[IBC] Bald Cypress
 

I'm in Zone 7 and Bald Cypress can be found in many area swamps. In fact the Dismal Swamp (which includes area surveyed by George Washington) has some fabulous old Bald Cypress. Although readily available from various nurseries, it's fairly rare to see
them used in our bonsai club displays.

Randi Sharp
Richmond, VA


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[IBC] Bald Cypress
 

I love Bald Cypress,Taxodium distichum! I live in Zone 5 about three miles
from the Mississippi river. I grow it like crazy. There are several
full-grown here in the town I live in. I have no problems growing this
great tree as either pre-bonsai or landscape specimen. I use the seeds in
my potting mix and pick out seedlings all summer. I seem to remember
someone mentioned that they had theirs growing in water, don't know why one
would feel the need to do that. Unless they wanted a mosquito farm. The
tree doesn't need it.


Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, is essentially a temperate tree with a
lot of
heat tolerance. People associate it with Florida, but that is actually the
southern end of its range. it will grow as far north as Zone 6. And it
doesn't
really have to grow in a swamp, as long as it gets plenty of water. There
is a
well-known bald cypress in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. ! (That means in
botanical lingo that I've seen it myself.)
Iris,

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[IBC] Bald Cypress
 

I seem to remember
someone mentioned that they had theirs growing in water, don't know why one
would feel the need to do that. Unless they wanted a mosquito farm. The
tree doesn't need it.

Around here most of the trees grow in water. this allows them to grow with less
competition from other trees. there are trees here grow standing ten feet of
water from where a damn was consructed and flooded a large area. all the other
trees died (except for water tupelo) Each of these trees and or stand of trees
is an oais in the lake with many trees growing on the base of the cypress. If
you do want to display a cypress in it's natural flooded state you can grow
azolla on top of the water, this will stop mosquitos and make the water look
like a swamp covered with plants around the base of the tree. also growing the
tree in standing water will cause it to have a bigger base which in turn makes
it look like a more mature tree. Cypress look better as slightly bigger than
most bonsia because their needles are a bit too big to look right on a really
tiny specimen. If you are really lucky maybe you'll get some cypress knees
around teh base of your cypress if it is grown in water. Very cool but it takes
a long time if ever! around here there thousands of acers of cypress growing in
flooded land or land that is flooded twice a day by the tides. Be careful of
salt, cypress don't like salt and will die if exposed to very much of it. You
can tell how far the salt water comes inland by looking at the stopping point
of the growth of the cypress.

Moon