Golden Mop False Cypress

DhD47

Mame
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Location
Virginia Near Washington, D.C.
USDA Zone
7A
I wanted to know if anyone has had any experiences with making a Golden Mop False Cypress into a bonsai tree. I just got a great deal on some that I couldn't pass up. I figure the worst case is the trees can be some training for me on dealing with cypress trees.

I would like to know any info you may have on dealing with these as I didn't find much online. I did find that they don't back bud on old wood. Thus, making them harder to style, correct?

DhD
 
In general, there are no differences in care or style suggestions whether one is growing a green leaf, or yellow leaf or variegated leaf form of a species. Cultural suggestions will be the same. From the name you gave it is not clear which species of False Cypress you have. Look closer at the tag and see if it lists a species name. Almost all species of the group are grown pretty much the same way.

Chamaecyparis - the false cypress group - are often used for bonsai. Many articles, many, many posts about them on forums. Look for posts about Hinoki - Chamaecyparis obtusa or Sarwara Cypress - Chamaecyparis pisifera. Both are classic bonsai subjects used by the Japanese for most of the history of bonsai. So in general all the members of the genus are good for bonsai and culture tips are pretty similar. Hit wikipedia's entry for Chamaecyparis, there is a complete list of the species there.

Aurea - or golden forms of trees are not often used for bonsai - largely because they are newer to cultivation, specimens old enough to make top level exhibition trees don't exist yet. Also the color of the foliage does not lend itself to all styles, many bonsaika's shy away from yellow colored trees, because to their eye they look more like a nutrient deficient tree rather than a healthy tree. Its a matter of personal taste. Some of the first aurea forms selected tended to be mottled, with less than complete yellow color - thus the look was not attractive. Newer forms have better color. If you like the look, great! Golden or aurea forms of a species can be nice, even quite nice, so there is no reason to not try to use it for bonsai.

So rather than re-type 1000 pages of info, please search on the terms Chamaecyparis bonsai, Hinoki, Sawara, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Chamaecyparis pisifera and read some of the hits you get. Lots of good information out there.
 
Thank you for the information. the plant is a Chamaecyparis pisifera "Golden Mop". I will keep looking but for Chamaecyparis pisifera now.

Thanks
Dave
 
Thank you for the information. the plant is a Chamaecyparis pisifera "Golden Mop". I will keep looking but for Chamaecyparis pisifera now.

Thanks
Dave

Iwould really love to see a photograph if that's possible?
 
I love reviving old threads! :-D

I'm very curious about how your Golden Mop is doing. I have a pair of Threadleaf False Cypress that I'm starting to work with, and from pictures it looks like they have more in common with the golden mop than with the hinoki or sarwara.
 
Wow thanks for posting the photo of your 27 year old. At my local lowes they had about 10 of these sold by Monrovia called "golden mop" thread needle cypress or something along those lines. All but one lacked a main trunk, and they just had multiple thin trunks sticking up. I bought the one that had a main trunk, and it did have another little 'trunl'that was more of a branch that had rooted, which I separated and potted to hopefully grow another one for use some day many years from now.

Any way I couldn't find any good pics on google or anywhere of someone who had used this cultivar as a bonsai, but I was familiar with sawara cypress and didnt see why it wouldn't be a nice tree to start growing thicker. I will attach a photo of my purchase, but it's just from a 1 gallon pot so it obviously has a ways to go. I likes the weeping look of the foliage.

I am setting up an area of a flower bed in my backyard so I can put some trees in the ground, but I'm clearing out the old plants that were in it so for the meantime I had to get most of that nursery soil out cuz it looks like pure 'miraclegro' style powdery peat which I feel like kills trees left in it for any extended time.

So when I bought another cypress (hinoki) frol a local nursery the owner lady was telling me not to give it full sun, and she kept the ones they had in a shady place. Being winterish, I have opted for full sun for all of them so far, but I wanted to see if anybody knows whether full sun is too much for when it gets warmer/longer days.
 
Full sun in Bakersfield, CA is quite different than full sun in Chicago. I suspect it is the combination of sun and heat that will be the problem in Bakersfield. When temperatures are over 95 F, I would move these to shade in Bakersfield. Full sun in winter is probably just fine.
 
false cypress at the chinese pavilion at the Montreal Botanical Gardens - photo taken September 2019
 

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Late to the party...

My golden mop has become much to leggy, it never seems to back bud.

Any advice?


thanks,

Rob


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If you are serious about a Hinoki bonssi you would be better off getting another Hinoki realizing the things you want from this tree are an impossibility. Hinokis are difficult trees to work with and demand close watching and perfect actions at the perfect time. They almost never back bud and once they start looking funky it is almost impossible to de-funkify them.
 
My Golden Mop after being heavily pruned and wired. Still needs to be styled, which I’m hoping to finish by the weekend…

The tree before pruning…
(my friend Jim on the right)
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The tree after pruning and wiring…
8FEE96AF-0BFE-445E-BDDB-E32F0874C896.jpeg
 
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