How To Make Good Material A Lot Better

by | Jan 8, 2020 | Bald Cypress, Care, Styling
Here’s a Bald cypress I collected in February of 2018. It’s a good piece of material, but not a great piece of material. It is nice and big, with a trunk that measures 6.5″ across about 6″ above the soil. Taper is very good, as you can see. But the trunk, while decently fluted, isn’t a show-stopper in that department.
This side presents a bigger problem. The buttressing roots on the side are fine, but in between them is a pretty flat piece of “trunkscape.” Again, good piece of material but hardly great. Things did not get better once I potted up the tree and waited for it to bud out – namely, it took forever to bud out. It was not obviously dead, so I relocated it to a back bench and more or less forgot about it. Then, way long into the growing season, it decided to wake up. I fed it, kept it watered, but continued to ignore it.
Then came 2019, and the tree sure enough pushed more buds than it had in 2018 and did the amount of growth it could, given its location and presumably its general state of health. But I’m somewhat encouraged by it, and have “promoted” it to a sunnier bench for the 2020 season. But … it’s still not great material, even if the growth really kicks into high gear this year. What to do? (This shot is from what would presumably be the best front. We all know how the back looks, though.)
It never hurts to pull out the sketch pad, because you can try a number of different options for a tree before you assault it possibly irreparably. Given the flatness of what would be the back of the tree going by the above photo, I thought hollowing out that side could make this a very good or even great bonsai. Is it worth the risk? I think so. Time, and the chance associated with development techniques, will tell. I won’t know until sometime in spring if I’ll be able to carve this tree in 2020. I don’t want to stress a tree that’s not in full vigor. Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think of Plan B for this BC.

BC Trees With Knees Are The Bee’s Knees

by | Jan 4, 2020 | Bald Cypress, Care, Collecting, Potting
Well, there’s nothing like Bald cypress collecting season, and there’s certainly nothing like a collected Bald cypress featuring a naturally occurring knee. This is a very substantial specimen, as I’m sure you can tell (the tub is 24″ long). Something ran over this tree decades ago, so it just grew the best it could. The trunk has rooted all along its length, so my plan is to attempt to create a raft BC from it. I don’t recall ever seeing one, though I’m sure someone somewhere has done so.

But check out that knee! That’s what sold me on this specimen. It sits right on the recumbent trunk, and I’m confident that once I get some new trunks going it’ll make for quite a composition.

The small tree to the left may or may not be part of the recumbent trunk. It appeared to have fused at some point, but as I worked on the tree it seemed to want to pull away. Regardless, it’s kind of cool for now and I may leave it even after I get the new trunks going. It’s got a fat root crossing over the main trunk, which I like.

So today I really scored. This specimen has two knees growing right on the trunk near the base. I wasn’t expecting them to be connected, but they are. So for my first time ever, today I collected two BC’s with knees. And that’s the bee’s knees!

The trunk on this one is 5″ 5″ above the soil, with a terrific flare. Very nice tree.
This is one heck of a BC specimen. The trunk is 5.5″ about 5″ above the soil, and that fluting and slight twist to the trunk just do it for me. An outstanding piece of material.

I really love the elegant “feminine” BC specimens I often bring home. I’m thinking a flat-top is in the cards for this one. The base is 4″ 4″ above the soil and it’s chopped at 29″. So the tall slender model is what I have in mind.
And lastly, this is a smaller specimen, with a base of 2.5″. But isn’t the taper and movement just awesome? I’m also thinking flat-top for this one, but it could just as easily be trained in the more traditional informal upright style.

So that’s it for my first BC collecting trip of 2020. Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for more posts over the next few weeks.

Bald Cypress Progression

by | Dec 28, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Care, Pruning, Styling, Wiring, ZPC

Zach’s Personal Collection

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Updates are in date order beginning with the first date Zach began documenting the progression.

2015

This Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) came home in 2015, and I knew from the start that I was keeping it for my personal collection. A BC of this size, 6″ trunk (6″ above the soil), will invariably take about 10 years to reach a “finished,” showable state. So as of the end of the 2019 growing season, I’m halfway there.

2016

I got really good growth the first year the tree was on my bench. That encouraged me to defoliate in July of 2016. In this photo, you can see the progress in building a new leader. This must be done properly, or the tree will look unnatural during winter dormancy.

2016

Here’s a closeup to show you the new apex building process, which includes growing a new leader and controlling the powerful rolling callus that BCs typically produce.

