Plant: Pond Cypress Tree

Plant description

Pond cypress is a long lived deciduous conifer, the variety of bald cypress with short awl like leaves held close to the stem and thicker, shaggier gray bark. It is more compact than bald cypress but can still reach 80 feet, and although it is usually found along the edge of swampy ground where water stands, it grows well in drier landscapes and tolerates drought better than expected. It is less likely to throw up knees, and any knees are shorter and rounder. The fine textured foliage turns light yellow or copper before falling, and round wrinkled cones mature from purplish green to brown. Nearly maintenance free, needing only occasional pruning of dead limbs.

Foliage

Pond cypress carries short awl like leaves held close to the stem rather than the flat two ranked needles of typical bald cypress; the foliage turns light yellow or copper before falling.

Fruit

Round, wrinkled cones about three quarters of an inch to an inch across, purplish green maturing to brown, with thick irregular scales.

Bark & stems

Fibrous, dark red brown to gray with many thin vertical exfoliating strips; pond cypress bark is thicker and shaggier than that of bald cypress.

Light

Dappled/Filtered Light

Native range

Eastern North America from Delaware to Florida, west to Texas and Mexico

Plant details