Collecting Bald Cypress For Bonsai

They re easy to grow and train as long as you know how to develop the crown.

Collecting bald cypress for bonsai. This species naturally grows in wet swampy soils and the same should be used for bonsai purposes. Flaring base with good buttressing roots great trunk taper and character and usually just a little movement to make for a good start. This specimen is more or less prototypical of what a natural looking bald cypress should be. Needles grow on branches in two rows and survive well into winter before falling.

These trees are outdoor bonsai that need a dormant season to stay alive. Once it is fully leafed out there is a good chance of losing the tree by root pruning. I guess there are multiple view points here but i believe it is best with this species to go ahead and do the major work all at the same time. If you ve never grown bald cypress it s definitely a species you ll want to add to your collection.

Put cypress on your list of late winter things to do. Since bc s bud so prolifically it s really easy to make a great bonsai structure in a relatively short timeframe. Bald cypress make for unique bonsai because of the shape and foliage. Unless you want a 5 6 tree i would go ahead with reduction during collecting.

If they are pruned too early they often die back in autumn. All in all i believe that bc is a very good candidate for bonsai training. I ll be posting some information on that in the coming weeks. Choose a rather large pot with a drainage hole and fill it up to with a mixture of fine gravel and akadama in a ratio of to read the bonsai soil article for more detailed information on soil mixtures for different species of trees climates etc.

Bald cypress bonsai timing whether you are collecting a new plant or working on cypress bonsai roots during a re potting the best time is when it is dormant.