Species Study - Taxodium distichum

[pandacular]

What style are you developing your BC to be?
If it is going to be a flat top, I suggest bending the top branches to horizontal or slightly lower right at the top crotch

I’m not planning on a flat top, I think the trunk has much too much mass for that to look in scale. Not really sure what I would call the vision I have but it’s more like that of the bald cypress I see in parks around here, that have sort of broad redwood look to them.

 

[Cajunrider]

I’m not planning on a flat top, I think the trunk has much too much mass for that to look in scale. Not really sure what I would call the vision I have but it’s more like that of the bald cypress I see in parks around here, that have sort of broad redwood look to them.

Then carry on with your vision. I will be following.

 

[Cajunrider]

The last holdouts of my BCs in zone 9 finally go to sleep after this week long cold spell.

This Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum?) stays green still.

 

[dtkabardin]

You mention earlier that chops do not help to build taper at all and should be avoided until the trunk is the desired thickness. I bought this pre-bonsai from Wigerts like this. After reading through this thread, it seems the best thing to do would be to select a single leader and take every other branch off. Even then, I still won’t have taper but that’s the best thing I can do to get this on years long journey to thickening. Am I correct?

 

[pandacular]

We’re getting our first serious cold of the season so I popped this one into the greenhouse for the night. About 36° outside and 42° inside, with the fan and heat (on thermostat) running.

 

[Cajunrider]

You mention earlier that chops do not help to build taper at all and should be avoided until the trunk is the desired thickness. I bought this pre-bonsai from Wigerts like this. After reading through this thread, it seems the best thing to do would be to select a single leader and take every other branch off. Even then, I still won’t have taper but that’s the best thing I can do to get this on years long journey to thickening. Am I correct?
View attachment 580027

Let me qualify that statement.
When a tree is in a juvenile stage (first 3-4 years of its life), the growth is vigorous, chop a leader and it will grow another leader just as big. Furthermore, around the chop there will be more branches. That will cause a reverse taper situation right at the chop. This has happened to me multiple times. Take a look at your tree, it is very likely that will happen to your tree if you leave it alone. If I were you, this spring I would select one leader at the chop (likely the single one at the top of the chop). Then I prune off all the other branches around the chop. ALL the branches below the chop will be kept, allowing the tree to grow vigorously.

Right now it's winter, just pot it, give it winter protection and wait until spring.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Here's my take. It makes a BIG difference whether you want a 1" diameter or 4" diameter trunk. If a 1" trunk is what you want, CR 's advise is spot on. If you want a +or - 4" trunk, plant it in the ground for 3-4 years and don't prune it at all. When you get the trunk size you want, dig it, chop it and THEN start making your branches. Trying to do both at the same time is more exact, but it takes longer.

 

[Cajunrider]

BCs under 6” of sneaux! With wind drift I have 12+” in some spots.

 

[Cajunrider]

My experience confirms what Randy Bennett and many others gave said about the impact of water level on the flare pattern if the trunk. In the picture below, in fairly deep water the trunk flare out in bottle shape. The taper start right at the water line where all the high roots stopped.

 

[Cajunrider]

I know other experienced practitioners have spoken about this but want to put it here for the completeness of our study.

If you are too much in a hurry to work on the top of a BC after collection or transforming from a big pot, you risk killing the big beautiful flutes/nebari of your BC. If you chop the top and prune most of the side branches to make it pretty and “bonsai like” prematurely, there won’t be enough energy from the leaves to build roots. Some of the big roots may dry out and the nebari suffers. Lateral flows may save the flutes but you are taking a chance.

Always keep in mind that the development of the top and the roots have to be in sync.

 

[Cajunrider]

This is what happens if the water is high on a BC. When you dunk your tree, keep it right at the nebari flare.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

This is what happens if the water is high on a BC. When you dunk your tree, keep it right at the nebari flare.

So, if you chopped this one below the high-water roots, I'm guessing (because of this thread) that the original tree would just regrow and then you also have a new bonsai?
It's nothing I have to worry about in the desert, but BC has been in my top 5 favorites for decades, so this thread fascinates me.

 

[Cajunrider]

So, if you chopped this one below the high-water roots, I'm guessing (because of this thread) that the original tree would just regrow and then you also have a new bonsai?
It's nothing I have to worry about in the desert, but BC has been in my top 5 favorites for decades, so this thread fascinates me.

If the roots are big and strong enough to support the top then yes.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Hi @Cajunrider

I donated $12 to the Arbor Foundation and they are sending me 10 BC seedlings. They should be here in a few days.

They will be very tiny, so they just need to grow.

Pot: A large, round plastic pot from an old Christmas tree stand.
Soil: Old, used bonsai soil. It has a fair amount of garden soil in it. Should I add more water-retaining elements?
Arrangement: All 10 will go into this pot for now.

Do you have any specific recommendations for tiny BC seedlings that I should think about before they arrive? Or criticisms of my plan?

 

[Cajunrider]

Hi @Cajunrider

I donated $12 to the Arbor Foundation and they are sending me 10 BC seedlings. They should be here in a few days.

They will be very tiny, so they just need to grow.

Pot: A large, round plastic pot from an old Christmas tree stand.
Soil: Old, used bonsai soil. It has a fair amount of garden soil in it. Should I add more water-retaining elements?
Arrangement: All 10 will go into this pot for now.

Do you have any specific recommendations for tiny BC seedlings that I should think about before they arrive? Or criticisms of my plan?

Plan is sound. Just don’t dunk the seedlings too much. Keep the water level below soil level for young trees.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Plan is sound. Just don’t dunk the seedlings too much. Keep the water level below soil level for young trees.

Thank you. I might have done that, so I appreciate the advice!