Conifer Cupressus Goldcrest

Hello. I have one of these trees which is now 3 years old and about 5 foot tall. It's growing in a half barrel in a mix of JI no3 and soiless compost and is watered regularly and fed with slow release organic fertilizer. However, this year the lower branches on the bottom foot have started to die and it looks unsightly. So a couple of questions. I can see no sign of pest or desease so is this normal? Should I cut off all the dead branches and make it into a kind of standard conifer? And finally, any ideas for under planting to make it look less bare? Thanks in advance.

G x

 

Not unusual in my experience Georgie. Trim them off, and cut the plant to whatever shape you like - they take to topiary quite well.

Underplant with any ground cover that you fancy: a blue hardy geranium or possibly heuchera palace purple. In either case add bulbs; snowdrops, mini daffs, and grape hyacinths to extend the season of interest.

Let us know what you choose!

 

just a word of warning if you do as Jazid suggests - don't cut anywhere in your conifer back to the dead bits - it won't re-grow. Trimming out the dead bits at the base to tidy up is no prob, but if you tope (??? a real word??) the green bits back into the brown, you'll have problems.... :rolleyes: Good luck!

 

Thanks for your advice, Jazid. I like the idea of ground cover underplanted with bulbs. I think I'll strike some cuttings from my vinca minor because that will trail nicely over the edge and I have plenty of tete-a-tete and snowdrops I can pop in.

Thanks for the warning, Dendrobium, I'll be careful.

G x