Bald Cypress

[Nickbb]

This spring I bought a swampy. It's by no means anything special but I can play with it. I have an idea that might work out with time. It has a large fork too high for me to see anything leaving it and I want to remove it. Is it ok to do this now in SEQLD? It's about an inch and a half thick.
Thanks

[alpineart]

Hi Nickbb, mate i have a couple here that i cut back when i see fit , I dont use a seasonal guide or timeline just cut back during the growing season as well as dormant period and it grows on regardless . .
I do keep mine in water baths which gives maximum growth and can get leggy hence the regular trimming .They do back bud profusely .
Cheers Ian

[melbrackstone]

If you're not in the mountains then the humid and hot summer temps will be good for your swampy. You can pretty much do anything with them in Brisbane, at any time of the year, so cutting off a branch would not be a concern.

I think the biggest problem people have with them is they cut the bottom off the root ball before finding the nebari. Mostly the swampies from nurseries have been planted deep, and you'll generally have to go down from the top of the soil level about half the depth of the soil before finding any roots. Once you find them, then you can decide whether to cut off any of the bottom.

Next problem is they grow very coarse and thick roots, which can ruin a good look if left to curl and coil. Stretch out those roots so they're like spokes of a wheel and you'll do yourself a favour for the future. Keep em buried for as long as possible, but in a radiating pattern, and in 5 years time you should have a top notch nebari.

I grow mine slow and steady without sitting in water, that saves me having to hack off multitudes of long hard thick roots every year. Your mileage may vary.

[Stevie_B]

Hey all,
This is a timely post as I have some questions too, as I have bought a couple of swampies a few months ago. I re-potted them in early November in mostly organic soil and have had them in a container of water about 5 cm deep.

I am in Ipswich Qld, so the same area as Nick - hot and humid most of the time, and wet the other times.

I wonder if anyone could offer any advice about my plants, as well any advice to Nick and myself? Like do we need to keep them in water permanently? Do they need full sun? There is a bit of conjecture about these species so it would be good to hear some others experiences.

AC179382-272F-40A3-A440-851F43F8B003.jpeg

[Nickbb]

Mine are in baskets, no water, both took heavy root work.
The roots were an absolute nasty mess one of them was pretty much flat chopped below where I wanted nebari. There where few feeder roots left but it's growing, slower than the other but has needed pruning, this is not the one in question though.

Number 2. I'm actually feeling very stupid here. I had been starring at what I thought was to be the front since spring. I felt like the fork was 2 high splitting into 2 trunks 2" and 1 1/2" think. It has an odd nebari with roots out to 1 side, almost under cut on the other side. In all my wisdom I figured ok the root side has to be the front. I then stared at it for a while letting it grow.
I do remember at a stage thinking I could use the thicker trunk, the first section of the fork and the lowest branch on that one, removing the top of that trunk to make a fat branch, but that would have been poking forwards.
I thought I was following the basic rules of Utube
I'll stare at it a while longer. Fast forward to a few weeks ago.
Plan 2 airlayer of the top of the bigger trunk. Cut the smaller trunk back to the branch I originally thought to use and start again, leaning the base way over to hide the bad nebari side and arching up into a flat top style, after all a leaning tree should have a strong and a week side. Feeling brave and clever I set the layer and sacrificed the smaller trunk sticking it in some spag and perlite as an attempt to make a cutting.
I stood back and then, #@$& I saw something how did I miss it, from another angle my first Idea would have looked really good even with the odd nebari. I guess now I'm committed now

[shibui]

Try to remember it is never a mistake, just an opportunity to move in a different direction.

My swampies take very hard root pruning in early spring before they sprout without any problems.
Also chop above any time of year like Alpineart.

They do not need to sit in water if you can keep the water up to them. They do NOT like to be dry so the water is a good insurance policy, especially later in the season and second year after root pruning because root growth is prolific and the pots soon fill with roots leaving less and less spaces for water so the pots dry out quite quick after a while.
Mine are in quite shaded conditions down here but I have seen others who keep these in full sun. I guess that means swampies can swing both ways.

[Nickbb]

I'm growing in Bunnings scoria and heavy mix of kiwi bark and Coco fibre, I think the climate is great here for them. They both have potential but I do wish I saw the line before I set the layer, any way lesson learnt, hopefully my layer and cutting take.

[Stevie_B]

Have you got a photograph Nick? I would be interested to see what you are thinking.

Neale, doesn't the water in the pot reduce the amount of air pockets in the soil? I know swampies live in the stuff, but not sure I understand the science behind it.

[shibui]

I'm sure sitting in a water tray reduces air in that part of the mix that's below water level but should not affect air spaces above water level. I've seen photos from US growers showing BC in deep containers almost fully in water so they seem to manage even in deeper water trays.
BC are adapted to waterlogged soils. Many live permanently in water in their natural range. There's speculation that the 'knees' they develop sticking up above soil level are to obtain oxygen in permanently wet soils. None of mine have done that yet, maybe because they don't sit in water all the time.