Taxodium Distichum - Swamp Cypress

[alpineart]

Hi Barry , mate i have heard and seen the tornadoes and the water destruction up that way on TV . My heart felt sympathy to all whom are effected . We had several mini tornadoes over the last few years , mate i thought my house was going to blow away and i was only on the edge of 1 of them . Numerous houses completely disappeared only the slabs or stumps left behind , i watched 30-50 foot trees flying horizontal past the back door in the last one with winds estimated at 150kph at the back door , it was about 40 kph at the front door . We ave had numerous floods , fires and tornadoes over the last 15 years . Unfortunately there is no escape from the fury of Mother Nature when she cuts loose , my 4x4 still has the battle scars .. All the best .

Cheers Alpine

[T_B]

Hi bki , thanks for the ID on the moss , it's the same as Bunnings had at Wangaratta .

Hi Dario , the moss was in the garden section where the Bromeliads are housed . I intend to drape some over this in a few years time when it is displayed be it the local show or here at home .

Cheers Guys .Alpine

Spanish moss is actually a species of bromeliad, not a moss as you might expect from the name.

Nice tree, I've always wondered if development of the knees in bonsaied taxodium was a possibility, nice to see that it is. I assume you have to keep the soil very moist to encourage them to grow?

[alpineart]

Hi T_B , Mate welcome to Ausbonsai . These Swamp Cypress have spent the majority of their life in a water bed /Fish pond .I originally made a 5mx 750mm fish pond and used it for soaking tree in .The fish didn't survive the fertilizers so now its used for growing water loving Swamp cypress in .Anything that holds water and a large pot can be used for a water tray as only half the depth of the pot is required , mosquitoes are the biggest problem with open water area's . I use wet beds /sand trays for the majority of my plants that keeps the mozzies from breeding it creates humidity in Summer and conserve water .

A simple timber frame with a piece of black plastic for a liner is all that is required for a water bed . I haven't seen knee's developed in bonsai , but have heard many have tried to make it happen . I did manipulate a few in the early stages which wasn't completely successful although most still remain here , i then discovered numerous knobby bent roots during a re-pot in a large square pot where the root has struck the outside of the pot and doubled back on itself forming a kink and swelling . I simply rotated the bent root and elevated it so it would be in the elements and grow bark like a normal exposed root .

Most people would simply rake the roots out or cut 50-100mm off the root mass during a re-pot / root prune and never know these were in there , i happen to wash the old decayed soil away and discovered what i was trying to replicate was present only in the square pots . I'm currently trialling a 3 group Planting in a large square pot to see if it happens in the first season , hoping they will compete for space and form the confined root mass which will force the roots to strike the side of the pot and fold back creating effectively horizontal knee's , then i will rotate then to the upright position and away we go with a group of Swampies with knee's .

Cheers Alpineart

[alpineart]

This has been growing well with basic trims during the season . It was re-potted last year into a tray

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It had a trim and re-wire today

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and will now grow on again until winter then another root prune and re-pot into a smaller tray hoping to slow down the growth . Ihave contemplated a layer to reduce the height of the flat top by 300mm , currently it is just under 1.2 meters .The knee's are going great guns

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and will be reduced to just a few stronger ones in winter .

Cheers Alpineart

[alpineart]

This got a work over at the same time as a few others

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, too bloody cold to lay rock as the conmix is still frozen . The new tray is around 1/3 smaller than the previous tray .

Cheers Alpineart

[SteveW]

Vaughn Banting popularised flat top swamp cypress and has one in the US national collection. There are several excellent pictures of flat tops in this tribute to him: http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/banting.php

This link is about the technique to make knees:
http://www.bonsaimary.com/Bald-Cypress-Bonsai.html

[alpineart]

Hi SteveW, I was inspired by a picture of the said tree many years ago , however it lacked the Knee's . I made a decision to create them only to find they will produce a kinked Knee type growth inside the root mass but only in a square pot .

This tree has a mix of both manufactured and natural enhaced type Knees , simply rotated from inside the root mass to stand upright .

Thanks for the links it made for some very good reading .

Cheers .Alpineart

[alpineart]

Another update on the progress of this tree .

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Just had a trim before the Autumn colour sets in then drops the foliage . This will be re-potted over Winter back into a larg flatter bonsai tray or I may even design another slab to suit .

Cheers Alpineart

[melbrackstone]

Hi there Ian, hope you're not affected too badly by the fires?

Do you still have this swampy?

[alpineart]

Hi Mel, been "MIA" for so long its now a habit . The fires got close , the smoke was as thick as pea soup so we couldn't see much .Very stressful period but I did manage to install a full cover sprinkler system to save the house , might need to convert it to water a bonsai .

I still have the swampy along with plenty of others but I have made a decision to sell up and travel around this great country before the body give out completely . My Son has all but grown up and flown the coup so its time to pull up stumps . It will take a while like bonsai but the decision has been made .
Cheers Alpine

[melbrackstone]

Hi Ian, thanks for getting back to me. I can relate to needing to get some "me" time, and hope that you can sell all you need so you can get out there and travel!

Glad to hear you weren't burnt out!!!

[alpineart]

A touch of Autumn colour in the Swampie ,

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its in need of a re-work and chop . I have in the past considered taking the entire apex off at the lower branch and beginning again but i just dont need to keep playing with tree's . Might just hang onto it for a classic garden tree .

Cheers . Alpineart

[Bougy Fan]

If that was up here in god's country we would think it was dead What is this "autumn colour" you mention ?

[alpineart]

Hi Mr Bougy Fan , mate its a very special event that happens down this way , not unique to my area but even better when it happens in your own back yard .
Do the swampies drop their leaves up your way or stay green and boring

Cheers . Alpine

[Bougy Fan]

I have seen big park trees go nude, but the most that usually happens is some may turn a little red. At least our figs don't need to go into frost protection, whatever frost is