We've seen an unusually dry September and the first week of October hasn't been much different; it's stayed warm and dry. The arboretum's sprinklers have been working steadily to keep the plants healthy and the subject of this week's post, a pond cypress (
Taxodium ascendens), has been receiving some extra water due to nearby transplants.
According to the
LSU Ag Center, late Summer and early Fall are the best times to divide irises. There are several large beds of native Louisiana irises in the arboretum. To alleviate crowding, two dozen were collected from one of these large beds and transplanted underneath one of the pond cypresses. This tree was purchased from Woodlanders nursery (Aiken, S.C.) in the fall of 1994. It was planted in the arboretum stream in 1996. The stream was later transformed into a concrete floodway. Luckily for the pond cypress, the decision was made to build around the tree rather than remove it. Laurel greenbriar (
Smilax laurifolia) has been using the tree as a trellis since its initial planting. Now a patch of Louisiana irises is also growing in its dappled shade.
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| The pond cypress is pictured above in the middle, with a southern catalpa on the left and a grouping of fringe trees on the right. The pond cypress is beginning to show its fall color, as the leaves are turning a light copper brown. |
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| This view clearly shows the concrete floodway, which hasn't seemed to bother the pond cypress. Being at the bottom of a steep slope means that this pond cypress receives heavy amounts of water during rainy weather. |
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| The pointy leaves of the pond cypress are turning a light brown for the fall. A fruit is pictured in the middle of the branch. |
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| Both pond and bald cypresses produce globular fruits. But the leaves are quite different. The pond cypress (pictured above) has pointy leaves, while the bald cypress has feathery leaves. You can see the bald cypress fruits and leaves here. |
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| The pointy leaves are pictured with drooping panicles. |
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| Looking up the trunk of the pond cypress we can see that it doesn't make the best shade tree. The irises recently planted below should receive a good amount of light. |
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| This is the dark brown bark of a pond cypress that is approximately 25 years old. It's rough and shredded. |
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| The laurel greenbriar was collected from the Kisatchie National Forest in 1994, and planted with the pond cypress in 1996. Louisiana irises were added to the mix last week. |
You can catch a glimpse of the arboretum's other pond cypress
here, in the discussion of the water tupelo.
For more information about this species consult the following:
United States Department of Agriculture
University of Florida IFAS Extension
Clemson Cooperative Extension (discussion of pond cypress follows description of bald cypress)
