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| Common Name: |
Bald Cypress |
| Scientific Name: |
Taxodium distichum |
| Hardiness Zone: |
Zone 5B - 10 |
| Family: |
Cupressaceae. Formerly included in the Taxodiaceae Family, recent research has shown that the Taxodiaceae, with the single exception of Sciadopitys, should be merged into the family Cupressaceae. There are no consistent characters by which they can be separated, and genetic evidence demonstrates close relationships; this merging is now becoming widely accepted |
General Information
Narrowly to broadly pyramidal when young, Bald Cypress, the state tree of Louisiana, eventually develops into a broad-topped, spreading, open specimen when mature. Capable of reaching 100 to 150 feet in height, most landscape specimens are rarely seen in this open form because they are usually much younger and shorter. Trees grow at a moderately fast rate, reaching 40 to 50 feet in about 15 to 25 years. Although it is native to wetlands along running streams, growth is often faster on moist, well-drained soil. The main trunks are surrounded by Cypress knees . The native range extends from Delaware Bay south to Florida and west to Texas and southeastern Oklahoma-(Little Dixie region, Oklahoma), and also inland up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers north to southern Illinois and Indiana. Although it grows best in warm climates, the natural northern limit of the species is not due to a lack of cold tolerance, but to specific reproductive requirements; further north, regeneration is prevented by ice damage to seedlings. Larger trees are able to tolerate much lower temperatures and lower humidities. Another interesting fact is that this is one of the few trees that harbor Spanish moss, a gray twisted air plant that lives in the southern United States.
Basic Care
| Bark Characteristics: |
Reddish gray, peeling. |
| Leaf/Foliage Characteristics: |
The pale green, needle-like leaves turn a brilliant coppery red in fall before dropping. |
| Growth Characteristics |
In good conditions, Bald Cypress grows fairly fast when young, then more slowly with age. Trees have been measured to reach 3 m in five years, 21 m tall in 41 years, and 36 m in 96 years; height growth has largely ceased by the time the trees are 200 years old. Some individuals can live over 1,000 years. It may be difficult to determine the age of an old tree because of frequent missing or false rings of stem wood caused by variable and stressful growing environments. |
| Flower/Fruit Characteristics: |
The seeds remain viable for less than one year, and are dispersed in two ways. One is by water; the seeds float and move on water until flooding recedes or the cone is deposited on shore. The second is by wildlife; squirrels eat seeds but often drop some scales from the cones they harvest. Seeds do not germinate under water and rarely germinate on well drained soils; seedlings normally become established on soil that is continuously saturated, but not flooded, for one to three months. After germination, seedlings must grow quickly to escape floodwaters; they often reach a height of 20–75 cm (up to 100 cm in fertilized nursery conditions) in their first year. Seedlings die if inundated for more than about two to four weeks. Natural regeneration is therefore prevented on sites that are always flooded during the growing season. Although vigorous saplings and stump sprouts can produce viable seed, most specimens do not produce seed until they are about 30 years old. |
| Lighting: |
Full sun slightly acidic soil. |
| Watering: |
Water daily, year round in the south. |
| Feeding: |
Fertilize weekly in the spring and early summer. Every 2 weeks in late summer and fall or until leaves start to turn brown. No fertilizing required in the winter. |
| Pruning/Wiring: |
The bald Cypress lends itself to formal upright, informal upright, slanting, literati, twin-trunk and group styles. In nature, a mature bald Cypress growing in the open will have a long, limbless trunk, capped with a cluster of horizontal-to-drooping limbs and a very flat top. The formal upright probably should take this shape. A younger tree in nature will have limbs growing lower on the trunk, and most will be angling upward. The informal upright might consider this aspect. Gently wiring down new shoots from the trunk will help avoid arching branches, where the branch starts to arch up and then down, which is generally the result of wiring the branch after its hardened up at the trunkline. |
| Propagation: |
Seed, cuttings and air layers. |
| Potting: |
Developing Cypress "knees". There's still considerable debate over what these knees are "for" in nature, but they are a distinctive feature of bald Cypress. You should try to develop at least one "knee" in your mature trees. They are easily developed by going up to 3 years without repotting or root pruning. By then, roots will be jammed into the pot; many will have bent almost double. If you carefully bring one of these doubled bends (one that occurs quite near the base of the tree, or can be brought in closer) to the surface and let it protrude through the moss cover, you will have what is to all intents a knee. These should thicken and develop well over subsequent years. Repotting should be done during the winter months when the tree hibernates. In Florida, December, January, early February work best. Do not cut the roots back too hard. |
| Pests: |
Many agents damage Bald Cypress trees. The main lethal damaging agent is the fungus Stereum taxodi, which causes a brown pocket rot known as "pecky Cypress". It attacks the heartwood of living trees, usually from the crown down to the roots. A few other fungi attack the sapwood and the heartwood of the tree, but they do not usually cause serious damage. Insects like the Cypress flea beetle and the bald Cypress leafroller (Archips goyerana) (closely related to the fruit tree leafroller) can seriously damage Bald Cypress trees by destroying leaves, cones or the bark of tree. Coypu also clip and unroot young Bald Cypress seedlings, sometimes killing a whole plantation in a short amount of time. Bagworms can defoliate portions of the tree. Mites can be particularly troublesome in dry summers without irrigation, causing early leaf browning and defoliation in mid to late summer. |
| Diseases: |
Twig blight is caused by a weak pathogen and is usually present on dead or dying tissue. When the tree is stressed the fungus can kill branch tips. Dead tips can be pruned off. Do not let dead or diseased branches remain on the tree. Keep trees healthy with regular fertilization. |
| Bibliography: |
Bonsai Today, No. 33, Sept.-Oct. 1994, pp. 51-56 USDA Fact Sheet ST-620 This document is adapted from Fact Sheet ST-620, a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: October 1994. Photos from Forestry Images.com |
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