A Detailed Guide to Making Cypress Bonsai, Sharing the Latest Techniques

Cypress is the general term for plants of the cypress family, including Platycladus, Sabina (juniper), Chamaecyparis, and Thuja, among other genera. It is extremely widely distributed in China, from Inner Mongolia and Jilin in the north to Guangdong and northern Guangxi in the south, and its cultivated range covers almost the entire country. It is an excellent landscaping tree species and is also suitable for making bonsai. Let us take a look together below at how to make cypress bonsai!

Growth Habits

Cypress belongs to the gymnosperm division and is mainly distributed across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It likes light, but seedlings and young trees have a certain tolerance for shade. It generally grows on the shady side of mountains, is relatively cold-hardy, and has poor wind resistance. It is drought-tolerant and likes moisture, but does not tolerate waterlogging. It is tolerant of poor soil and can grow in slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil. It generally grows relatively fast in the juvenile and young stages, and after maturity its growth rate is moderate to slow, with old trees growing even more slowly.

Material Selection

1. The sources of cypress bonsai material are, first, the sowing method, starting from seedlings to cultivate and shape. Because small seedlings tolerate transplanting and are easy to shape, they can be gradually processed and shaped according to the design requirements. Although it takes a long time, the bonsai produced is relatively ideal. Another method is digging from the wild.

2. In nature, some old cypress stumps, after years of wind and rain, lightning strikes, and damage by animals or humans, form bizarre and varied shapes. Some are broken, some are hollow, some have exposed roots, and some have dead trunks. These are all ideal materials for making bonsai. Cypress has a well-developed root system, especially abundant fine roots. When digging, the main root can first be cut, keeping the fine roots. The above-ground part should have the branches and trunk cut short, and the messy branches and leaves clustered on the branches and trunk, as well as long stalk branches and parallel branches, should be pruned away beforehand, taking care to retain dead trunks.

3. Because cypress grows relatively slowly, keep as many branches as possible. The best digging time is after early winter and before early spring, before budding has begun. When transplanting, a soil ball should be kept to protect the roots. When it is impossible to keep a soil ball, make every effort to keep the fine roots intact, and adopt measures such as spraying water and shading. Pot it as soon as possible to reduce the time out of soil. Bare-root transplanting can be done during the rainy season.

Assessing the Tree and Determining the Style

1. Cypress does not fear severe cold. Even under snow and freezing, it remains as green as ever, hence the praise of "evergreen pine and cypress." In making cypress bonsai, its characteristics of vigor, uprightness, and majestic momentum are often emphasized. Some old cypresses have bark that has already split, or are hollow, yet still have luxuriant branches and leaves and undiminished majestic posture. Such old cypresses can be made into the dead-wood style.

2. Some trunks naturally lean, and the bark is mottled and full of an ancient air, so they can be made into the slanting-trunk style, and depending on the condition of the branches and trunk, a single trunk or double trunk can be determined.

3. Some old cypresses grow on cliffs, in mountain streams, or among rock crevices, and the trunk bends greatly from the root collar, like a plunging waterfall, majestic and imposing, and can be made into the cascade style.

4. Some cypress stumps have branches and trunks that coil and twist, bending left and spiraling right, with a momentum like a roaming dragon and a peculiar, natural form, and can be made into the lying-trunk style or the coiled-trunk style. Some have root systems that are exposed or suspended, with old roots crisscrossing, and can be made into the exposed-root style bonsai. In short, according to the natural form of the cypress stump, follow its momentum, capture its spirit, and highlight its inner nature.

Pruning and Shaping

1. Because cypress grows slowly, heavy pruning is generally not done. The method of mainly cultivating, combined with pruning and adjusting, is often used, so that it has a natural manner without being stiff or rigid.

2. Old cypress stumps have the characteristics of rotation and twisting, with a natural rhythm and a unique graceful bearing. Therefore, the shaping of cypress stumps does not use the winding-and-binding method, so that the trunk forms spiral vertical cracks, presenting an elegant arc-shaped curve.

3. Some tree stumps have branches, trunks, and roots that are decayed and corroded. One can guide according to the situation, give form according to the type, and appropriately carry out artificial carving, to achieve an effect that follows nature yet surpasses nature.

4. Newly dug tree stumps have relatively miscellaneous and long branches. For overly dense branches, keep the drooping branches and the branches on the lower part of the crown, suppress strong branches, make the structure of the main trunk and side branches compact with natural distribution, and adopt traditional binding and hanging-pulling techniques, processing according to the laws of natural growth.