zach’s personal collection
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Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
bald cypress
Summer Progress – Cedar Elm, Sweetgum, BC
You've been following along as I've developed this Cedar elm, starting in 2017 when it was first collected. The tree is filling out well, and the ramification is getting tighter with each pruning/pinching. All in all, time and technique are working their magic....
Its’ Shaggy BC Time!
I started working on this Bald cypress last year. It's progressing very well, as you'll see when you compare these photos with the one from last year I included below. We're into summer now, and you can generally count on cypresses to take on a "shaggy"...
Bonsai Odds & Ends – BC, Sweetgum, Water-Elm
Here's a nice, slender Bald cypress from this year's crop. I had planned from the start to hold the tree and make it into a flat-top style. It's grown out enough now that I can do the initial styling on it. About 20 minutes later, this is what I ended up...
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huckleberry
Bald Cypress Work – 2016 – Part 2
As with most bonsai in development, timing is critical as you move from new collect to recovered specimen and on to initial design steps. With bald cypress, timing is perhaps more critical than with most species since it grows so vigorously once it recovers from...
Willow Oak – Final Work For 2015
I'm sure you'll remember this willow oak, Quercus phellos, that I potted earlier this year. There are a number of developmental chores I've been working on: building the apex using the grow, clip and wire process; building taper into the tree's branches in the same...
Willow Oak Update
The saga continues for my awesome willow oak, Quercus phellos. You may remember the tree got its first bonsai pot back in April, which was roughly four years after I'd collected it. The tree had not yet budded out for spring, so I was anxiously waiting to see what...
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riverflat hawthorn
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...
Thank You For A Great 2016 – This Year Will Be Even Better
Happy New Year to all of you! And many thanks to all of you who helped Bonsai South grow in 2016. We've been doing better each and every year since I relaunched the business in 2010, and I'm happy to report that 2017 looks like it will be another record-setting year....
The Awesome Beauty Of The Deciduous Bonsai In Winter
Fall in the Deep South is an iffy affair. When we do get fall, it typically comes and goes in short order. This year we actually got perfect conditions for a nice season of color, a lengthy drought that ended around Thanksgiving. In the past couple of weeks we've...
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willow oak
Here’s A Pretty Reliable Bonsai Tip You’ll Need Someday
You may recall the hard-pruning I did to Allen's Crape Myrtle back in February when I also repotted the tree. At that time, I pointed out that there was a branch up near the crown of the tree that had grown so heavy it was as thick as the trunk itself. ...
A Couple Of Oaks On The Way, And A Nice Live Oak Bonsai
Back in January I posted a blog about this Live oak, Quercus virginiana. Chop, lift, pot. A nice Live oak bonsai in the making. A good client of mine thought it would make a nice tree to get some styling practice on, so it got a future home pretty quickly. ...
An Old Live Oak Bonsai Gets Some Care And A New Pot
I first wrote about this Live oak, Quercus virginiana, back in October 2015. It's been sitting on the bench now for a couple of years, and aside from letting it grow out and giving it a haircut a couple of times a year, I haven't done anything with it. It has a solid...
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.