My Lemon Cypress Turned Brown After Repotting :(

Question

Hello, I had 2 lemon cypress plants which were pretty healthy.However I did a bad job of watering them for a week they started to turn brown. I then put them outside to get water from rain almost everyday. they started to grow green tips however I did repot them in a bigger container and used organic soil. Now it one is completely brown and the other one is mostly brown not sure if I can revive them 🙁 what is your suggestions? are they dead? what can I do to help them?

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Answer 1

Unfortunately, these are quite finicky in container. They will suffer from any sudden changes to their environment. Overwatering will be the number one killer of these trees when they are young. Outdoors, it is adaptive, as long as you are in an area that does not receive cool temperatures.

Unfortunately, the tree will be, quickly, on its way out from here.

Keeping these in container will require warm temperatures (but not hot or cold. Mild would be best to describe the conditions), careful watering (That means letting them dry out well down to halfway into the container between waterings) and very spare feedings. Rich, organic soil can be quite full of nutrients. This will burn newly forming roots. It will be best to mix your organic soil with a seedling starting soil. This will help cut down the nutrient content during a fresh planting.

Make sure when you repot one of these that the container is only slightly larger than the original. Too large, and the extra soil will remain wet for too long, causing root rot.

Here is an article for the care of these trees:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/cypress/lemon-cypress-care.htm