bald cypress fun in 2021
Sneak Peek
It’s not too soon to think about trees I’m going to work on in 2021. Here are a few Bald cypresses that are on the list.



Bald Cypress Fun in 2021
I rarely do any Bald cypress trunk-building – I much prefer to collect them already built so all I have to do is make the apex and branching. But here’s a small specimen that died back following collection, and now that it’s pushing strong growth I have an idea about making a shohin BC. Most BC bonsai tend to be pretty tall, if not hefty too, so why not a specimen under 12″? It’ll be interesting to see how much I can get built with this one next year.


For those of you who have been following my blogs all year, we collected this one back in January. That massive hunk of wood you see is firmly attached to the tree, and I can only speculate that it was a large tree on its own and then died as this one grew up over and around it. The wood at the base is fused to the living tree. So I thought then and now, “Can it become a feature?”
That extra wood above the soil needed to be treated with lime sulfur to help preserve it, so I did that the other day. Until it fades it looks like a woody iceberg. I’m frankly not sure if it’s a feature or an obstacle to the ultimate design. What do you think?
I wired and did the initial styling on the living tree, and a plan that’s a little different has set itself in my mind. We’ll see where it goes in 2021.


“Iceberg dead ahead, Matey!”
Here’s another big one that grew sluggishly earlier in the season, and has only recently picked up strength. I can’t do anything with it this year, but that’s fine. I’m thinking flat-top in 2021, since I already have some classic pyramidal-style specimens in progress.
Let me know what you think. Are you already planning for 2021?

I was referring to the one in the pic which accompanied this text.
“Here’s another big one that grew sluggishly earlier in the season, and has only recently picked up strength. I can’t do anything with it this year, but that’s fine. I’m thinking flat-top in 2021, since I already have some classic pyramidal-style specimens in progress.
I am not that skilled to assess the “iceberg” tree. Unless that tree is the one you were referring to.
Okay, I understand now. Thanks for the clarification.
Some of the options seem to be:
1) shortening the tree at the point where the trunk begins moving to the right — but one would need to know the height of the tree to do that.
2) shortening the at the point where the trunk completes the move to the right — but, again need to know the height of the tree.
3) do a slant reduction at the top since there seems to be a lot of options with the branching
4) put the tree up on a special auction
Thank you for the feedback, Phillip. I’m assuming you’re referring to the “iceberg” tree.