Swamp Cypress advice

[Shinkitai]

I have been growing this swamp cypress for a couple of years, my main intent has been to fatten up the trunk. The thing grows like crazy no matter what I do to it, so I have hacked away at various stages experimenting. I plan on at least a few more years just growing for thickness.

My concern at this stage is the roots. It has 3 large roots that grow nearly straight down forming an arch at the bottom of the tree. When I first got it I thought they might fatten and I could perhaps fuse together but this has not happen. What should I do with this?

Some options I was thinking of:-
1. Apply a tourniquet and bury those roots under ground until new roots which I control a bit more grow.
2. Graft extra roots into the gaps and then fuse all together to form a fatter base of the trunk (don't know if this is possible)
3. Tilt it over to the side into a slanting style with the back section with no main roots towards the ground. (do swampy;s work like this? All the ones I saw at the Gold Coast show seemed to be very upright, which i s'pose is more like their natural habit)
4. ????????

Open to any ideas or thoughts.

[Bougy Fan]

Swampies are shocking for crap roots that usually head straight down with a few twists. That's why I have started growing from seed and root pruning at every repot. You could either do a ground layer or approach graft some roots. I have mine on a gravel bed that is kept wet and feed them heaps of chook poo.

[Emily Csato]

Hi,

I have a beautiful swampy, its root system is very beautiful. When I bought it and bare-rooted it, it revealed really lovely shape underneath the soil. I'm letting it grow so that I can refine it before I pot. I have all my swampies in pure water in brocolli boxes, that's what they love best so that's how they grow best. It's alright to say that swampies have roots that are too straight, however maybe we sometimes want a tree to look a certain way when that species doesn't grow that way. Swampies at maturity have 'knees' and that's what bonsai enthusiasts in America strive for; those straight, big knees, like this:

http://www.duke.edu/web/nicholas/bio217 ... rnettz.jpg

You didn't say if you've had a look at what's under the soil since you potted it. That would be my first suggested as swampies seem to develop their best roots under the soil. That said, if you're just growing it put it straight in water. My last suggestion: in the last picture, cut the smaller root on the right off completely. That would give the trunk shape from that angle - assuming that is the front. Right now that smaller root takes away from the movement.

Cheers

[Shinkitai]

[alpineart]

Hi Shinkatai , mate i have a few which have been grown from seedlings . With this one i would be inclined to split the roots and the base and fold it out so you end up with a more radial base and flatter at ground level . I use small pebbles to keep the lower trunk and split roots apart , this allows new roots to form and the older thicker roots to hold the position i place them into . A shallow tray or large shallow pot would be better suited for the root work as the lower trunk can be wired down to force the root to grow sideways .

Then sit that into a water tray /kids clam shell sand pit or make a black plastic bath using 4 pieces of 150x 50 timber a box surround and line it with the plastic . If a square pot is used and plenty of root growth occurs Cypress Knees will form at the edge of the pot , however they usually grow side ways so they need rotating during a re-pot . Most people dont realize the knees are there as the are inside the root mass and are usually trimmed by mistake as shitty roots . I will update my Swampy to show off the roots . I did manufacture a few knee's in the early days then discovered the square pot produces them . Cheers .Alpineart