My Bald Cypress Flat Top project

[Dav4]

This is a tree I collected with a friend in South Carolina 13 months ago. It was placed in the cement mixing tub, planted in straight soil conditioner, and left to recover and grow. It took a while...certainly longer then I wanted...but it started pushing buds about a month after collection and hasn't looked back since. It's grown strongly this year, so I decided to do some preliminary work on the tree a few weeks ago. Leaders and branches were chosen and wired, and the chop done at collection was carved with a die grinder. This tree is tall, almost exactly 48 inches from soil line to chop, and the basal flare is 11 inches wide at the soil and will hopefully get a bit wider when the tree is repotted next year. There will be more editing of branches lower down on the trunk next year...right now there a fair number of smaller branches that need to thicken up and only then will I decide if they make the cut or not.

 

[Paradox]

I have been reading about Bald Cypress in the last couple of days because to my surprise there is a local nursery that has a bunch of them.

Ive seen the term "flat top" used a few times but no explanation or example. Can you tell/show me what you mean by "flat top"?

Thanks

 

[Dav4]

I have been reading about Bald Cypress in the last couple of days because to my surprise there is a local nursery that has a bunch of them.

Ive seen the term "flat top" used a few times but no explanation or example. Can you tell/show me what you mean by "flat top"?

Thanks

Essentially, Bald Cypress tend to develop a "flat top" as they age. Check out some of JohnG's trees to see what a really nice Flat Top cypress bonsai looks like.

 

[MACH5]

Nice one Dave with very nice base! I have one that is very big as well and I'm developing two apexes on it but not going for the flat top on mine. This year it has struggled. Not as vigorous as in the last couple of years and don't know why.

 

[Kandoloh]

Nice one Dave with very nice base! I have one that is very big as well and I'm developing two apexes on it but not going for the flat top on mine. This year it has struggled. Not as vigorous as in the last couple of years and don't know why.

Blame it on an odd year, and El Nino?

 

[johng]

Looks like a good start Dave!!!

Chim-chim... Have you looked for root aphids? If the tree is a little sluggish and not growing as well as usual a common culprit is root aphids.

 

[LanceMac10]

Holy s#@t Dave....wadda' ripper!!! Almost perfect taper...and the basal area makes me swoon.....I've got a little puny one that I'm studying. Summers a little to short and mild up here. You have a great start!

 

[rockm]

Looks like a good start Dave!!!

Chim-chim... Have you looked for root aphids? If the tree is a little sluggish and not growing as well as usual a common culprit is root aphids.

Also might be the intense winter we had this year. Mine has been a little slow this spring and summer too. It hasn't got root aphids, as I checked when I repotted it back in April.

 

[MACH5]

Looks like a good start Dave!!!

Chim-chim... Have you looked for root aphids? If the tree is a little sluggish and not growing as well as usual a common culprit is root aphids.

Thanks John. I will check and see if there's any funny monkey business in my soil

Also might be the intense winter we had this year. Mine has been a little slow this spring and summer too. It hasn't got root aphids, as I checked when I repotted it back in April.

That's what I thought too since it sat outside all winter under a layer of mulch.

 

[Paradox]

Don Blackmond grows them in Michigan and they are supposidly hardy to zone 4.

So they should be OK in NJ and NH?

The nursery where I found some for sale has a huge one growing on the property.

 

[Alain]

Nice catch. I love the taper and nebari's start.

 

[LanceMac10]

I'm sure Don's winterquarters are superior to mine!! As well as his horticultural skills!! Don't get me wrong, I've had it for almost four years and it's grown fine. It's not like I can go collect one like Dave's around here. For this is how their supposed to look, with the wide tapering base. Not my little chicken-legged fella'!! Not really a species I'm interested in growing, but I love to see them, and done correctly.

 

[Txhorticulture]

Essentially, Bald Cypress tend to develop a "flat top" as they age. Check out some of JohnG's trees to see what a really nice Flat Top cypress bonsai looks like.

Sometimes they have a flat crown but often they retain lower branches here is one in Belgium probably less than 300 years old

 

[Dav4]

Sometimes they have a flat crown but often they retain lower branches here is one in Belgium probably less than 300 years old

Understood. My tree will most likely have at least one if not several branches in the middle to lower section of the trunk.

