Table of contents
- Peculiarities of the bald cypress
- Care and pruning of the bald cypress
The bald cypress is one of the few conifers that lose their needles in winter. In autumn the needles turn brownish to reddish before they fall off. This extraordinary autumn color and the interestingly shaped trunk of the cypress makes the conifer a special gem in the garden. In addition, the bald cypress, like all conifers, produces cones as fruit. These cones contain the seeds that the bald cypress uses to reproduce.
Peculiarities of the bald cypress
Although the bald cypress originally grew in warm, humid climates and swampy areas, such as the Florida Everglades, is at home, its robustness ensures that this extraordinary tree also does well in the European climate thrives. The bald cypress is frost hardy, so it can be planted out in the garden all year round. The tree forms both ground roots and aerial roots to meet the high liquid needs. Since the humidity in Central Europe is not ideal, the bald cypress should therefore primarily be planted on the shore of a lake or larger pond.
If you want to plant a bald cypress in your garden, you should pay attention to the extraordinary size of the conifer. Bald cypresses can reach a height of up to 30m and a trunk circumference of up to 15m. With this size, the tree is one of the prehistoric sequoias.
Care and pruning of the bald cypress
Due to the region of origin of the bald cypress, the roots must be constantly supplied with plenty of water. Luckily, the plant is so robust that even dry periods cause hardly any damage and it withstands longer frosts down to -20°C without being damaged. The fact that the bald cypress is one of the robust primeval plants also ensures that this tree is not attacked by pests. Is the bald cypress called bonsai planted in a bucket, it can easily overwinter in the garden. When wintering in the house, you don't have to pay attention to a special location. During the winter, the plant does not need a sunny spot, so it can easily hibernate in a dark basement. However, you should ensure regular watering during the winter indoors. Fertilization is not necessary.
When watering, it is important to ensure that the roots of the bald cypress constantly receive water. A soil with a high proportion of clay that offers little drainage is therefore the ideal location for this plant. To facilitate the water inflow, you should use the bald cypress as a solitary plant; there should be no marsh plants or other trees and shrubs in the immediate vicinity.
While the water requirement of the cypress decreases in winter, it is particularly high in summer. If the bald cypress is not directly in or in the immediate vicinity of a large pond, it must be watered accordingly. The aerial roots must not be neglected. The bald cypress requires a lot of nutrients. This can be covered by the fact that the conifer is either directly in the water or by regularly feeding through sufficient nutrients fertilization be supplied.
The size of the tree can be varied by regular pruning. In general, no regular pruning is necessary for the bald cypress.
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