Nursery Bald
Cypress: A
Good Tree For Beginners Part II
By Thomas J.
 At the end of last months article I mentioned using
a specific type of saw called a coping saw to make
your angle cut at the new leader so as to blend it
in with the rest of the tree. For those unfamiliar
with a coping saw, this is what it looks like.
 After
you make your angle cut down the trunk, take a rasp,
which is a very very coarse file, and taper the trunk
to blend in with the new leader. Notice in the next
three pictures the outcome of the final chop with the
tapered trunk below the new leader. At the bottom of
the page is a detailed description of this work.
Once the new leader begins to
rebud, you’ll
continue to work it down in size until you get something
that you can be satisified with for the final height
of the tree. I also picked what branches I was going
to use for the final design of the tree at this time.
You don’t have to be too choosey, because if
you don’t have a branch where you would like
one, just wait a few weeks and chances are one will
bud there. That’s another reason why I think
this is an excellent tree for beginners. Cut the branches
back in length especially at the top where they will
probably already be pretty thick. You have to remember
that on a Bald Cypress bonsai, the branches on the
bottom should be the thickest and get thinner as they
go up the trunk. Unfortunately the tree grows just
the opposite of that, having it’s stronger growth
on top. You will also notice on the picture below,
that I wired the branches at this time also.
 The
new branches on Bald Cypress are very tender when
they are young as you will see for yourself. If you
live in a part of the country where you have strong
winds for a length of time as we do here in Tx. that
could go as high as 40mph and last for a week or two,
that might be a bit much for these thin branches. So
the wiring will do a twofold job; that being ,holding
the braches shape, and protecting it from strong winds.
The reason why the branches are wired pointing down,
is to give the appearence of an older Bald Cypress.
A young Bald Cypress in nature will have its branches
pointing up at the top of the tree, and straight out
as you go down. But an older tree will have most of
its branches pointing down. The style I chose for my
bald cypress is probably the easiest to do. Another
style and one that is probably more apt to be seen
in the swamps is the "flat top" style which
might be harder for some because there wouldn't be
a taper involved, but would require some extra work
at the top to blend in a whole new crown. The four
pictures I used in this article, were taken in a time
frame of just four months. I’m sure you’ll
have just as much fun working on your Bald Cypress
as I did. I can’t think of a better tree for
a beginner to start out with. When you see how nice
it’s growing and how you really can’t overwater
it, it will really build your self confidence in your
ability to do bonsai. Not only that, it’s also
a really good looking tree that i’m sure will
give you much satisfaction for years to come.
An update on this article which was first published
in 2001:
 The Bald Cypress used for this article was severley
damaged in a hail storm in April of 2003. All of the
branches except for three were destroyed. The picture
shown here is the result of new growth one year later.
Notice also the shallower size pot that the tree was
finally worked down into.
Again I must say that Bald Cypress is the ideal tree
for beginners for those who have the opportunity in
that part of the country where they will survive and
where they are readily available to purchase
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