Plant Min Zone: 4a
Plant Max Zone: 10a
Sunlight: All Day Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun
Water / Rainfall: Average, High
Soil Quality: Average, Rich
Bloom Season: None
Flower Color: None
Berry / Fruit Color: Brown-Beige
Spring Foliage Color: Green
Summer Foliage Color: Green
Fall Foliage Color: Bronze, Orange
Evergreen Foliage: No
Winter Interest: Yes
Scented Flowers: No
Drought Tolerance: Medium
Wet-Feet Tolerance: High
Humidity Tolerance: High
Wind Tolerance: Medium
Poor Soil Tolerance: Clay Soils, Rocky Soils, Acidic Soil (low PH)
Height: 30' - 40'
Width: 15' - 20'
Growth Rate: Slow
Service Life: Tree: Service life varies
Maintenance Need: Low
Spreading Potential: N.A.
Yearly Trimming Tips: Tree: No Trimming Needed / Trim as Needed When Mature / Lower Branches.
Plant Grouping Size: Specimen Planting of 1-3
Best Side of House: Large Tree; Best in Open Areas
Extreme Planting Locations: Tolerates Periods of Standing Water
Ornamental Features: Multiple Seasons of Interest, Narrow Columnar Growth Habit, Rot Resistant / Strong Wood Tree, Fine Texture, Exceptional / Colorful Foliage
Special Landscape Uses: Erosion Control, Naturalizing, Clean Street Tree
Possible Pest Problems: Occasional Problems, Deer
Plant Limitations: Susceptible to Iron Chlorosis, Shallow Roots May Cause Problems, Slow to Reach Mature Size
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a well-known picturesque tree native to the southeast from Texas to Florida to Virginia. It is a deciduous conifer that grows on saturated and seasonally inundated soils but also performs well an average garden soils including some drought. Trees can be very long lived due to near immunity from pests and disease with some specimens over 2000 years old. When growing in standing water (exclusively), the characteristic knees develop. These are thought to assist an oxygen exchange or to trap sediment along a channel to stabilize the creek bank. Growth is slow during youth especially and dryer sites or poor soils but speeds up in rich well-drained soils. This non-flowering tree features extremely fine textured foliage that creates its own attractive mulch under the tree or blends in invisibly into the lawn. Most references indicate that acidic soil is important however I have seen these growing in pure white limestone alkaline streams in Austin Texas. The water was cyystal clear and pH was so high that not many other organisms for growing in it. Bald Cypress makes a beautiful street tree or residential landscape specimen that will be highly prized after a decade or two. Reserve for the wet test spot in your yard and it will thrive! Pond Cypress (Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium) in now considered a naturally occuring variety of Bald Cypress. Its old name was Taxodium ascendens. In comparison to Bald Cypress, Pond Cypress is somewhat smaller, more narrow, less branching and has very interesting scale-like spirally arranged leaves.