Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Thank you. I will do that soon.
Species Study - Taxodium distichum
- Thread starter Cajunrider
- Start date
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Thinned out 2 out of 4 trees. Will do the rest this afternoon. Reduce the number of top branches to 3. Took out a bunch of high middle branches. Kept the super low ones to maintain a bit of energy collection capability.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
4 trees thinned out. I could have taken more branches out but wanted to leave some options. I also leave enough foliage for them to thrive.
Tree 1 before and after
Tree 2
Tree 3
Tree 4
Tree 1 before and after
Tree 2
Tree 3
Tree 4
Sekibonsai
Shohin
I let shoots grow like crazy for a while to strengthen the new roots then periodically edit out shoots I know will never be needed. Balances out the strength of those lower down.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
I am doing exactly that. I've checked the root growth and they look good. For this round I just knocked off the top branches that I will never use. I hope that encourages the remaining ones to grow bigger. The trees will be fed well and left alone now to grow again.
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
The branch massage technique
@Sekibonsai mentioned it in another thread. I am putting it to this thread since it is our study of the species.
Young BC branches are very apical. They all try to shoot up straight like water sprouts. If you stroke them from the base to the tip with gentle pressure, they bend down and stay down. It takes some practice to feel the right amount of pressure to bend but not break the shoot. Yes you can feel the mini break of the young tissues in the shoot. I am sure a sensitive ear can hear it as well.
Do it like stroking the hair of your lovely!
Below are the picture if before and after a massage. Do it a few times and a branch will be horizontal.
After
Picture of the massaged branches of another tree
@Sekibonsai mentioned it in another thread. I am putting it to this thread since it is our study of the species.
Young BC branches are very apical. They all try to shoot up straight like water sprouts. If you stroke them from the base to the tip with gentle pressure, they bend down and stay down. It takes some practice to feel the right amount of pressure to bend but not break the shoot. Yes you can feel the mini break of the young tissues in the shoot. I am sure a sensitive ear can hear it as well.
Do it like stroking the hair of your lovely!
Below are the picture if before and after a massage. Do it a few times and a branch will be horizontal.
After
Picture of the massaged branches of another tree
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
That is a really neat technique!
I do, essentially, the same thing with Prunus... gently pulling branches downward every couple of days for lighter "shoulder" adjustments.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Good taper 
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
For the sake of study completeness.
www.bonsainut.com
BC ground layer
I have a little bald cypress tree with a tangled root base. One that is impossible to untangle. So a ground layer is needed to develop a new root base. The cut has been made. Now come the wait for it to dry out and assure the layer. This afternoon root hormone will be applied and the layer will...
BonsaiGnome
Sapling
Awesome!
We’ve got some big ones here in SC too
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Another thread on BC with great discussion on growth pattern in and out of water.
www.bonsainut.com
PS: I do this whenever I see a thread on BC in which the discussion contains a lot of useful information.
BC question
Technically, bald cypress group, which includes the pond cypress, bald cypress and Mexican cypress are a group that is more or less more closely related to the Redwood group than any other group of conifers. The coast redwood, and the giant sequoia are pretty closely related. And the Chinese...
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
For newbies to bald cypress, this post is for you to measure your progress.
Below is a picture of a bunch of prebonsai BCs being sold for $85 each.
For USDA zone 6 to 11: (I don't feel qualified to speak above the zone in which I have spent a good amount of time)
If you grow from seed, you can get there easily in 2 years. If you buy a common $30 BC at the big box store, you can get there in 1 year or less.
You will get better flare than you see in the picture if you keep the BCs roots a little wetter than what you see in the picture.
BTW, this post is not meant to knock on the BC bonsai suppliers. A year or two of care for a BC comes at a cost. If we want to save that amount of time for a BC development, we have to pay for it.
Below is a picture of a bunch of prebonsai BCs being sold for $85 each.
For USDA zone 6 to 11: (I don't feel qualified to speak above the zone in which I have spent a good amount of time)
If you grow from seed, you can get there easily in 2 years. If you buy a common $30 BC at the big box store, you can get there in 1 year or less.
You will get better flare than you see in the picture if you keep the BCs roots a little wetter than what you see in the picture.
BTW, this post is not meant to knock on the BC bonsai suppliers. A year or two of care for a BC comes at a cost. If we want to save that amount of time for a BC development, we have to pay for it.
Last edited:
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
Good money in BC!
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
3.5 months after collection and the collected BCs have branches 5/8” in diameter and the scar healing has started.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Scar healing speed. I don’t have a picture of the original injury but it was 5 months ago 1.5” wide 8” long.
At 3 months
Now
At 3 months
Now
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Collected early December. Trees were in the way of a deer stand. They just went into dormancy. It is going to be a long wait.
Beautiful bases 4” and 5”. Nice smooth taper.
Beautiful bases 4” and 5”. Nice smooth taper.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
19Mateo83
Masterpiece
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Am I doing it wrong? I have been doing that for decades with yard trees.
