I have more questions than answers on this one. That is, once I
picked my jaw up off my chest.

Ok I'll go through this one section at a time

The Bald Cypress is a swamp tree. You cannot drown this tree. It'll
tolerate frost in the winter, and hot and humid summers. The leaves
prefer higher humidity than indoors can ever provide.

I am well aware of the conditions that bald cypress will live under. I live in
the middle of a cypress swamp! My mom who lives in the Mountains of WVa grows
bald cypress out side with no problems as well as inside with sunlight coming
in through a window. I said I was new to bonsai (10 years) Not an idiot! I grow
potted swamp trees of many speces in outdoor ponds, It's part of why I started
growing trees. I love to see them growing out of the water and later i learned
that a tree growing in an aquarium makes keeping black water fish much easier
and the underwater display or roots makes for another dimension in both tree
and aquarium keeping. I started out with just displays of Cypress growing in
shallow bowls with azolla covering the water. I have progressed to very nice
displays of various trees growing in aquariums where both the above water and
below water parts of the plants can be seen. Incredibly interesting display.
Due to a hurricane my greenhouse is now gone. so indoors is teh only place i
can display my aquarium with trees.

If you're doing
this as a terrarium planting, you'll want to keep the moisture level
high. Perhaps too high as I expect the glass will be constantly
beaded with moisture and will therefore not be viewable from the
outside (in which case, what's the point?).

Moisture levels in the air ar not as important as you think but i do keep the
trees semi inclosed as more of vivarium type set up. Water tupelo trees do fine
like this, as do water apples, but not cypress trees. I used to think maybe it
was day lenth but the use of varible timers show this isn't the case niether is
winter temps since i could them at summer temps year round in the greenhouse. I
kept tropical fish in them.

If you're running your plants under halide lamps, you may be producing
the heat, but are you producing the moisture? What size aquarium are
you using (measurements in inches, not gallons please)?

From 12"W X 24"L X12"H to 24"W X 60"L X16"H One reason I am detrimined to solve
this problem is my greenhouse was blown away in a hurricane a fewe years ago
and I am tired of not having the more intimate contact with my trees that I
used to have

Do you have a
misting system or is it enclosed to keep the humidity high.

Partially enclosed.

What are your humidity and temperature readings for the plant? If
you're going to play God with this tree, you'll have to know these
numbers. Humidity would be nice for the tree over 80% (gut feeling
because that's what it is in New Orleans most of the time).

Everyone who grows bonsai is playing god
and trees are much tougher than people give them credit for, see my moms
cypress in the WVa mountians growing like crayzy in mostly dry clay with winter
temps in the -0's at times in the winter

Temperatures should be in the 80's and 90's during the summer.

Thanks for the update.

Having said that, I wonder if what the temperature differential is
betweent the base and the apex of the tree. What good is it to get
the base temperature at 85 degrees if the top, nearest the halide
lamps, is at 110? That'd kill any plant.

Again I am not an idiot, I do know to keep the lights away from the plants.
Most plants even cacti would not do well too close to metal halides

Further, would there be any
differences between the base and apex humidity levels? I'm betting
yes. Oh, man, this is complicated stuff. I like it better keeping
outdoor trees outdoors. But hey, that's not the answer you're looking
for.

Exactly!

Does the cypress spend any time outside in the winter? It really does
need to lose it's leaves once a year. Only cold weather will do that.
You need something below 45 degrees for weeks at a time.

Not true it's day lenth that governs leaf loss on most trees, cypress included.
Keeping in a hot house year round pretty much proved this

Have you
thought of hooking up a window air conditioner to your terrarium? But
then, if you do that, you'll end up with water beading up on the
OUTSIDE of the aquarium this time. And once again, non-viewable
terrariums is not what you want.

I have no probelm with water beading on the glass either way.

Since you seemed determined to have an indoor display of cypress, I
doubt you'll listen to the best advice of all: STOP KILLING THESE
TREES IN YOUR HOUSE. I can only give you enough advice to keep the
trees alive for a season or two (or is that a season or less?).

My oldest tree is ten years old, the youngest is 2 years old, all were grown
from seeds. Mind your own beeswax!

And since this is a multispecies display, ho man is this getting
complicated!

Obviously you have nver been to a real swamp, most trees in a swamp grow all
over each other. No muti species problems. If you can't suggest a type of
lighting or some other useful info don't answer the questions. I'm not a troll,
I was looking to see if anyone else had to keep their favorite trees under
artificial lighting and if they did what kind.

Bill Butler
New Orleans, LA
USDA Zone 9

www.gnobs.org (Club Auction on August 16, 2003)

remove nospam from e-mail to send to me, I grow trees in aquariums like bonsai.
I breed dwarf crayfish, great for planted community tanks. If you can get me a
shovelnose sturgeon fingerling (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) no wild caught
please, contact me