Bald cypress has the distinction of being one of our few deciduous conifers. From spring to fall, its feathery, needle-like foliage goes through a series of exquisite color transformations, changing from dazzling golden green in early spring to soft green in summer to brilliant shades of copper and fox red in fall. By December the leaves will have been shed completely, but the heavily buttressed trunks and lovely reddish shredding bark provide plenty of winter interest.

Though bald cypress is usually found in swampy areas in the wild, it performs just as well in ordinary garden soils. In fact, bald cypress grows much faster in moist, well-drained soils than it does in the soggy soils of its native habitat. The only negative is, trees growing on well-drained sites won’t develop the interesting "knees" that wet-grown trees do. The fine texture of bald cypress’s foliage and the lovely light shade it casts are welcome additions to any landscape.