Dr. Seuss Trees

Roger’s timing was impeccable. Or, he was just plain lucky. The day he came out to tag some locusts was the day a truck from Oregon arrived with specialty conifers. Roger landscapes at the Crown Center complex, a high profile property in Kansas City. It is home to Hallmark Cards, a hotel, shopping center, condos, and offices. There are many challenges to working on such a property that includes gardens on top of parking garages and a tremendous amount of pedestrian traffic. Maybe the biggest challenge is the wealth of opinions from the passer-bys.

While Roger was out tagging the locusts, he saw the receiving dock full of conifers. “Show me some Dr. Seuss trees” Roger happily exclaimed. He was looking for something different for a water feature. And, off we went. We saw huge contorted weeping white pines and weeping Hinoki cypress. Close by were the Covey weeping redbuds. We checked out the Sky Trails Serbian Spruce. At the other end of the property we looked at Young’s serpentine birches. I saved my favorite for last – Cascade Falls Weeping Bald Cypress.

Imagine a bald cypress that looks like it spent some time being grown upside down on its top. Cascade Falls starts off like a normal bald cypress and then the top goes off to the side for a while. Next thing you know the branches are growing downward. Once the branches hit the ground, they start flowing out like a groundcover. For a great photo, click here .

Cascade Falls is hardy in zones 4-10. You will find it to be tolerant of a range of soil and moisture conditions, but it prefers wetter sites. In such conditions, expect Cascade Falls to develop knees. All members of the bald cypress family are deciduous conifers. The new foliage is light green and will turn orange brown in the fall. With the cinnamon color exfoliating bark and unusual weeping form, it has great winter interest. The mature size is dependent on the initial staking of the trunk (the leader) and the point where the tree is allowed to begin weeping. Pruners can be used to control the length of the branches and whether the tips touch the ground or are allowed to cover the ground.

Like Meredith in Grey’s Anatomy pleading with Dr. McDreamy, I hope Roger heard the Cascade Falls say “pick me, choose me, love me.” Let me know if you pick Cascade Falls Weeping Bald Cypress and how it does in your garden. I’ll let you know what tree Roger picks for the water feature.

© Susan Mertz, April 2006. All rights reserved.

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