Bald cypress wired and carved

Here’s the tree I named “The Saint Kateri Tree” all wired out. Formosan termites had taken up residence in the tree while it was still in it’s plastic growing tub. I hollowed out the trunk and treated the wood with a bait-type termiticide. It’s now potted in a bonsai pot. I cleaned up the brutal carving left by the Forstner bit. You can see the holes and tracks left by the little beasties.

This would have been better if I had done this in December. I’ll be doing much more work in December from now on.

EDIT TO ADD: The base of the tree was created by nature. The base of the trunk was hollow when it was collected in 2014. It had been my intent to hollow out the tree at some point in the future. The Formosan termites accelerated my plans. In the photo with the carving, the front of the tree is to the right. The plan for that right-side branch is to let it continue to grow and develop as a flat-top pad, then kill the branch and create a deadwood feature with a deadwood shell going partway down the front of the tree.


17 Likes

More data: The tree is 57" (~145cm) high and the outside dimensions of the pot is 23" (~58cm) wide by 19" (~48cm) deep. I made the tree overly tall to accommodate the scale of the knees in the design.

2 Likes

Bill,
Are you going to keep this Cypress submerged in water to keep the knees alive?

1 Like

By the way, the “The Saint Kateri Tree” is really turning out beautiful.

1 Like

Keeping it drowned from March through October is a very good idea. We’ll see if I can keep the knees alive.

1 Like

@BillsBayou, I just want to say this tree is fantastic. I love the straightness, taper, and the mature look. All the trees I’ve seen from you are great, and I love your YouTube videos. I hope to have a bald cypress at some point, but they’re not super common in Maryland.

1 Like

Beautifully strange, Bill; beautifully strange Bill. Impressive tree.

1 Like

Thank you for saying so. Thank you for watching my videos. I’ve made two videos on this tree that I’ll be uploading soon.

1 Like

No comma in there. You must be talking about me. I’ll accept the description. Not like people haven’t been saying this about me all along.

Thank you. Of all my trees, it’s the only one where I have to remember to water beneath the trunk. I can either aim the water cross-wise at the base, or just shoot water down the trunk from above.

I think everyone should have at least one tree that challenges the norm. One tree that makes you do something different from all the others. “Oh, yeah. For this tree I have to do X if I want to do Y.” Maybe even curse the tree for making you do it.

2 Likes

Edit made. :crazy_face:

3 Likes

Dude, awesome tree! That is such a real representation it’s unreal

2 Likes

Really nice Bill! And very interesting material to start with.

1 Like