My Largest Bald Cypress

[johng]

Collected this tree in July of 2009...it was the one and only time my step son ventured into to the swamp with me...

hard to measure but it is in one of the large mortar mixing tubs...

I seem to have misplaced the photos from when I carved the top but that happened in the summer of 2011. After the carving the top I only pruned branches for a couple of seasons...this created lots of ramification and allowed for some selection once I finally decided to wire this beast. This photo is from March, 2013....I am sure some will recognize this photo.

In early June of this year my friend Ken and I had the opportunity to provide the Bonsai Society of Carolinas with a demo/workshop on developing collected BC. During the demo, members pruned and defoliated this tree. They also stared the wiring process but time ran out before much of the wiring was finished. Since then, I finished the pruning and wiring.

After considering the tree for a while I decided to make another change. I felt it was time to reduce the number of apex branches. So I ripped one off

After removing the branch and readjusting a few of the other branches...

the base...

and a little perspective...

 

[dkraft81]

Awesome tree John. Its a behemoth!

 

[Wee]

I think I have seen this one star in a YouTube video. I have got to find a place to collect me a couple of these.

Brian

 

[sikadelic]

John...thanks for keeping us updated on your adventures. I really love seeing your work and look forward to more updates. I truly love Bald Cypress (must be all the awesome specimens I have seen here in the SE) and appreciate your dedication to documenting your work.

I hope the workshop went well.

 

[johng]

I think I have seen this one star in a YouTube video. I have got to find a place to collect me a couple of these.

Brian

I am am pretty sure this is the debut for this tree...never been on YouTube.
J

 

[johng]

John...thanks for keeping us updated on your adventures. I really love seeing your work and look forward to more updates. I truly love Bald Cypress (must be all the awesome specimens I have seen here in the SE) and appreciate your dedication to documenting your work.

I hope the workshop went well.

Thanks Jarrod!
John

 

[GrimLore]

Thanks for sharing that monster I can be there in two weeks with a hydraulic lift in the back of the truck for pickup. I would hate to see you hurt yourself keeping/maintaining/moving that one

Grimmy

 

[Dav4]

John, it's trees like this that drew me into the hobby...what a presence it has!


By the way, why was this the only time your step son went swamp collecting with you....was it the bugs, snakes and/or gators, viciously thorned vegetation, ....or did he get a hernia hauling that monster back to the truck.


Send me a pm if you need a replacement.

 

[Zach Smith]

Very nice work, John. I think removing that superfluous apex was a great decision.

Zach

 

[Eric Group]

John, you seem to have an endless supply of amazing trees! Your Bapld Cypress are world class.. How does this one size up against the one you had at the Carolina Expo last year? It looks pretty similar to me.

 

[johng]

John, it's trees like this that drew me into the hobby...what a presence it has!


By the way, why was this the only time your step son went swamp collecting with you....was it the bugs, snakes and/or gators, viciously thorned vegetation, ....or did he get a hernia hauling that monster back to the truck.


Send me a pm if you need a replacement.

Thanks Dave...I think it was all of the above and the gallon of sweat that he lost!!

John

 

[johng]

John, you seem to have an endless supply of amazing trees! Your Bapld Cypress are world class.. How does this one size up against the one you had at the Carolina Expo last year? It looks pretty similar to me.

Hey Eric...there are some similarities...the apexes were carved similarly....but trained differently. This one was just clip and grow for several seasons...whereas the other tree as been wired trained annually. This tree is larger and taller by more than a foot. Here is a photo from the expo for comparison...

 

[coh]

They're both spectacular! Thanks for sharing.

Chris

 

[JudyB]

What I like best about this tree is the branching lower on the tree. Very realistic looking to me. Too many of these have little to no lower branches, and I like the way these look.

 

[DougB]

Thanks John for your videos and your postings here. BUT what I want to know is when will your book on BC Bonsai Techniques be finally released? Good timing would be this October in the NC mountains.

 

[johng]

Thanks John for your videos and your postings here. BUT what I want to know is when will your book on BC Bonsai Techniques be finally released? Good timing would be this October in the NC mountains.

Thanks Doug! I have certainly considered a book but ultimately decided just to share via youtube. I still occasionally think about something like an iBook where I could include video, pics and some text but just can't seem to get motivated to put it all together. Maybe someday??

John

 

[GrimLore]

I PM'd you - the Wife seems excited about Spring all of a sudden Thank you!

Grimmy

 

[barrosinc]

Thanks Doug! I have certainly considered a book but ultimately decided just to share via youtube. I still occasionally think about something like an iBook where I could include video, pics and some text but just can't seem to get motivated to put it all together. Maybe someday??

John

Why not hire someone and sell the book to recover costs at least. I would most definetlt buy it.

Your videos are my to go tutorials for azaleas

 

[johng]

just over a month on...

Here is an update after this tree's first pruning since styling.

 

[Eric Group]

Looking great John! I just love that huge drum pot... Really stunning tree in person too!