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Cypress BonsaiWelcome to the world of Cypress Bonsai! Believed to be associated to the god of the underworld, Cypress is a very popular tree for bonsai. Generally all the plants in the family Cupressaceae conifer trees are known by the name of Cypress. If you want to grow a bonsai Cypress and you are new to this art, then it’s advisable to choose a bald cypress tree. You may procure your tree by grafting it out from an existing cypress tree, from the wild, or from a near by nursery. If you are cutting your tree from an existing one, then make sure that the cut is made at a position where in the height of the tree is around six times the width of the trunk. Some root trimming may be required at this point. Cypress Bonsai CareCypress requires more water as compared to some of the other common species used for bonsai. Hence you should consider keeping the bonsai plant in a pot filled with bonsai soil having good water retention capabilities. Get some soil from the swamps to grow your bald cypress in the pot. Fill the pot with water up to the brim. Keep monitoring the dryness of the soil at regular intervals and water the plant whenever required. Miniature Cypress trees prefer to be out in the sun rather than being indoors, as they require full sun to grow properly. It also needs to be fertilized regularly during the spring and summer seasons. In the spring feed the bonsai once every week. However in summer you may reduce the frequency to once every fortnight. Generally during the winter season bald cypress does not require any fertilizers. Bald Cypress can be grown as bonsai in many different styles like the formal upright style, informal upright style, literati style or forest style. Pruning of Cypress is a challenging task. It is generally advised to prune out the foliage by finger pinching instead of using sharp tools like scissors, as the cut marks tend to discolor and spoil the appearance of the plant. If not pruned properly it would become too difficult to maintain the plant. Cypress branches are quite vulnerable to wire marks hence they might be required to wire several times to set their shape, avoiding any cut mark on the branches. Bald Cypress needs repotting every two to three years time. Depending on the climate in your region you may either go for a fast draining soil, for colder areas, or a soil with high water retaining capabilities, for hotter regions. For root pruning you need to cut around 1/3rd of the root mass and repot the cypress bonsai in an appropriate container. Use pesticides to protect your cypress bonsai from common pests like the bagworm. This bonsai is vulnerable to diseases like blight, hence proper care and attention is required to protect the bonsai from being affected.
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