Bald or Pond Cypress
Taxodium distichum (TAXODIACEAE)
Planting and Growing Bald Cypress Trees
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow bald or pond cypress trees in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Foliage, cones, and seeds of bald or pond cypress trees
- Growing conditions for bald or pond cypress
- When to plant bald or pond cypress
- How to plant bald or pond cypress
- How to prune bald or pond cypress
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of bald or pond cypress
- Landscape uses of bald or pond cypress
- Pest and disease control for bald or pond cypress
Growing Bald Cypress Trees
Medium-growing, upright, pyramid-shaped, open, coniferous, deciduous tree, 100–150 ft. (30–45 m) tall, with green, stiff, oval or flattened needles, to 1/2 in. (12 mm) long, in fingerlike sprays, turning bronze in autumn, and fibrous, red brown bark. Root projections, or “knees,” buttress the trunk, protruding from the water in swampy sites. Growth slows in cold-winter climates.
Bald Cypress Planting and Care Guide
Cones and Seeds
Egg-shaped and knobby cones, 1 in. (25 mm) wide, in autumn, bearing tiny, flattened seed.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 5–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Wet to damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich–average. 5.0–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 15–20 ft. (4.5–6 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp. Fertilize annually in spring until established. Prune sparingly. Propagate by cuttings, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, aquatic plantings, margins in water features, woodland gardens. Pest and disease resistant. Chlorosis susceptible.