 

[Wee]

Great taper....Wished mine was more like that.

Brian

 

[rockm]

Don Blackmond grows them in Michigan and they are supposidly hardy to zone 4.

So they should be OK in NJ and NH?

The nursery where I found some for sale has a huge one growing on the property.

Depends. Some varieties are hardier than others, also depends on how you overwinter them in colder climates. Here in Va., I just put mine on the ground in the backyard on Thanksviging weekend and pour a foot of shredded wood mulch on top, then let it alone until March or April. My BC, all collected in Louisiana, haven't had any issues with this for 20 years, even with sub-zero temps a few times over the years.

However, north of here, especially in NH, that won't work. It especially won't work if you have less hardy varieties. Florida-collected trees aren't as hardy as Lousiana, Texas or trees collected in more northerly states (the species lives up into Delaware and Illinois) . I've dealt with Va., La. Texas and Fla. collected BC. Overwintered them side-by-side in my backyard. Consistently, the Florida stuff kicks off in two or three years. I have a feeling the Va. Texas and Louisiana BC are genetically more cold hardy, since frost isn't a rarity in those states.

If I were growing these in NH or NJ, I'd put them in a protected garage under mulch or cold greenhouse. I would not overwinter them outside.

 

[Paradox]

All good info thanks.

I was surprised when I saw them at the nursery near me. I am thinking of getting one of them in a 25 gal pot, chopping it next spring and see if I can do anything with it.

 

[coh]

Dave, thanks for posting this thread. I have a bald cypress that I've had in the ground for the past 3 or 4 years, working on the trunk and base. Just dug it up for a root pruning this spring; it's back in the ground for another couple of years. It's developing a decent root buttress. At this point I'm unsure if I want to style it as a flat-top or a more typical conifer upright style. Since I've never spent any time in the areas where flat-top cypresses grow, I'm not really that familiar with the style, and it feels a little unnatural to me. So I really study these threads where flat-top trees are being developed.

Chris

 

[rockm]

Dave, thanks for posting this thread. I have a bald cypress that I've had in the ground for the past 3 or 4 years, working on the trunk and base. Just dug it up for a root pruning this spring; it's back in the ground for another couple of years. It's developing a decent root buttress. At this point I'm unsure if I want to style it as a flat-top or a more typical conifer upright style. Since I've never spent any time in the areas where flat-top cypresses grow, I'm not really that familiar with the style, and it feels a little unnatural to me. So I really study these threads where flat-top trees are being developed.

Chris

If you're unfamiliar with the flat tops in person, it's very hard to make a good one with a bonsai. They're not to everyone's taste, especially for those outside the species natural range. It also depends on what kind of trunk you're working with, some lend themselves to it, other to the conical shape. FWIW, conical BC are mostly in the juvenile stage of their long lives. Flat tops are the old age image of the species. They tend to die from the bottom up, as they shade out their own branches. Their tops are commonly snapped off in hurricanes. There are usually multiple leaders in the apex and weaker branching down the trunk.

 

[coh]

If you're unfamiliar with the flat tops in person, it's very hard to make a good one with a bonsai. They're not to everyone's taste, especially for those outside the species natural range. It also depends on what kind of trunk you're working with, some lend themselves to it, other to the conical shape. FWIW, conical BC are mostly in the juvenile stage of their long lives. Flat tops are the old age image of the species. They tend to die from the bottom up, as they shade out their own branches. Their tops are commonly snapped off in hurricanes. There are usually multiple leaders in the apex and weaker branching down the trunk.

Yeah, that's what I'm wrestling with. Already have plenty of trees that are more typical upright conifer style, which is why I'm thinking about doing something different with this one. I've seen some flat-tops that I really like, but many others (probably the majority) don't really do it for me.

I don't know how much of a restriction this may be, but I don't want the tree to be very tall when done. 48" is larger than I want, so that may push me toward another style. On the other hand, this particular specimen I have seems to have rather small foliage, so I may be able to get away with it in a smaller tree. We'll see, I'll probably eventually start a thread on it when I get further along.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Chris