Montezuma cypress

What an amazing revival! Definitely following the thread.
 
Stay tuned. I have an idea!
Right now it is a secret. It will be hidden in the swamp.
After watching the growth pattern of my tree, I decided to try to develop the tree to a pattern like that of Glyptostrobus pensilis similar to the one pictured below. I think my Montezuma cypress, being in the same family and has similar leaf and growth pattern, has the potential to grow this way. I give myself 10 years to bring this vision to reality.
With my tree, I think I have the lower two branches in place. The tree will be chopped early next year to force the growth of the lower branches and form the next part of the trunk.

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Looking forward to seeing how you develop the roots for this one. You have a great base for it.
 
Looking forward to seeing how you develop the roots for this one. You have a great base for it.
Hidden below the soil level is a huge side root developed by the tree while it was in the ground. I have a lot of work to do to correct that. I allowed the big root to stay healthy because I had to nurse the tree back to health. I am planning to reduce the root mass from that dominant root soon to encourage root growth on the other side.
 
I really want one for myself now after seeing your thread. Im hopping to order some seeds this year but they're only available in the US.
 
Montezuma cypress is a bit like BC and pond cypress. Something to keep in mind is that it is almost a tropical species (native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Guatemala). It grows best in environments that don't get really cold in the winter.

John Naka's Montezuma cypress (below), begun in the 1948 from a Southern California landscape tree, is at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It requires a mostly frost-free overwintering location, if I remember. This species tends to be an evergreen in its home environment. It is the national tree of Mexico. The Arbol de Tule near Oaxaca holds the world record for the tree with the largest circumference in the world--137 feet.


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Montezuma cypress is a bit like BC and pond cypress. Something to keep in mind is that it is almost a tropical species (native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Guatemala). It grows best in environments that don't get really cold in the winter.

John Naka's Montezuma cypress (below), begun in the 1948 from a Southern California landscape tree, is at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It requires a mostly frost-free overwintering location, if I remember. This species tends to be an evergreen in its home environment. It is the national tree of Mexico. The Arbol de Tule near Oaxaca holds the world record for the tree with the largest circumference in the world--137 feet.


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Yes on the evergreen part. Last year my Montezuma cypress did not drop their leaves over the winter even though we had a really cold spell. Thankfully the cold spell only lasted two weeks.
 
Montezuma cypress is a bit like BC and pond cypress. Something to keep in mind is that it is almost a tropical species (native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Guatemala). It grows best in environments that don't get really cold in the winter.

John Naka's Montezuma cypress (below), begun in the 1948 from a Southern California landscape tree, is at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It requires a mostly frost-free overwintering location, if I remember. This species tends to be an evergreen in its home environment. It is the national tree of Mexico. The Arbol de Tule near Oaxaca holds the world record for the tree with the largest circumference in the world--137 feet.


View attachment 517236
Are you telling me it's unlikely to survive in my rainy waterlogged garden in Ireland 🥲
 
Are you telling me it's unlikely to survive in my rainy waterlogged garden in Ireland 🥲
It probably will, but it might not be as hardy as a plain old Bald Cypress.
 
Depending on what map you look at I'm 8-9 on the USDA scale. Coastal Ireland. We get lots of rain 9/12 months in a year but over the recent years we get some snow in winter.

You should be able to grow Montezuma cypress then with simple winter protection.
 
I wired the tree to have a super-wide canopy for now. It is winter and the tree is growing very slowly so I don’t want to chop it. Next spring the branches may be chopped very short.
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I wired the tree to have a super-wide canopy for now. It is winter and the tree is growing very slowly so I don’t want to chop it. Next spring the branches may be chopped very short.
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Compared to last year, the trunk has grown a whole lot. I might just let it grow another season before cutting back. Montezuma cypress has a propensity to grow a very wide trunk with spread out canopy. My wiring has spreaded out all the vertical branches to the side by 18" in diameter. This increased the area for catching sunlight a whole lot. Being submerged in that bus tub without drain, the tree grew like crazy. I might extend this experiment to see how far I can push this Montezuma cypress. My vision for the final bonsai remains the same but I think patience will reward me with a spectacular tree.
 
Do you have any size/shape in mind yet for the final design?
 
Do you have any size/shape in mind yet for the final design?
4" trunk, 8" base, 22" tall, shape is like the one I posted for Glyptostrobus pensilis. I figure it will take about 5 years from now to get to that trunk size. Wiring the branches to spread out wide now will allow them to grow bigger and set as the low branches for the bonsai. When the branches are big enough, they will be cut short for ramification development. I give myself 5 year for that.
 
4" trunk, 8" base, 22" tall, shape is like the one I posted for Glyptostrobus pensilis. I figure it will take about 5 years from now to get to that trunk size. Wiring the branches to spread out wide now will allow them to grow bigger and set as the low branches for the bonsai. When the branches are big enough, they will be cut short for ramification development. I give myself 5 year for that.
You have it all planned out 😁 The concept of no drainage is so scary to me.
 
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