Growing Bald Cypress in the field

[Cajunrider]

The local conservation people are selling BC seedlings for $1.50/tree. I'm planning on buying a few dozen and grow a little grove. Any advice on distance between trees and whether I should put some thing under the trees to get better nebari is appreciated.
Note: The BC seedlings come with the tap roots already cut.

 

[Anthony]

Check out @Zach Smith ,

Little Grove as in Bonsai Grove ?

Here is a 1980 cypress from Lafayette, Louisiana from I believe
Tree Day [ Arbor ?]
Grows and will respond to cuttings down here.
Just started testing cuttings [ killed the effort accidentally, doing over ]
Good Day
Anthony

A white 55 US gallon barrel -------- I believe you can get the black version ?
Only Swamp Cypress, we know of on the island, so it is thus far left alone.

 

[Cajunrider]

Yes. I'm planning to grow a bonsai grove of bald cypress. I just planted 17 BC on one side of my drive way about 25 ft apart and plan to do the same on the other side. Those BCs are for permanent landscape. Around my pond I can plant a few more. This time I'm thinking about planting them only 5-7 ft apart for bonsai purposes. My thinking is to harvest them in about 5 years. They should be plenty big by then.

 

[Cajunrider]

I just concluded my 2019 seedling planting. 55 BC were planted. Since they were all bare root seedlings, I'll be happy if 30 takes.

 

[Cajunrider]

I just concluded my 2019 seedling planting. 55 BC were planted. Since they were all bare root seedlings, I'll be happy if 30 takes.

So far 10% of the trees are breaking buds. The rest remain dormant. They aren't dead yet but nothing is moving.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Cajunrider, I might advise you to NOT plant bald cypress as a yard tree. They are beautiful trees, but when they get 12-15 years old, you will be faced with unstoppable cypress knees. I had 17 BC at my old place and it was getting to be a nightmare. When the knees first started coming up, you could cut them out with one swipe of a hatchet on each side. When I left, it took 5 minutes with a shovel and 10 minutes with an axe or bowsaw ...........for each knee. And I had a 100 or more!

I'll only guess that BC will want to always send down a tap root if it has free growing access. I might be inclined to put a tile or something under them. I'd maybe check them every couple of years so they don't completely engulf the tile.

 

[Cajunrider]

Cajunrider, I might advise you to NOT plant bald cypress as a yard tree. They are beautiful trees, but when they get 12-15 years old, you will be faced with unstoppable cypress knees. I had 17 BC at my old place and it was getting to be a nightmare. When the knees first started coming up, you could cut them out with one swipe of a hatchet on each side. When I left, it took 5 minutes with a shovel and 10 minutes with an axe or bowsaw ...........for each knee. And I had a 100 or more!

I'll only guess that BC will want to always send down a tap root if it has free growing access. I might be inclined to put a tile or something under them. I'd maybe check them every couple of years so they don't completely engulf the tile.

Well good sir. It is too late now. They are planted. Unless they get too huge, my 6ft bush hog should chop them down just fine. I routinely cut down 3" sapplings with my bushhog.
BTW, I received the seedlings all with their tap roots already cut off. The BCs are planted along my drive way around 20 ft apart. The green ash are planted around the pond along with some more BCs.

If you have a lot of knees, down here they sell the cypress knee attachment for your large stick edgers. It works like a small stump grinder and grinds the knees to nothing in about 3 minutes per 3" knee.

 

[Cajunrider]

So far 10% of the trees are breaking buds. The rest remain dormant. They aren't dead yet but nothing is moving.

What a difference in 24 hrs! 50% of them have budded out already. The green ash and bald cypress are leafing out but the sweet pecans aren't moving yet.

 

[GGB]

if bald cypress would push buds earlier in my climate they'd be the only tree I'd have on my bench. buds haven't even started swelling here. two months yet

 

[Joe Dupre']

Bush Hog, eh? That ought to take care of that problem. The old folks around here say that the cold weather is not over til the pecans bud out. Can't fool em, they say.

 

[Cajunrider]

I can't tell y'all how excited I am. They are popping leaves and buds all over the place. I was expecting 30% and got 50% and counting. I am day dreaming about a 1000 ft long driveway and a 1 acre pond lined with palms, green ash, sweet pecan, and bald cypress. Add a hand full flowering dogwoods in there if they survive .

Oh oh I also got a bunch of JM and Trident cuttings and seedlings plus 2 dozens of Medjool dates in pots. If they all live, I will have a mini forest.

Hmmm... where is that Al Gore carbon credit coop? I wanna sign up to sell carbon credits.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Sounds like you will have a beautiful property when you get it all set up. Give the cypress time. The ones at my old place would bud out as much as a month apart.

 

[Wilson]

I can't tell y'all how excited I am. They are popping leaves and buds all over the place. I was expecting 30% and got 50% and counting. I am day dreaming about a 1000 ft long driveway and a 1 acre pond lined with palms, green ash, sweet pecan, and bald cypress. Add a hand full flowering dogwoods in there if they survive .

Oh oh I also got a bunch of JM and Trident cuttings and seedlings plus 2 dozens of Medjool dates in pots. If they all live, I will have a mini forest.

Hmmm... where is that Al Gore carbon credit coop? I wanna sign up to sell carbon credits.

Sounds like an amazing project! Nice start.

 

[Cajunrider]

 

[Cajunrider]

35 out of 55 BC are sporting buds. The rest ate either dead or eaten by rabbits.

20 out of 25 green ash are already popping leaves. The pecans and dogwood are not moving at all.

 

[Cajunrider]

Rabbit ate 10 more of my growing BCs. It's war!

 

[Dav4]

Rabbits decimated my pine seedlings over the winter and damaged plenty of older pines, maples and water elm... first time ever, too. Gardening in the woods can be difficult.

 

[rockm]

These will keep the rabbits off for a few years...
https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=16231&itemnum=17022&redir=Y

 

[Cajunrider]

These will keep the rabbits off for a few years...
https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=16231&itemnum=17022&redir=Y

Each time I used the grow tube in the past, the trees died. I planted 2 dozen trees 3 years ago with the grow tubes. They all died. I must be doing some thing wrong.

 

[Cajunrider]

I now have 30 fairly healthy BCs with tiny branches upto 3/4" long.
The green ash are amazingly fast growing. The 20 that are alive have branches upto 6" long already.
I also have 6 BC seedlings from the seed tray I prepared from the handful of seeds I had. They are only 1" long but they are growing fast. It appears I will have my mini forest soon.