Wild guess--move it into a 5 gal pot, fertilize it once a week, and keep the soil moist, not wet.

Plant it in the ground for a while then when it gets to the desired size dig it up or pot it up in a much larger pot. You might want to post this over in the container gardening forum. I am sure you would get good advice there.

Well I thought about the pot. And I also thought about the ground. But I really am trying to decide if I should plant it in the pond, and go for that buttressed base once it gets bigger.

Oh yeah, I bought this tree for $34. How sad is that?

Hey---I bought one a few years back and just set the tree in a 5 gallon bucket(for 6 weeks), keeping maybe an 2 inches of water or so in it...and the trunk literally increased in size by 1/3...

--R.

$34, that is very sad. I got some from the Va Department of Forestry in 2008. I paid $20 for 20 trees. Most were between 18 and 36 inches when I received them. The largest ones are nearly 6 feet tall after being in the ground for 2 years. Sorry I have no advice on what to do with the tree you have now. But if you want more trees, consider ordering them from VDoF. They will not be "open for business" again until the fall.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Department of Forestry

Thanks you both. I may have to order from them, thanks Kathy.

R, did you use regular potting soil? And did the bucket have any drainage holes in it? THe top was jsut filled with water?

I just went out and looked at the tree and the leader is wilting. Is there something wrong? I have it in the shade. I gave it water as soon as I noticed this. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Ryan

Nevermind. After placing the saucer full of water under the tree, it has perked up. I will leave the saucer there. I was also told I could slip pot this tree into another pot, but can I use regular soil? I think it may be planted in turface, but I don't have enough of that. I might just use moisture control soil, then plant the tree in a 5 gallon bucket with 2 inches of water at top. Should be interesting. Thanks!

P.S. Turface is an interesting soil substance used for bonsai....

I'm interested in this because I have a Montezuma's cypress about that same size, which I also bought for bonsai (Yucca-do had a good buy on them). It's not as water tolerant, but I guess I'm wondering about the concept of growing it say hydroponically rather than in a good soil-less medium.

One additional thing I did was to remove the more vigorously growing top-most shoots.

I would plant that tree in a large container, and water often. Maybe keep it in a large container for a year or so, and then when you go to transplant it to the bonsai pot, just trim the roots. So far this year, I would say my baldy put on around 10 inches of new growth. Looks like yours is around the same.

J

Thanks Taxo-man. I think what I am going to do is stick it in a 5 gallon bucket as mentioned. Then fill the top up with 2 inches of water. But I will also stick just the bottom of the pot in my pond so the roots can get the water. Hopefully it will put on some growth.

Ryan

They should be able to grow in just about any soil. I pot mine using blackland clayish top-soil. Would think the richer the soil the better. Have not noticed a difference in growth rate between watering pots every-other day and having pots sitting in a tub of water. Trunk seems to thicken more when pot is in standing water, but below the top of the soil.

Thanks! When you say "in standing water, but below the top of the soil", what exactly do you mean? That the soil should stay wet, but not be sitting at the top of the soil?

Thanks!

Ryan

I think if you want to maximize growth then putting the tree in a bucket of water isn't the thing to do. When you see the trees sitting in water in nature that is because they are "tolerant" of the situation. It doesn't mean that that is the best for them. If you truly want to maximize growth in a container I would look at the container forum. You want a good quality growing medium with good fertilization for maximum growth.

I have some montezuma cypress and bald cypress seedlings that I started last year and grew almost 3 feet the first season. They can be fast growing trees with an aggressive root system if given the right conditions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils

I've had same experiences as ltruett did. Bald/montezuma cypress seem to grow faster in highly aerated container mix although it does require daily watering in hot weather in Texas. I simply followed al's mix in container forum. I used slow release fertilizer that I get from big box stores. Another option due to it's agressive root system growth, you could try smart pot to use regular soil and grow it in the ground. I'm sure that will speed up trunk growth that way and it's easier to dig up since it's already root pruned by the smart pot bag.

Thank you!

I have never heard of a smart bag, so I will have to read up and see what that is. I have heard of a technique called the "escape technique", where you plant the tree into a 5 gallon bucket with holes in the bottom. Then, you let the trees roots grow into the ground through the holes in the sides of the buckets. Once it is time to collect the tree, you cut the roots that grew through the holes. I thought about trying this, what do you all think?

Ryan

I guess it depends on your ultimate goal. If it is for bonsai I think you could use a bucket but I would just plant it straight in the ground. Either way eventually you are going to have to do a major root pruning and have to cut the top way back and would start planning for that. The grow bags are nice because they allow the roots some access to the surrounding soil but at the same time create a fibrous root system inside the bag. Not sure how this will work with the bonsai stuff though.

http://www.dallasbonsai.com/bonsai_tree_care_TomM_BaldCyprus1.html
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bonsai/msg1014340021395.html
http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/nabf/newsletter2/bcarticle.htm

Ltruett- I did not see a lot of fibrous roots in garden soil used in smart pot grown in the ground. Totally opposite of above ground with highly aerated mix. Just some thick roots stuck to the inner side of smart pot but on the outside, a bunch of small roots extend out from each thick roots. I probably would try 3 or 5g smart pot filled with garden soil but only about 3-4 inches depth and put it in the ground at that depth. After a year or so when it's time to plant it in bonsai pot which tends to be shallow, just pull smart pot out and take the plant out of it carefully then remove all the dirt and simply put it in bonsai pot filled with turface, etc.