Hey, I know it’s not ideal but I got 2 bc and I need to chop them after leaf drop in order to put them into cold frame later this year. In there I can keep them frost free.
The other option is to leave them out but there are periods of severe frosts from time to time, occasionally dipping down to -4 F.
Any pointers other then sealing the wounds and keeping them from freezing to much?
Thanks!
I would do the chop so you can store the trees in the cold frame. Bald Cypress will handle -4F (-20C) when established in the ground, but I doubt they will do it in a pot. I would make the chop at least one diameter above what you want to keep to allow for dieback. You can cut it off and carve to create taper in the next year or two. I have one that I chopped in this mode several years ago and ended up carving a long taper on the back side. The wound took about 3-4 years to heal with the use of sacrifice branches. It is now hard to tell that it was chopped.
Thanks Marty!
Currently they’re in large containers with some peat like substrate that will def break down and compact over the winter.
Do you think a chop later this fall and a repot next spring would be to much.
I have done similar interventions with smaller younger ones.
Out of about 12 I lost one which I pushed a bit to far.
Thanks!
I think a late fall chop and spring repot will work well. The trees should have plenty of stored energy to respond to the repot in the spring.
Id say the repot depends on what % of foliar/total branch tissue in relation to what’s left behind. I don’t have a hard % to go off but 30% or greater would have me doing additional observation and hedging on the side of caution. Obviously it depend on the value of the tree to you…some are worth the gamble
By hard chop I mean around 40 -60% percent reduction of total tissue. The trees are around 6+ and 5 feet tall now. I’m planning to cut back to around 3-4, and removing about 70-80,% of current branching to start taper and movement. I would repot 'cause the type of soil
they’re in breaks down badly, it will turn to dust by mid summer making it difficult to water properly and letting the roots breath.
Thanks!