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