In the fall I usually get asked why the evergreens on #12 tee are dying? All the foilage is falling off and this tree and it is an evergreen right? Something must be wrong with the tree? This beautiful tree is actually not an evergreen but is deciduous. It turns a stunning auburn color the fall and is one of my favorites here at Kenmure.
Here is some more information from a fact sheet from Clemson University :
Bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a native,
deciduous conifer and is only one of five conifer
species that sheds its needles in the fall (hence, its
“bald” namesake). Typically found growing in
saturated soils, seasonally flooded areas, swamps
and stream banks, the natural range of bald-cypress
extends from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in southern
Delaware south to Florida, and then west along the
lower Gulf Coast Plain to Texas. It naturally grows
further inland through the Mississippi Valley to the
southernmost reaches of Oklahoma, Missouri,
Illinois, and Indiana.
Surprisingly, this native conifer exhibits urban
toughness: tolerance to air pollution, poorly drained,
compacted, and dry soils. This versatility and
durability has led to its successful cultivation in
landscapes, parking lots, and streetscapes.
Mature Height/Spread
In the wild, bald-cypress can become a large tree
attaining a height of 100 to 150 feet and a few
hundred years of age. The largest known individual
in SC is in Congaree National Park in Richland
County where the “SC Champion” is 127 feet tall,
50 feet wide, and a circumference of 26 feet (July
2002 measurements). Other towering stands of
bald-cypress can be found in the Francis Beidler
Forest in Harleyville, SC.
Most landscape specimens tend to grow 50 to 70 by
20 to 30 feet high and wide. Young trees develop a
narrow to broadly pyramidal crown; with age the
crown becomes broad and flat-topped.
Growth Rate
Bald-cypress (USDA cold hardiness zones 4a-11)
grows moderately fast, generally 1 to 2 feet per
year. Although it’s naturally found in floodplains,
river channels, and millponds, expect better growth
in moist, well-drained soils in full sun.
Bald-cypress’s two-ranked needles (arranged in two
rows on either side of a narrow stem) leaf out
chartreuse in the spring and mature to light green in
early summer. In the fall, the branchlets of stems
and leaves change to tan and then turn orange to
reddish-brown before they are shed.
The gray-brown to red-brown bark exfoliates--peels
away--in long, vertical strips. As a bald-cypress
ages, its trunk becomes fluted and unusually thick
or buttressed at its base. Its round, green cones (¾
to 1inches across) are green in summer and then
turn brown as they mature in fall and winter. Baldcypress
cones are reminiscent of the cones of the
giant coastal redwoods of California (Sequoia
sempervirens), which are members of the redwood
family (Taxodiaceae).
Bald-cypress and its cultivars make a fine standalone
specimen or accent planting. They can be
clustered together to create a grove or copse,
planted near water features or along shorelines,
planted as deciduous hedges or screens between
properties, or in border plantings along driveways.
Expect light, dappled shade from its delicate,
feathery foliage.
Bald-cypress has been successfully used as a street
tree and in parking lot plantings in many
municipalities, including Mt. Pleasant, Sumter,
Columbia, and Easley, SC.
Bald-cypress is relatively maintenance-free and
requires pruning only to remove dead wood and
unwanted lower branches which persist on the tree.