zach’s personal collection
read all about it
progressions
Click on one of the green buttons to see complete progression documentation.
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
bald cypress
Making Nice Bonsai From Ordinary Material
This is a run of the mill Bald cypress seedling (about 3 years old in 2017) that I decided to play around with in July of that year. How about a windswept cypress, I thought? So I wired it from bottom to top and stuck it in a Byron Myrick oval I had on hand. ...
BC Forest Update And Work
You may remember this Bald cypress forest from my recent blog about it. I had replaced two of the trees and added another two. Those new additions are now growing, so today seemed like a perfect time to do some work on the taller specimens. First order of...
Bald Cypress Reforestation
I assembled this Bald cypress forest a couple of years ago. It's done all right, but it's also had its challenges. I've neglected this planting in favor of other bonsai, but this year I decided it was time to bring it back to "life." All but one of the trees...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
huckleberry
Awesome Willow Oak – First Bonsai Pot
You may remember this Willow oak, Quercus phellos, from past posts. I collected it in Winter 2011, and it responded very well to its new home. After just four years, it had put on branches of decent thickness and more importantly produced a nice new apex that I let...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
riverflat hawthorn
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. ...
Propagating Bonsai Material – How To Make Five From One
There are four sources of material for bonsai - collected trees, trees from seed, trees from cuttings, and trees from air or ground layers. Today I want to show you how to use two of these methods to make more bonsai material. I made this Riverflat hawthorn,...
Can There Be Big Happiness In Small Packages?
Sunday morning musings I love big bonsai. I've loved big bonsai since I first got really into the art, and became aware that bonsai could range up to four feet tall. I've collected and trained my share of big bonsai. And whenever Cathy is explaining to someone that...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
willow oak
How To Not Get Stumped By A Live Oak Stump
I collected this Live oak stump (Quercus virginiana) from a bonsai friend's property last year. It took a while to bud out, and when it did there was growth on only one side. To make things even more interesting, once the new main shoot had extended five or six...
How To Master Root Reduction – But Did I Go Too Far On This One?
I've written before about reducing roots when collecting trees. Even though my collecting season is about over, some of you may just be getting started. So this isn't a bad time at all to review some principles - and surprises. Before I get into this topic, I do...
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...
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.