Tree of the Month: Bald Cypress
A Deciduous Conifer
The bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a unique canopy tree that offers serious environmental benefits while also having an interesting visual appeal that is its own. This tree is a moisture-loving conifer with feathery leaves that drop off in the winter. Between its form and function, the bald cypress is a robust contribution to a property’s landscape and a neighborhood’s canopy.
Where Do Bald Cypress Trees Grow?
The bald cypress is native to the Eastern U.S., where it naturally grows in swampy, riparian, or lowland areas where the soil is moist to wet. This makes it a great tree for yards that don’t drain well. Similarly, it’s a good option for urban neighborhoods to manage soil and stormwater. Due to its extensive root system, it has a certain drought tolerance despite its preference for moist ground. This tree also does well in towns and cities since it has a high tolerance for air pollution, while its large mature size makes it an effective filter in densely populated areas.
How to Identify a Bald Cypress
A bald cypress is an easy tree to spot since it has such a unique appearance. It looks like a pine tree, but its needles are soft and feathery, and they fall off every autumn (which gives it its “bald” name). The fact that it’s a deciduous conifer sets it apart from other conifers like pines and junipers, which are evergreens. The branchlets of a bald cypress are light in weight and green in summer, turning a rusty bronze color in fall before dropping for the winter. Some people confuse the tree for an evergreen and misinterpret this leaf loss as a sign of poor health, so be sure not to cut the tree down based on this normal annual leaf loss!
Like other conifers, the bald cypress produces small, round pine cones that look like scaley berries. Unlike other fast-growing pines, however, they are a hardwood tree, growing dense and water-resistant wood. As a moisture-loving species, this adaptation is another way it can survive in wet conditions better than some other trees. The tan bark of the bald cypress is dense, rigid, and peeling, with an orange inner bark, adding to its distinctive appearance.
This hardy tree has a root system that is made for wet ground: it has a wide, buttressed root flare that helps it stay grounded and aerated when an area floods. These wide and wavy roots also produce knobby protrusions over the ground, known as “knees,” which are thought to have one or more purposes, including stability, oxygen, or nutrient absorption. In addition to holding soil and moisture in place, the extensive root system makes the bald cypress a sturdy tree that can stand firm in strong storms.
Where Should a Bald Cypress Tree Be Planted?
As a canopy tree, the bald cypress likes to be planted in full sun. It’s a fast-growing tree, gaining one or two feet per year as it grows to maturity, at which time it will normally reach 60 to 70 feet, but it can grow up to 100 feet tall. It’s also a long-lived tree, and in the right conditions, will live for a century or more. Since it has such gnarly roots, a bald cypress shouldn’t be planted too close to your house’s foundation or water lines. Due to their height, these trees should be kept away from power lines, too. In any of these cases, the rule of thumb is to plant a tree at a distance at least equal to its expected mature height to avoid any space-related problems as it grows.
As we mentioned, this tree is great for yards that don’t drain very well since it is built to stand moist soil, doing well in loamy to clay-heavy and even compacted ground. Despite this, a bald cypress is very efficient with its moisture and will also grow in dry soil, having a drought tolerance in addition to flood tolerance, making the bald cypress a good choice for urban areas with extreme or unpredictable weather. These big, fast-growing trees also provide habitat and foraging options for animals of all kinds, from birds and insects to deer, squirrels, and rabbits. In urban neighborhoods, where most vegetation is located on residential property, big canopy trees like these are particularly important for local wildlife.
The bald cypress’ height and tolerance for air pollution also make it a good street tree! However, due to the knees that pop up near the base of a bald cypress, care should be taken when mowing or trimming grass near one of these trees. Knees may get damaged by the mower blades or trimmer string, while lawn care equipment can also be damaged by the hard wooden protrusions.
Should I Plant a Bald Cypress Tree in My Yard?
This versatile tree is great for almost any yard that can give it enough space to grow tall and spread its twisting and unwieldy roots! With a sturdy yet soft look and powerful ecosystem service productivity, the distinctive bald cypress is an excellent option when considering your next landscape additions.
Check out the bald cypress’s listing in our annual tree sale to get one (or more!) for your own yard. Stay updated on tree care in Nashville by subscribing to our newsletter, and get involved with the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps by volunteering with us!