I wanted to ask if someone knew what was wrong with these Italian Cypress.
by
8498tx
+9
The ones that I have in the front of my house look great, but these in the back are trying to die. It is not from lack of rain we have an over abundance this year in South Carolina. I live in Greenville. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
12 answers
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Did you plant all of the trees at the same time? Do they have the same exposure?
Douglas Hunt
on Jul 29, 2013
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the ones out front were planted a couple of years before these they would have the north east exposure with no protection just the house behind them, these would have a south east exposure, I guess, because they would be blocked by a fence and the house.
8498tx
on Jul 29, 2013
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In addition to rain, they also like a little watering and food. Maybe it has a burlap bag on its roots that is causing it to become rootbound?
Andi hurtig
on Jul 29, 2013
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It's hard to tell from the photo but the one on the left does look like it was planted quite high. Did you keep the root ball level with the ground when you planted? How soon after planting did they start declining?
Douglas Hunt
on Jul 29, 2013
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yes the root ball is even and we even when out and lifted it a little because you said it might be planted to low, the reason the bottom is bare is because my dog started using it as a scratching post and killed the leaves at the bottom. I then staked all around it to keep him away. It was still healthy then and just started declining in the past week. It was a much smaller tree in a plastic pot it was not a burlap bag rooted plant.
8498tx
on Jul 29, 2013
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Have you checked for insects. I don't see evidence in the pictures provided, but I think I would check for bag worms and for mites if the decline was that rapid.
360 Sod (Donna Dixson)
on Jul 29, 2013
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@8498tx have you checked the soil. Evergreens tend to like more acidic soils so if it is too alkaline, it can interfer with its ability to thrive. Just a thought.
Gail Salminen
on Jul 29, 2013
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Could your dog be urinating on it? Did you fertilize after all the rain?
Sheila E
on Jul 29, 2013
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They are along a fence. Did someone on the other side of the fence use an herbicide? This looks like a massive lack of water, but since you said it had plenty of water, this looks like some sort of kill by means of herbicide leaching the roots under the fence, Dog urine wont kill as long as they have had water. If they had no water and a dog did urinate, well, thats about the only way a dog could kill them. Even if the PH is off, alot, it would not kill the tree. It would not grow as quickly as it should, but evergreens create their own acid soil when they shed. When did you plant it? Did you water the hole when you planted it? Was water able to get to the roots? We sold plenty of cypress trees and never saw one do this.
Patricia W
on Jul 30, 2013
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It is hard to tell from the picture but the one on the left looks like the roots are showing. If that is the case then I would say that it needs a deeper hole. If it is level with the ground and the dog has just move the dirt from around the base, then it might just need dirt added. It also looks to me like dogs may have urinated on it. If you do need to amend the soil to make it more acidic, you can add coffee grounds to the soil.
Melodie Harris
on Jul 30, 2013
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Wow, you have lots of valid information to try. I guess my only comment would be to ask your neighbor if they have used any herbicide.. Good luck with this.
Frankie Laney
on Jul 30, 2013
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Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas.
8498tx
on Aug 03, 2013
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