Q re: cyprus trees

[rkrivas]

Hello --

Last fall, we planted three cyprus trees (they're all around 6 feet tall). At this point, all of the needles are brown, but the branches still look alive because they're green on the inside and they bend and don't break. Are the trees goners, or is there something that can be done?

[Mamu]

Don't sound good. It's always difficult to get plants through that first year.

Lot's of water and you pray for a mild winter. Once the needles turn brown there's little hope.

Could be lots of reasons they did not make it through the winter. Usually it's a late drought that puts a stress on the shrubs and winter finishes them off.

[shrubber]

Do you know what kind of cypress? A common type is Taxodium distichum or Bald Cypress. This is a deciduous conifer. the foliage will turn brown over the winter and re-leaf again in the spring. Last years leafs should be on the ground still and look very much like a small brown feather. Bald cypress do re-leaf later than many other plants in northern New Jersey. The new buds are very difficult to find. They are very small. If the stems are pliable then I think the trees are ok. It should leaf out about mid to late May in zone 5.