2017

Here we are at the beginning of the 2017 growing season. I’ve got a good branch structure going, and my new apex is poised for further thickening. Again, this process is going to take a number of years and can’t be rushed.

I’ve also got the tree potted into a training pot. This will slow the growth, of course, but I’ll still be able to accomplish all of my plans for this tree.

2017

Two months later, the tree is full of foliage and continuing strong development.

2017

Another defoliation in early July. It’s easy to see how much the branches and leader have thickened since the beginning of the year (two photos above).

2017

Here’s a head-on view of the tapering transition point, showing how well the callus is filling in. At the top you can see the “shelf” of wood I left when making the year two chop. This is to prevent the callus at the top of the wound from growing too rapidly and thereby producing a reverse taper at the transition point. The shelf will be carved down either at the end of this growing season, or the beginning of the next.

2019

This closeup, from February of 2019, shows an adjustment I made to the transition point on the left side. The callus did its thing as it was meant to, but there was a bit of a bulge where I didn’t need it. The solution? Carve it down. That makes it look much more natural.

2019

Time for a root-pruning, as the tree has been in this pot for a couple of years now. Many collected trees will re-root with great vigor once you’ve taken them from the wild. It’s a normal response. BC commonly do this.

Note: I don’t defoliate cypresses in the year they get root-pruned.

2019

The tree is root-pruned and back in its home, ready for the 2019 growing season.

2019

This shot was taken in June of 2019. The growth is not quite as vigorous as I’d like, though it isn’t bad. In situations like this, you make sure the tree gets enough fertilizer. I’ve also seen some occasions where BC will get chlorosis, and this specimen looked like it could use some iron. I’ve always found that works well, usually within a few weeks.

2019

A few weeks later, and looking better.

2019

This shot is from December 27th, 2019. I’ve removed the wire from earlier in the season and cleaned up the trunk. The state of development is very pleasing to me, though of course there are still some years ahead before this tree is showable.

With that said, there’s a significant flaw in the design of this tree that I need to address now, before it becomes too hard to do so. Can you spot it? I took the opportunity to write an article illustrating the advanced training technique I used to correct this flaw. If you’re interested in learning more, send me an email and I’ll be glad to forward it to you (it’s in pdf format).

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Flat-Top Bald Cypress Design Work

by | Nov 30, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Care, Pruning, Styling, Wiring
This flat-top Bald cypress is coming along really well for a single year of training. With that said, the design can stand some tweaking and fall is a perfect time to do it. All of the foliage will be off this tree within the next few days, so knocking some off today won’t hurt a thing.

Now, there are a couple of things that bother me about the basic design of this tree: one, the two apical leaders are too symmetrical; and two, the top of the tree is insufficiently “flat.” You can easily see what I mean by the former; by the latter I mean the crown of this tree is too rounded, and this is something that will need to be controlled as this tree continues to develop.

So let’s tackle both problems, shall we?

The first step in making the two leaders asymmetrical is to wrap some thick-gauge wire around them.
The change I’ve made here is subtle but important. I’ve pulled down the left leader and pushed up the right leader, both just enough to introduce the asymmetry I need. That’s the first step. The next few are equally important.
A sub-branch of the left leader is wired and pulled down. Again, a subtle change but very important.
A closer view, and more in line with the typical viewing angle. Take a closer look at the change in the leaders I made above, from this view. It’s all about the apical asymmetry that’s typical of flat-top BC.
More wiring on the left leader, the sub-branch at the rear. It’s brought down flatter into the plane where it belongs, and moved toward the back of the tree.
Moving over to the right leader, notice I’ve pruned out the sub-branch that was sticking straight up. It was too heavy and its further growth would adversely affect the design of this leader.
A close up, after a little more trimming. I know it may seem like I’m removing needed ramification, but trust me when I say it’ll all grow back and more! What’s vital at this point in the life of this bonsai is to properly establish the finer branch structure. BC are so apically dominant that you can completely develop a flat-top crown in a couple of seasons. In fact, if you don’t manage the growth during this crucial time, the tree will literally outgrow itself and force you to start over.
Now I’ve wired and positioned two sub-branches on the right leader. These will provide me with a good base for ramification in 2020.

Notice how flat the profile of the crown is from this view. It’s just what I need.

And the final shot for today. It’s easy to see where I’m going with this tree. I expect that by summer of 2020 I’ll be almost completely through with the overall design. Obviously I have to develop the lower branches on the trunk, and this will take a couple more seasons as the tree will push most of its energy upward. But I’ve won that fight before!

