The 45 gallon Bald Cypress and the "Bracken Brown Beauty" Southern Magnolia were the first trees we purchased, from Big Tex Trees, in March 2012. The Bald Cypress, like the magnolia had a shaky summer in 2012 - "transplant shock" according to our contact at Big Tex.
In 2013 and 2014 the tree seemed to be fully recovered with nice full dark green leaves. However, during the summer of 2015, although the canopy was full, the foliage was not as dark green as the previous two years - various treatments for acidifying the soil, adding iron, and adding fertilizer failed to make a difference. Later in 2015 some of the branches became infested with webworms - I climbed up on a ladder to snip off the affected branches. In 2016 I started to become very disappointed with this tree - the leaves were looking even yellower and I returned from a 2 week vacation in June (with drip irrigation installed so the trees would still be watered during our absence) to find 50 or so bagworms hanging from the tree. The bagworms had been eating the already sparse-looking canopy. I climbed up a ladder and plucked off most of the bag-worms, but could not reach the uppermost ones. Finally I sprayed the tree with an insecticide which is supposed to kill bagworms.
The tree was still looking sparse and chlorotic, so I continued to give it deep watering (too much water is no problem for a bald cypress) and also gave it some epsom salts to see if that would help bring back some greenness (update - it didn't). The tree produces a few small cones each year. In the autumn, the tree turns a lovely rusty brown. The below picture is from 2014.
The picture below was taken on March 18th 2017 which was a warm misty morning when the Bald Cypress was starting to leaf out.
Since spring of 2017 I treated the Bald Cypress with insecticide as a preventive measure for bag-worms, gave it copious amounts of water, and lots of fertilizer for acid-loving plants. By June 11th it STILL became yellow. All other Bald Cypresses in the region were a healthy mid to dark green - I had no clue what was wrong with this Bald Cypress!
At the tips of the branches there was some fresh green growth, contrasting with the dull yellow of the older leaves - the picture below was taken on June 25th 2017.
On August 19th 2017, the Bald Cypress was still looking bad, if not worse. Somebody suggested that it might have "Bald Cypress rust mites" (eriophyid mites) which are microscopically tiny and suck the juices from the leaves - that would explain the symptoms - I sprayed with Sevin, but it was too late for 2017.
On April 22nd 2018, the Bald Cypress still looked OK - I sprayed with Sevin as preventative measure against mites. On June 10th 2018, the Bald Cypress was pale green but not as yellow as the last few years. Perhaps rust mites was the issue and the Sevin spray did the trick?
The Bald Cypress did gradually turn yellow over the summer of 2018 and on June 22nd 2019 it was again yellowish and not very full. This time I know I did everything I could - spraying early for rust mites, enlarging the circle of mulch and fertilizing and watering far out from the tree. I guess this is just a bad spot for a Bald Cypress, or this particular tree lacks vigor.
In April 2020 a new affliction - several pinkish galls protruding from the leaves. By late May 2020 the Bald Cypress is becoming yellow again. This time I know I gave it ample fertilizer and watered regularly well away from the trunk using a portable sprinkler. I plucked a leaf and examined it with a magnifying glass to reveal it was covered in tiny sap sucking bald cypress rust mites (picture below). A comprehensive internet search revealed only one miticide suitable for this particular mite and that is carbaryl, "contained in Sevin" which I had used in 2018 but not early enough to prevent the damage. This is frustrating as the active ingredient in Sevin has been changed since a couple of years ago to something else totally ineffective against mites. Although I found a substitute in 2019 (the integrity of which I am doubting as there was a lot of sediment in the bottle), I now can't find any non-Sevin products containing carbaryl. So looks like there is nothing available anymore to combat this devastating tiny arachnid.
On May 29th 2020, the Bald Cypress is looking really bad, yellowing earlier and more severely than ever before - some of the leaves are now completely brown. I found this Bonide spray on Amazon which contains 0.3% carbaryl and sprayed it on the tree - it may have killed the mites but is seems also to have "burned" the leaf tips severely - it has a nasty petroleum smell - another blow for this crippled tree.
After more research I discovered Abamectin which is a powerful miticide. In early June I sprayed it on the Bald Cypress and Montezuma Cypress, and by end of June, no more mites and lots of fresh green growth on the Bald Cypress - I may have found the cure! Spring of 2021, the Bald Cypress was doing better than I have seen it do since 2014 - the picture below is from mid May. A few mites began to appear late May so I sprayed with Abamectin. By the end of June the tree still looks OK - check out the picture at the beginning of this page compared with last year's early July picture! In mid November 2021, the Bald Cypress still had its leaves - this is a first for several years! - they had turned a golden yellow. The first picture below shows a drone view of the Bald Cypress, Sweetgum #3, and the White Oak, all with their autumn colors. The second picture zooms in on the Bald Cypress.
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Bald Cypress (late June / early July 2021). Finally looking healthy!
Bald Cypress (early July 2020)
Bald Cypress (end of June 2019)
Bald Cypress (July 2018)
Bald Cypress (July 2017)
Bald Cypress (July 2016)
Bald Cypress (July 2015)
Bald Cypress (2014)
Bald Cypress (2013)
Bald Cypress (2012)
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