Flat Top Bald Cypress Design Part 3

In this third installment of our series on Flat Top Bald Cypress design, Evan Pardue takes on a twin trunk yamadori. This series was done in memory of the legendary Vaughn Banting who introduced the flat top design to the bonsai community. Follow Evan through the choices he makes to set the bones of this future bonsai.
#yamadori #bonsai #baldcypress #evanpardue #underhillbonsai

[@keithdouglass3618]

🌲🌳🌏🐨 good day mate . your videos are informative. . have a swampy. only grew leaves.??.after 5 years put in pot of water. finally grew green branches .and budded a lot. branches turned brown . will leave till next spring . thanks. Keith Australia

[@carloscruz6536]

Great details on wood carving 👍👍

[@clarkw9881]

I'm enjoying your bald cypress videos. I'm in Knoxville TN, which is USDA zone 7. I have 11 bald cypress around 4 years old which were all container grown. I started submerging them in water this year, so I can see a lot of increase in the base. What fertilizer do you recommend during the summer months?

[@underhillbonsai2217]

Thanks for the comment! When we are pushing BC hard for growth, or to develop a new leader, etc. we use a 13-13-13 time release fertilizer with micro nutrients. We sell it in our web store and it lasts about two months. BCs are heavy feeders when they are actively growing, so while you are in this phase don’t spare the fert. A note on container growing - you have to be really careful with the roots. These trees grow so fast that roots will fill your container and start to circle the pot. Once that happens, the root base pretty much has to be replaced. So, use BIG pots and pull the trees in the winter and check for balanced root growth. Also make sure to remove any downward growing roots - all you want is roots growing outwards. This will not slow down the growth of a health tree.

[@clarkw9881]

@@underhillbonsai2217 Thanks for the detailed response! I have them in 3 gallon pots which sit in 5 gallon buckets. There is an upside down flower pot in each bucket to keep the soil line near the top of the water. I'm really seeing a lot of growth in the trees bases. I'll definitely check out your fertilizer, as well as the roots during the re-pot.

[@kylepurvis6231]

I’m in the South East range as well, most of what I have available to collect are pond cypress, they grow in the springs throughout the woods where I live. Any major differences in developing them vs a bald cypress? I have access to bald cypress too but have to travel to the rivers with flowing water to collect them.
Thanks for your time, enjoyed the videos- yearly updates on progression would be great!

[@underhillbonsai2217]

Thanks so much for the comment Kyle!
Pond cypress make great bonsai as well. They are a little tougher to deal with due to the fact that they are much more top dominant. Pond cypress growth habits that I have witnessed here in Louisiana tend to be very thin and slender trunks with shorter branching then T. distichum. They grow in areas that are damp most of the year but not flooded, namely long leaf pine savanna’s. If you collect one, chop it higher then you would think and maximize on the taper and slender trunk line. Once you grow out the the new leader to heal the chop, pinch back top grow aggressively to encourage strength in lower buds. I’ve had a hard time getting them to develop lower branches then T. distichum.
I will be uploading progress videos on each tree throughout the years to come and I couldn’t be more excited!