Bald Cyprus Tree- Taxodium distichum - Growing Bald Cypress

Baldcypress are an American native, whose native range extends from Delaware south to Florida, west to Illinois, Missouri and south from there to Louisiana and Texas.They have been planted far outside of this range though, and have been found to be hardy to 30 below zero Fahrenheit. Specimens can be found in Canada and Minnesota.
Their natural habitat is poorly drained (think swampland) rich alluvial soils, but they are very adaptable, growing in sand or clay, and in dry soils as well. The Cypress swamps of the Carolina's and Louisiana are the quintessential habitat, with Spanish moss and alligators. The one soil attribute that will not be to their liking would be a high pH, as leaf chlorosis (yellowing of the foliage) occurs.
Baldcypress are generally narrowly pyramidal in youth, growing at a fairly fast rate (2 feet per year when they are correctly sited which is fast for a tree) in their early years, slowing as they reach middle age, and finally becoming irregularly flat-topped as an older plant. The eventual height in the wild can reach above seventy feet, but under cultivation they generally top out at sixty or so feet, with a spread of only a quarter of that.
One of about six species of deciduous conifers, Baldcypress trees lose their
leaves in the fall, just like a Maple or an Oak. The leaves turn a bronze or pumpkin orange in November, lasting for about a week or ten days. Subtle as compared to the Maples and other trees and shrubs highlighted in this column, yet beautiful in its own right.
Baldcypress are available in the nursery trade, either in pots or balled-andburlapped. They are supposed to be hard to transplant because of a taproot, but if properly root-pruned in the nursery, this problem seems to be negligible. Again planting in the right spot (wet soil, full sun is best) is important, and then you have a carefree, pest-free deciduous conifer to add to your collection. By the way, the others are the American Larch, the European Larch, the Dawn-Redwood and another species of Taxodium.

[@thatoneguyRyan1]

I love my bald Cyprus. It’s about three and a half years old 🥹

[@luzherrera7687]

the knees you mention that come off the roots are as far as I know called neumatophers, and they rise especially on very damp floors, as a way for the tree to level the amount of oxigen that otherwise wouldnt get if completely flooded

[@chasingthefish9042]

They dont know why they put out knees. They suspect its for stability. Knees can't be reproduced in bonsai without the tree being collected from the wild.

[@freedumbsquirts4809]

I've sprouted 19 seedlings this year in Iowa. The tallest seedling is about 16" so far.

[@funkidboo7864]

We grow these in New England as well. Beautiful tree

[@WELLTHATHAPPENS]

will these trees soak up water ,my back yard used to be a pond,just rushes took over

[@Rexluna1]

Yes it will

[@Eastbaypisces]

Sry meant to say "can you"not "can't"

[@harryl2232]

Same treatment for the seedlings, lots of water and sunshine?

[@houseboatrob4238]

The knees is the trees defense from the dinosaur eating thier foliage,get up to 9ft.

[@melindacorzine841]

I live adjacent to the Lower CAche River and its Wetlands in southern Illinois. We have record cypress with 209 knees and one up to 1,500 years old. I need information on the effect of permanent water on cypress trees. Can you help?

[@JD-gw4ko]

Plausable

[@royalfolkspark]

Question,, I'm growing four bonsai in water, (central Florida). To date 4/11/20, three are greening up like normal. One is not, (is it dead), or a late bloomer ?

[@matthewsantiago8114]

Theres a ton of them in the florida everglades

[@erererer5]

I am planning to make a bonsai out of it. Can you basically leave the pot in a big puddle of water and let it sit there forever ?

[@bighurt7577]

Yes. You can grow in a container withe no holes in it also.

[@xyzllii]

Thanks for the info. I'm panicking now. Mine is close to the sewage tank.

[@caitlynnmcfee5308]

Great video! Thank you 🌳

[@Eastbaypisces]

can you cut some of the bottom branches off so you can walk underneath the tree and if so when can I do it? also how far apart should I keep a Redwood from it if planting 2-3' Redwood within 5-6' of the Bald Cypress which already is 5' or should I not do that?

[@allowmi]

That's a Pond Cypress he's standing in front of Taxodium ascendens. The leaf branching is on top of the limbs.

[@williamw3485]

Beautiful

[@Eastbaypisces]

Can't trim bottom branches if used as street tree so ppl can walk underneath?

[@terrencegibbons3351]

They grow in Massachusetts as well

[@jcordero18]

how many feet apart should you plant these trees from each other?

[@Gardenclips]

Jose Cordero It depends on how you want to use it Jose. They can grow to about 35ft wide but some people have used them for a hedge and would plant them closer together in that case. Here's a US Forest Service fact sheet with info. hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/taxdisa.pdf Thanks for watching!

[@jcordero18]

Thank you so much for the information

[@lockmat9]

Mine is non symmetrical. Is it safe to trim it so it is coned shape? My branches grew at irregular lengths is more pear shaped.

[@Rexluna1]

It will tend toward not being symmetrical, especially as it gets older. This is similar to Eastern Redcedar trees