Let me know what you think of this flat-top BC. And if you haven’t already done so, sign up for our BC wish list for 2020. Plus consider a workshop – buy a BC and do the initial styling in year one, the perfect way to kick-start a great BC bonsai.

Fall Color And Flower Buds – BC And Huckleberry

by | Nov 22, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Blueberry, Care, Flowering
Here’s one of my landscape Bald cypresses that I’ve grown from seed since 2000. It gets bigger and better each year. Isn’t the color just terrific?
This one is just starting to put on its bronze for the year. Once the colors start, you’ve got maybe a week before the tree is bare. This tree has developed well this year – from collection in February to the initial styling and then slip-potting. It’s always nice when you can get a faster result.
I’ve got some nice red leaves on this Huckleberry. It needs a bit of a trim.
After the trim. I left a leader on the right-hand trunk alone, so it could continue to run and thicken. Once spring gets here, the growth will kick off again and that will include a lot more ramification. With more sub-branching to choose from, I’ll be able to build a better fine structure on this tree.
This tree is also getting closer to its first bonsai pot. The planting angle above strikes me as not quite as good as this one. If I do go this route, my choice of leader on the right-hand trunk will shift – but that’s why I’ve been growing two of them, so I’d have a choice. If I do go with the prominent one, it will need wiring come spring because it’s too straight (I can’t do it now for fear of cracking it, with no way for the tree to do any repair work).
And finally, check out all the flower buds! This pretty much guarantees me a decent show as spring gets close next year, not to mention some fruit toward summer. I really love growing Huckleberries as bonsai.

A Few Rules For Slip-Potting

by | Sep 22, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Care, Potting

Those of you who have been with us for a while know I love to slip-pot trees. Why? Well, I guess the biggest reason is I’m impatient to see a tree progress toward its best self. Another reason is that a lot of trees pass through my hands, and often it’s just time to go ahead and get a tree into a bonsai pot and move on to others. Slip-potting usually saves at least half a season in terms of getting a tree to a good showable state. So there you go.

With that said, however, there are some rules that have to be followed if you want to see your trees progress faster to your ultimate goal (meaning the slip-potting has a positive rather than negative outcome). Here are some I adhere to, in no particular order:

1. The tree must be healthy with good vigor. I know, this goes without saying but it never hurts to bear it in mind.

2. The tree either has to have a complete trunk line, or be vigorous enough so that you can complete your trunk line in a bonsai pot. Shallow pots slow growth, always.

3. You need good roots. Foliar vigor isn’t always reflected below the soil, and this is especially true for species that don’t grow roots quickly (such as hollies).

4. The pot your pre-bonsai is growing in should be very similar in size and configuration to the bonsai pot you intend it to go in. Which is another way of saying you want to avoid removing any roots, to the greatest extent you can.

5. Only slip-pot when there’s time in the growing season for the tree to recover from the move. Or, put another way, don’t slip-pot in winter. That leaves three whole other seasons, so you should be able to get your fill of slip-potting while it’s warm.

My first step was to do some light trimming. I pruned the lower branches pretty hard – they’ll push some more growth in the next four to six weeks, which I want. I also pruned the crown more or less to shape; again, light trimming.
Now let’s look at some numbers. First of all, this specimen has a 2.5″ trunk base and is 33″ tall. This is a good ratio for a flat-top BC, because they look best with tall slender trunks in the “tall tree” form. The 33″ height gives us the guidance we need for a suitable bonsai pot. You don’t want the pot to be longer (or, if a round, larger in diameter) than about 40% of the height. The diameter of the nursery pot is 13″. My bonsai pot needs to be that length or slightly longer. This is good, because I won’t have to cut any root to make the tree fit. The depth of the soil mass is about 3″. This too is good, because I want my bonsai pot to have a profile depth roughly similar to the diameter of the trunk at the base. This means I don’t have to cut any root off the bottom of the tree.
Here’s how the slip-potting turned out. I had a very nice Byron Myrick oval on hand. The length is 14″ (outside edge to outside edge), and it’s 11″ wide. I was able to easily fit the tree into this pot, meaning no significant disturbance to the roots. And finally, the pot is just over 3″ deep in profile, which was the depth of the soil mass. It was very easy to get the tree into this pot and fill in with bonsai soil. With four to six weeks left in the growing season, this tree should continue to thrive. I anticipate seeing some nice fall color, which should go well with the pot. Let me know what you think about today’s work.