The Pond Cypress is one of the two species of Taxodium that are native to the southeastern United States. It is distinguished from the Bald Cypress by its foliage. The Pond Cypress has small scale leaves that are on branchlets that are held upright on the twigs. The Bald Cypress has needle leaves that are on horizontal branchlets. It is one of the few deciduous conifers that shed its leaves (and branchlets) in the fall. Young trees have a broad, conical form and mature trees have a tall, trunk with a large, buttressed base and spreading or ascending branches. The branches are often festooned with Spanish moss in the Deep South.

Growing Instructions

The seeds have a period of dormancy and they have to be treated in order to germinate. They have to be cold stratified in order to germinate.

1. Put the seeds in wet sand and put the sand and the seeds in a plastic bag.
2. Put the bag in the refrigerator and store it there for 2-4 months.
3. Fill a planting tray with wet sphagnum moss. Sow the seeds in the moss. Cover the seeds with a ½ inch thick layer of moss. Keep the moss moist or wet but not flooded with water. The seeds take 1-3 months to germinate.
4. Fill planting containers with potting soil. Plant the seeds in the soil and cover them with a layer of soil.
5. Place the containers in sunlight. Keep the soil very moist at all times but not wet. Feed the seedlings with a balanced fertilizer.
6. Move the seedlings to a permanent planting location the following autumn.