zach’s personal collection
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Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
bald cypress
Fun Fast Bonsai Development
I love fast-developing trees. Some species and styles naturally lend themselves to rapid progress. The flat-top Bald cypress is a perfect example of this phenomenon. This specimen was collected in Winter 2019, and here's how it looked after the initial styling...
Huckleberry #5 – Summer Work
You've been following the development of this Huckleberry bonsai-to-be for the past year or so. This is where the specimen stood just over one year ago, in July of 2018. And here it is in February of this year. I had done some carving on the trunk chops in...
Fourth Of July Bonsai Odds & Ends – Cedar Elm, BC, Chinzan Azalea
I potted this small Cedar elm earlier this season. It's been growing away, minding its own business. Recently we had a couple of storms and somehow this tree got picked to be blown off the bench. It stayed in the pot and no branches were broken, but the second...
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huckleberry
Repotting A Hawthorn; How To Correct A Root Problem
Here's my specimen Riverflat hawthorn, Crataegus opaca. I repotted this tree two years ago, and knew it had since filled its pot with roots. Certain hawthorn species do not root all that vigorously, but Riverflat is not one of them. At the same time, I've been faced...
Big Cypress Gets Worked On Today – Planning For Next Year
It's been a while since I updated the development of my big Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum. This is year two following collection in Winter 2015. Here's a photo of the tree in February of last year, just when it was pushing its first buds. ...
Another Cypress Gets Defoliated
We started following the tale of this Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, in early 2015. This is a big cypress with the classic fluting, in this case fluting that runs high on the trunk. These trees really make a statement! ...
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riverflat hawthorn
More New Collected Trees – Aren’t These Just Great?
Today was another opportunity to collect some great new material. Here are a few of the trees I brought home today. First up is yet another terrific Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum. This one has a 5" trunk 5" above the soil surface, and is chopped at 27". The...
No More Really Big Trees For Me – Just This Last One
I have always loved really big bonsai. No matter where you see them, either in a show or in someone's collection, your eye is invariably drawn to them. They're so ... big! And yet they're a small representation of something that's super big, which is a little odd...
Allen’s Crape Gets A New Pot – More On How To Make Your Bonsai Better
I mentioned recently that it was time to repot this nice old Crape myrtle bonsai, Lagerstoemia indica, that was gifted to me by my late friend Allen Gautreau. In addition to the needed repotting, this tree is also seriously overgrown and needs to be brought back in. ...
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willow oak
What About That Perfect Crape Myrtle Plan? It’s Awesome
Remember how earlier this year I repotted and worked on this legacy Crape myrtle, Lagerstoemia indica, that my friend Allen Gautreau bequeathed me? The large branch in the tree's crown had grown too thick over the years, and needed to be removed. At the time I...
The From-Scratch Design: How To Control Details
As you know by now, I more often than not collect deciduous tree trunks. Though I seek good size, movement and taper, I seldom come home with a branch structure. But that's okay. That just means I have complete control over the branch structure and can tailor it to...
Rip Van Winkle Wakes Up – How To Know When They’re Really Dead
You may remember my wonderful Willow oak, Quercus phellos, from this photo I took last fall. I repotted it last spring, and cut back the lowest right branch hard to improve it, and from there just did some light pinching and pruning through the growing season. This...
we love your input
Hi Zach,
When is the next availability of Bald Cypress. I live in Michigan.
I would like to get one booked.
I am retired from the bonsai business, Aby. Sorry.
Is bald cypress Cypressbonsai20 available for sale?
so this is the 1st time in a while I’ve been to the site just showing it off and im super impressed.
Thank you, Josh!
Zach, I see you train bonsai BC in flat top style but am not sure what to picture. Is it supposed to mimic a tree that lost its conical top from wind damage or lightning? Does it look like a bald head with hair/branches growing out from the sides only? Do you have finished ones like this to show as an example?
Thanks, Danny
Danny, the so-called flat-top Bald cypress is simply an older tree that has lost most of its lower branches as it’s grown taller and older, and having reached its genetically limited height the growth in the crown spreads laterally. Check out this post to get an idea of one in training.