Pond cypress is most easily distinguished from bald cypress by its leaves: short, scale-like, and pressed tightly against the stem in an overlapping spiral, rather than spreading flat in two ranked rows. The habit is narrower and more upright, reaching 35 feet after about 20 years and ultimately 70 feet at full maturity. Hardy in zones 5 through 9, it is a southeastern native restricted to the Gulf region in the wild, where it occupies the drier pond margins and edges rather than the open water that bald cypress colonizes. The root knees it forms tend to be more rounded and less dramatic than those of the related species.

Like bald cypress, pond cypress performs well in cultivation well beyond its native range, tolerating both wet soils and average garden conditions with equal composure. It is slow-growing enough to be manageable in larger residential landscapes and makes a graceful specimen or stand near water features, retention basins, or any reliably moist corner of the garden. The fall display, soft reddish-brown before the needles drop, is genuinely beautiful and cleanup is minimal.