Some pots have more than one successful seedlings in them, but i figure in time these will be one tree that has a double trunk. So there are eleven "trees" in total.

I have questions!

- should I repot again into some bigger pots?

- most things say to wait 3-5 years to wire... do i really need to wait? can i do it sooner?

- likewise : too soon to begin trimming? I have not trimmed anything other than a dead bit or two thus far.

- what don't I know?

I have been reading other Monterey Cypress threads and websites, but figured I might show my own unique situation here.

Cheers!

 

[radhatter]

I’m no expert but if it were me I’d be putting a little movement into those trunks now while they are still pliable.

 

[Shibui]

There is no one single road to bonsai. Pros and cons to almost all options.

Wiring and bending while the trunks are pliable is a good idea but you can also generate bends by pruning to side branches which then become the new trunk but growing at a different angle.
Keeping the trees in smaller containers will limit growth and trunk development but may give better branch and trunk options. Larger containers allow increased trunk thickening but you will need to manage the tops as cypress do not bud on bare wood easily.
Regular pruning removes foliage (food factory) which will slow growth but will often give better trunk lines, better trunk shape and branching.
Allowing free growth (not pruning) increases growth and trunk thickening but you will need to maintain some foliage where needed to chop back to - see above comment on not back budding well.

what don't I know?

Probably a host of things?

 

[sevan]

I've been trying to learn about Monterey Cypress because I have also been growing some the last few years. I don't have much experience yet, but my understanding is that they don't back bud well on the trunk, so you want to take good care of your lower foliage. That might mean chopping more frequently, which will result in slow development, but keep the tree from getting away from you, or keeping some of the middle growth pruned back so the lower branches get lots of light.

@Eric Schrader is the expert on these and has some good videos on his Bonsaify YouTube channel.

 

[Eric Schrader]

TBT - I stopped growing macrocarpa's because they are naturally confined to the coast by a canker that will kill even old trees. I've lost at least a couple of my older batch to it after keeping them in the east bay. I think the best one is about to lose a key branch to it. There is no known treatment.
It seems like Hesperocyparis pygmaea (Pygmy), H. sargentii (Sargent), H. abramsiana (Santa Cruz) are all good alternates so I've been collecting seed from those instead. They grow just as quickly - even the pygmy, despite the name.

There is a beautiful stand of Sargent cypress in Marin County in the Giancomi open space preserve where I last picked cones. Surprisingly, the "Conifers of California" book says that Sargent Cypress is not resinous, nor fragrant but these are definitely both. So either the range maps are wrong or the description is wrong. https://bahiker.com/northbayhikes/giacomini.html

As for your trees - definitely wire them now, even if it's only to create a little twist or subtle movement. It takes 10+ years to get good bark and many turns will fill in over time, but subtle curves or morse-code style training now will give you a more interesting trunk later.

 

[Stratified]

Thank you all for the replies.

I'll begin wiring for some basic structural movement right away. Probably leave them in their tiny pots and repot the ones that survive the initial wiring process later. I understood about back budding on these trees not really happening, which is why i hesitate to prune too much. leaving as many options on the trees for future use as possibleat the moment.

Eric, sounds like maybe these won't survive too well off the coast line. sounds like you have had some for 10 years + that are now struggling. bummer how many years might i expect from trees this? and is there a link to some info on this "canker" i could read up on?

Shibui, all very helpful tips, much appreciated. Could you clarify what you mean by "manage the tops"? I think you mean to clip the tree's tops to limit vertical growth and encourage horizontal and general thickening by doing so?

thanks again

 

[Shibui]

Could you clarify what you mean by "manage the tops"?

Meaning strategic pruning so there's some useful branches with healthy foliage that you can eventually use to grow your bonsai from. If you don't prune, all the branches will become long and bare with foliage only at the ends. That can make it really challenging to make a small bonsai when the species won't bud reliably on bare wood after pruning.
Clipping vertical growth will encourage more horizontal branches but that, by itself, does not speed up thickening. Growth and an abundance of foliage is what drives thickening. Any pruning will reduce thickening but, often, we need to sacrifice some thickening to develop useful branching and shoots we can use as bonsai later. It's not quite as simple and 'go for maximum thickening'

 

[Stratified]

It is about 6 months after my original post so I thought I would update.

All the information you each have shared has been very useful. Thank you. I have been keeping all of these things in mind as I observe these trees grow, as I prune, wire, and re-pot all of them. I have since moved them out of their smaller plastic pots and removed most of the original wiring before it left any marks. These are all about 2 years old now.

I would say the most significant thing I am seeing is the difference in each tree based on how I have treated them. Shibui’s advice about strategic pruning is now obvious as the trees that have been shortened the most have the most dense and healthiest looking foliage. (Not to mention a larger amount of the more mature foliage, instead of the more spiky, prickly adolescent foliage.). Where as the trees I did very little pruning too have been much slower to mature, but in some cases have shot up vertically with large empty sections on the main / original trunk line.

I am starting to think that soon a much more aggressive approach to pruning these back, maybe at least at this stage and for this age, would be more appropriate than what i have mostly done so far…
'

.
Really not sure where I was headed with this wiring at all… but its so early it doesn’t really matter does it?



Cut this one back the most, and it responded the most. More dense foliage here than any others.



I had originally wired this one in a half moon shape, but when I repotted I leaned it to the left quite a bit. The plan is to wire it again to bring it from the base back to the right to create more movement down low.



The twins here were two curves that mimicked each other, one small nestled inside the other large one, but seems like that plan will change as i think this needs to be shortened somehow pretty hard. But the plan for now is to just wait.



Many of the tallest were all put into one forest where the hope is to re-create a grouping of tall cypresses like one would see on the coast naturally. Tall, not much foliage down low, straight trunks but some angled, and all creating one flatish canopy up high. This one is the hardest to deal with. Some of the others I can visualize some possibilities , or treated them more like junipers in my mind when doing that initial wiring…



…but the biggest lesson so far is that it seems too early to really have a plan for each of these. So the plan at the moment is to prune and wire with the intent of creating opportunities… so to speak.

Since this is Fresno…we’ll see just how long they survive in the first place.

All thoughts welcome, thanks again.

=

 

[Stratified]

@Eric Schrader

I just cut this branch off of the top of one of the Monterrey cypress trees: might this be an example of the Canker you spoke of before?

Thanks in advance.