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Cypress Tree help

chris_hobbs101chris_hobbs101 Posts: 2
edited June 2021 in Problem solving
Hello. 

I am rather new to gardening and having just moved into our first house we bought 2x Cypress trees which we have placed into pots around 4 months ago. They seemed to be doing fine but over the past couple of weeks they have started to turn slightly brown and the lower portions have started to droop. I have attached pictures for reference. 

Is this due to the recent change in weather and me needing to up my watering game or is this something else, maybe pots too small? 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 



Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    I think your pots look too small for such a large tree. They do look thirsty because can't imagine there's enough moisture in the pots especially when they're made of unglazed clay. I'd double the size of the pots if it's not possible to put them in the ground. And make sure you either mix some top soil with the multipurpose compost or get some bagged compost made up to a John Innes 3 formula. 

    Nurseries selling conifers in tiny pots is unhelpful because people think they can be happy just potted on a tiny bit when really they are just on maintenance mode at the nursery and just kept in a tiny pot for ease of transport and no other reason. 

    How frequently have you been watering them?
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • chris_hobbs101chris_hobbs101 Posts: 2
    Thank you for the quick response!

    Depending on the weather every week. The pots they came in fitted well within those pots but I shall look to get some bigger ones. They are in a mixture of John innes 3 and multipurpose. 
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Oh well done for getting the potting mix right. They'd need quite a bit of watering in hot weather. But it looks like their decline is reversible. Just keep a beady eye on them and water them when the soil goes dry. You may want to remove the gravel temporarily in order to get an idea how dry they are. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I agree with george on pots and watering - the pots are very shallow so can’t hold enough soil or water, you need really big, deep pots to sustain them! I would be watering them really deeply so they are thoroughly soaked, two or three times a week at least. In the nursery they would’ve been on a drip line of constant water and have had slow-release fertiliser added to the potting mix.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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