Plant of the Week: Bald Cypress Taxodium distichum

Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, is native to the Southern Coastal Plains in the southeastern United States, growing in the swamps in Worcester and Wicomico Counties on the Eastern Shore.

The unique conifer is deciduous in winter

The northern-most stand of Bald Cypress are on the western shore of Maryland in Calvert County. 100 acres of land known as the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp has been preserved by the state with help from the Nature Conservancy. A boardwalk allows visitors to walk through the swamp safely; as far as I know, we don't have to watch for alligators. Take a look at this link to the Maryland Biodiversity Project for more about Taxodium distichum in Maryland. 

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

I had seen these cypress somewhere before. On a visit to Magnolia Plantation outside of Charleston, SC several years ago, two of us were astounded at the amount of birds, turtles, frogs and other wildlife that called these cypress swamps their home.

Early March in South Carolina

The deciduous conifers send up knobby trunks in large colonies around the trees, both underwater and in wet soil.

Distinctive 'knobby knees' protrude in wet soil in Calvert County, MD

'Knobs' grow in water as well in this South Carolina Swamp

 I was surprised to find that we sell the Bald Cypress in both our nursery and water garden areas. It turns out that they are highly adaptable to wet or dry soils. Large trees in large pots are available for delivery and planting. 

We sell a limited number of the distinctive tree

See smaller pots of trees in our water garden area. 

The narrow bright green leaves turn orange in the fall before falling off. The tree will grow to about 70 feet with spread of 30 feet. The tree features a high canopy, making it nice to walk and stand beneath. Bald Cypress can grow in standing water and tolerate dry soil. It is a very adaptable plants. 

Follow this link for more information on Taxodium distichum from Plant Finder.

To access information on other trees, shrubs, and perennials, go to our website and click on Plant Finder.  

Photos on this blog are from J Gannon and C Engel.