Cjr Da Beast

[Cajunrider]

I’ve refrained from posting about it. Now is the time to release Da Beast.
I actually had to enter my own beast mode to get it out of the swamp.
Potting it by myself was not an easy task.
Biggest mixing tub I can find in Home Depot. A HD worker snapped a picture for me.

 

[Tieball]

That tree is just massive. My back hurts just looking at the tree. And it appears you have many more extra large trees.

 

[Tieball]

Looks like you’ll start your own swamp.

 

[rusticana]

Wow! Do you drill holes in your containers or just let them soak? I have a forest of the montezuma ones and another started from cuttings. And an ascendens grafted onto a bald cypress with both types present. I did a trunk chop on it last year. It didn't work as expected and now bigger than ever. It has a prety good trunk for always being in a pot. I am considering doing it again and stripping all the branches off it. Right now its more like a miniature swamp tree than a bonsai. I started an air layer on it thats going very slowly.
What is the best time for such an opperation? This fall once the leaves come off?

 

[Cajunrider]

That tree is just massive. My back hurts just looking at the tree. And it appears you have many more extra large trees.

I got my heart rate up to a sustained 159 bpm for almost 30 minutes muscling that tree. After that I had to take multiple rests the rest of the way. It was heavy because the gumbo mud clung to the roots. Lifting it to the truck bed almost gave me a hernia. You can say I used Qigong for the lift

 

[Cajunrider]

Wow! Do you drill holes in your containers or just let them soak? I have a forest of the montezuma ones and another started from cuttings. And an ascendens grafted onto a bald cypress with both types present. I did a trunk chop on it last year. It didn't work as expected and now bigger than ever. It has a prety good trunk for always being in a pot. I am considering doing it again and stripping all the branches off it. Right now its more like a miniature swamp tree than a bonsai. I started an air layer on it thats going very slowly.
What is the best time for such an opperation? This fall once the leaves come off?

Holes are a few inches up the sides. Now is not the optimal time for trunk chop

 

[rusticana]

Holes are a few inches up the sides. Now is not the optimal time for trunk chop

Makes sense. It'll also help when I stow it away in the potting shed for winter.

 

[rusticana]

Holes are a few inches up the sides. Now is not the optimal time for trunk chop

Is there a reason to take the top off flat and not diagonally? Thanks for your response.

 

[Cajunrider]

Is there a reason to take the top off flat and not diagonally? Thanks for your response.

Top is flat because the locations of the buds are never certain.

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[rusticana]

More questions. Or dont bother.
Is there a basic stategy in stripping the trunk down? I noticed you'd left a few stubs initially but now it seems they're mostly removed. Were those just handles? Also I'm guessing the branches you want to keep should be cut fairly close to the trunk? I'm the person with the pond cypress "nutans' grafted onto the bald cypress. I think you helped me identify. Its still quite green but ther'll be some decision making soon. Should I chop it and strip it right down or leave some short stubs of existing branches? Or give up and just keep it as an unusual specimen tree?
Back to your big project. Look at corsiscan mint or marsh pennywort between your pavers?

 

[Cajunrider]

More questions. Or dont bother.
Is there a basic stategy in stripping the trunk down? I noticed you'd left a few stubs initially but now it seems they're mostly removed. Were those just handles? Also I'm guessing the branches you want to keep should be cut fairly close to the trunk? I'm the person with the pond cypress "nutans' grafted onto the bald cypress. I think you helped me identify. Its still quite green but ther'll be some decision making soon. Should I chop it and strip it right down or leave some short stubs of existing branches? Or give up and just keep it as an unusual specimen tree?
Back to your big project. Look at corsiscan mint or marsh pennywort between your pavers?

The stubs were left on as grab handles. They also protect the trunk bark in transport. Once the tree is secured in the pot they are mostly cut off. A few were left on down low in short length because I thought I might be able to use them in the final design.

For your tree I would be tempted to keep the two low branches. They seem to be about right in size.

 

[Joe Dupre']

CR, you are flying in the face of the norms on collecting bald cypress. If I recall, you have collected them at almost all times of the year. Have you had any of them not make it.

The tree is awesome, by the way. Better build a permanent stand on wheels for it!

 

[Cajunrider]

CR, you are flying in the face of the norms on collecting bald cypress. If I recall, you have collected them at almost all times of the year. Have you had any of them not make it.

The tree is awesome, by the way. Better build a permanent stand on wheels for it!

I had a few failures but all with due causes. Some are salvaged trees that were already sick when collected. Overall my success rate is still 90+% even with those failures.