Light. Grows in full sun to partial sun.
Water. It thrives in wet, mucky soil and standing water, and grows well in ordinary moist soil too. In long dry spells it drops leaves; water it then.
Soil and feeding. It grows on clay, silt, sand or organic soil, but not alkaline soil above pH 7.5. It grows best with some organic matter and may languish in very poor soil.
Size. Usually about 30 ft in a yard, with a narrow, upright crown. In the wild it can reach 50–85 ft.
Pruning. Little pruning needed. It keeps one straight trunk; just remove dead wood and unwanted lower branches.
Problems to watch. No serious pests. Twig blight can kill branch tips on stressed trees; prune off dead tips.
Good to know. A Florida native, deciduous conifer with brown fall color. It may form knees at the water's edge, less often than bald cypress. It handles some salty wind but not salt spray or brackish flooding.
Sources: UF/IFAS EDIS ENH-777 (ST619): Taxodium ascendens, Pondcypress · Florida Native Plant Society Plant Database: Taxodium ascendens · Natives for Your Neighborhood (Institute for Regional Conservation): Taxodium ascendens
