Feature Tree - April 2007

Baldcypress
 Taxodium distichum
(Taxodiaceae family)

Hardiness: Zones 4 -10                                                                      
Height: 50 -80’
Spread: 30’

Landscape Value: The Bald-cypress makes a fine specimen tree for very large landscapes. Very majestic tree with a fine textured appearance. It is very adapatable to wet or dry sites, however it can become chlorotic in high pH soils. Bald-cypress has been called the eternal wood because it is extremely resistant to decay.

Habit: Pyramidal-shaped crown when it is young that gradually becomes flat-topped with age.

Leaves: Leaves are deciduous, linear, and spreading 2-ranked like a feather; ½" to ¾" long; alternate leaf arrangement; green to light yellow-green.

Bark: Fibrous, reddish brown to ashy gray; thin and peels in narrow vertical strips.

Fruit: Round cone; ¾" to 1" in diameter. They are wrinkled, green, and leathery. Upon maturity the cones become woody.

Site Requirements: Full sun; best suited to wet areas, however very adaptable to a variety of soils (wet, dry, compacted); can become chlorotic in high pH soils

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast

Pests and Diseases – Relatively pest and disease free.

Information Sources:

Dirr, Michael “Manual of Woody Landscape Plants”. 1990

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrologybBa/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=117

Photo Credits:

http://www.bomengids.nl/uk/soorten/Moeras_cypress__Taxodium_distichum__Baldcypress.html