Eugene's bald cypress progression

[Cajunrider]

Tough decisions needed to be made regarding fluting/basel flair...but i copped out and went with slightly larger container that i can still submerge...i hope it was the right one

1. You can get a big cement mixing tub and install a drain valve. Then you grow your BC in that big tub and drain the water every couple months to make sure you don't have a build up of trace elements in your tub. This way you get the root flare really fast.
2. Don't worry about fitting it into small pot later. BCs are resilient. If your tree is healthy, whenever you decide to fit it into a small pot just do aggressive root prune in the spring and move it from a huge container back to a small one.
3. Just make sure your big container is shallow. BC grow roots differently in a deep pot. You really don't want BC roots in deep pot at all.

 

[eugenev2]

1. You can get a big cement mixing tub and install a drain valve. Then you grow your BC in that big tub and drain the water every couple months to make sure you don't have a build up of trace elements in your tub. This way you get the root flare really fast.
2. Don't worry about fitting it into small pot later. BCs are resilient. If your tree is healthy, whenever you decide to fit it into a small pot just do aggressive root prune in the spring and move it from a huge container back to a small one.
3. Just make sure your big container is shallow. BC grow roots differently in a deep pot. You really don't want BC roots in deep pot at all.

Good tip, i think i'll install the drain valve in the other one

 

[eugenev2]

I don't know if you'll get much fluting in a small container as there is just such a big difference between ground growing and container growing, best bet is to collect or buy one that is already fluted - best of luck to you as they are an amazing species

Not much hope of buying/collecting one that's fluted already, our climate is too dry for them to be readily available, so it would be someone else's hard work. But if i can make a plan to replicating a marsh i can attempt to get the fluting done

 

[Cajunrider]

Not much hope of buying/collecting one that's fluted already, our climate is too dry for them to be readily available, so it would be someone else's hard work. But if i can make a plan to replicating a marsh i can attempt to get the fluting done

If I were you, I would plant my BC in a 1m x 1m x 16cm pot with a closed drain. The BC will be in mostly organic and loose soil with water up to the top of the soil. This would force the tree to grow a lot of roots out wide to remain stable. I believe that condition will grow a big base and perhaps some level of fluting if the roots are big enough. As fast as BC grows, 5 years in this pot will prove whether this will work.

 

[eugenev2]

If I were you, I would plant my BC in a 1m x 1m x 16cm pot with a closed drain. The BC will be in mostly organic and loose soil with water up to the top of the soil. This would force the tree to grow a lot of roots out wide to remain stable. I believe that condition will grow a big base and perhaps some level of fluting if the roots are big enough. As fast as BC grows, 5 years in this pot will prove whether this will work.

At that size, not something i'm going to find at the general nursery or hardware store, will need to look at more specialty shops like hydroponics/cannabis growers for that. Will keep an eye out thanks

 

[Cajunrider]

At that size, not something i'm going to find at the general nursery or hardware store, will need to look at more specialty shops like hydroponics/cannabis growers for that. Will keep an eye out thanks

A kiddie swimming pool will work.

 

[eugenev2]

If I were you, I would plant my BC in a 1m x 1m x 16cm pot with a closed drain. The BC will be in mostly organic and loose soil with water up to the top of the soil. This would force the tree to grow a lot of roots out wide to remain stable. I believe that condition will grow a big base and perhaps some level of fluting if the roots are big enough. As fast as BC grows, 5 years in this pot will prove whether this will work.

Is there a specific reason for the 1m x 1m x 16cm size? The no holes make sense, as this will simulate flooding, 16cm makes sense you want to force it outward but not to deep.

Reason why i'm asking is i can probably get a plastic tub/wash basin that gets closer to that size, but not sure how close, currently have a 55cm basin which I haven't converted to pot plant yet for example...and discovered a dog bed container which is lightly bigger than that size...but it has drainage holes tho.

 

[Cajunrider]

Is there a specific reason for the 1m x 1m x 16cm size? The no holes make sense, as this will simulate flooding, 16cm makes sense you want to force it outward but not to deep.

Reason why i'm asking is i can probably get a plastic tub/wash basin that gets closer to that size, but not sure how close, currently have a 55cm basin which I haven't converted to pot plant yet for example...and discovered a dog bed container which is lightly bigger than that size...but it has drainage holes tho.

Why not use the kiddie pool? Cheap and pretty durable.

 

[eugenev2]

Why not use the kiddie pool? Cheap and pretty durable.

Mostly because when you mentioned it i did a quick search (emphasis on the quick) and what i found was the below options locally, so just checking for alternatives. As inflatable is not going to work and i know those clam shell ones tend to be shallow at the one end and deep at the other. But i'll have to check over the weekend in the physical shops to make sure what they have, you have to keep in mind that down here in southern hemisphere we have less options than in the north

 

[Cajunrider]

Mostly because when you mentioned it i did a quick search (emphasis on the quick) and what i found was the below options locally, so just checking for alternatives. As inflatable is not going to work and i know those clam shell ones tend to be shallow at the one end and deep at the other. But i'll have to check over the weekend in the physical shops to make sure what they have, you have to keep in mind that down here in southern hemisphere we have less options than in the north

If not, just create a container form out of rock, lumber etc. Then get a thick sheet of plastic and make a small above ground fishpond. I can do that with a couple contractor trash bag and a few shovels of dirt. All it boils down to is a container. We can spend thousands for a beautiful pot or a couple dollars for a plastic sheet. All is up to you.
For me, if I live where there are rocks, I would make a fishpond with rock side and a liner and make it look pretty.
PS: The clam shell one would work for you. So what if one side is higher than the other. Just make sure your container and soil is level. Don't worry about the irregular shape of the bottom either. All those roots at the outside will be pruned off anyway when you put it in a bonsai pot.