Falling Waters Bald Cypress Needs Help!

[Jlybnz]

Definitely should not have been temperature shock. We have had much colder winters and springs since planting. No high, warm winds either. At a loss!

 

[19Mateo83]

I know, I can't imagine it, yet I am just so perplexed. The new emerging foliage which is green is how the entire tree looked il until this week. Now 75% of the new emerging foliage has turned brown. An arborist told me it may have been voles underground that have wreaked havoc on it. Thank you all again so much for your thoughts!

From the pictures it looks like the tree is trying to make a come back by pushing new buds from the trunk. If it was voles that wreaked havoc on the roots, it will recover. Bald cypresses can take some HEAVY root pruning and will sulk for a bit then push new growth and keep on keepin on. You may loose the existing branches, but it will regrow new ones fairly quickly. Just make sure it gets good water and give it some time to recover. Bald cypresses are one of the toughest trees I’ve worked with. Yea, it sucks you lost your nice flowing branches…. But in a year or so you will have new nice flowing branches. Also, welcome to the nut house!

 

[snowman04]

Definitely should not have been temperature shock. We have had much colder winters and springs since planting. No high, warm winds either. At a loss!

We would not know since you are not telling us where you are located...

 

[Jlybnz]

We would not know since you are not telling us where you are located...

I did state, in the beginning of this thread, I am in NW Indiana, zone 5b.

 

[snowman04]

I did state, in the beginning of this thread, I am in NW Indiana, zone 5b.

Sorry, I missed that...

 

[Jlybnz]

No worries

 

[Cajunrider]

I know, I can't imagine it, yet I am just so perplexed. The new emerging foliage which is green is how the entire tree looked il until this week. Now 75% of the new emerging foliage has turned brown. An arborist told me it may have been voles underground that have wreaked havoc on it. Thank you all again, so much for your thoughts!

I was going to suggest the following possibilities:
1. Overspray of weed killers. I have had neighbors who routinely spray weed killers around the border of their property. Sometimes the overspray kill my plants. However, if this happens, you should be able to detect the overspray pattern.
2. Something is killing the roots. Your arborist may have pinpointed that.

 

[Jlybnz]

I was going to suggest the following possibilities:
1. Overspray of weed killers. I have had neighbors who routinely spray weed killers around the border of their property. Sometimes the overspray kill my plants. However, if this happens, you should be able to detect the overspray pattern.
2. Something is killing the roots. Your arborist may have pinpointed that

 

[Jlybnz]

Hi there, and thank you! Yes someone else we had consulted did suggest the weedkiller narrative. We live in a POA neighborhood and there is a green space behind the landscaping bed, so I suppose that overspray is a possibility however nothing else around it has died. I do believe I will have soil tested before I plant anything else there. I will be interested to see the root system, once it has been removed. It will be a sad day, as it was such a beautiful tree!

 

[19Mateo83]

Hi there, and thank you! Yes someone else we had consulted did suggest the weedkiller narrative. We live in a POA neighborhood and there is a green space behind the landscaping bed, so I suppose that overspray is a possibility however nothing else around it has died. I do believe I will have soil tested before I plant anything else there. I will be interested to see the root system, once it has been removed. It will be a sad day, as it was such a beautiful tree!

I wouldn’t be so fast to remove it. If the trunk is showing new buds, it may be worth giving it a month or so and seeing if it recovers. Trees are very resilient, especially bald cypresses.

 

[Jlybnz]

Well, you are the first person to tell me this, so I will definitely do that. I have not fertilized this year yet. Any suggestions, if I should give that a try? I just ordered a soil sample kit from an Ohio soil testing lab, and I think I will try sending a piece of a branch into purdue for testing. Lastly, fingers crossed and palms pressed!

 

[Jlybnz]

From the pictures it looks like the tree is trying to make a come back by pushing new buds from the trunk. If it was voles that wreaked havoc on the roots, it will recover. Bald cypresses can take some HEAVY root pruning and will sulk for a bit then push new growth and keep on keepin on. You may loose the existing branches, but it will regrow new ones fairly quickly. Just make sure it gets good water and give it some time to recover. Bald cypresses are one of the toughest trees I’ve worked with. Yea, it sucks you lost your nice flowing branches…. But in a year or so you will have new nice flowing branches. Also, welcome to the nut house!

I just saw this reply. Thank you so much for giving me some renewed hope. I am going to hang in there with my beautiful tree, and see what happens. I LOVE trees so much, and appreciate the care and concern for my tree from all of you who have shared your thoughts. This is my kind of nut house! Have a good night, and thank you again...

 

[Bobcl]

My Falling Waters Bald Cypress was planted about 3 years ago. It has no visible damage, problems or insect infestation. It seemed to be blooming a bit later than usual but it was a long cold spring and we have had quite a mixture of weather changes. We have had plenty of rain. My Cypress had began blooming about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I looked at it last week, and it had beautiful vibrant green foliage and this week, it has all turned brown. Does anyone have suggestions?

I had a similar problem with my 2 bald cypress down here in SW Florida and after some research it turned out to be spider mites that were impossible to see. They decimated both trees in a couple of days. I decimated them in less than a couple days with Bioadvanced Rose and Flower Spray Concentrate 3 in one formula. It's a systemic so it kills on contact than protects the plant. It also comes in granular for trees that last a year. With the bug community down here it is a must have for all plants

 

[Jlybnz]

I had a similar problem with my 2 bald cypress down here in SW Florida and after some research it turned out to be spider mites that were impossible to see. They decimated both trees in a couple of days. I decimated them in less than a couple days with Bioadvanced Rose and Flower Spray Concentrate 3 in one formula. It's a systemic so it kills on contact than protects the plant. It also comes in granular for trees that last a year. With the bug community down here it is a must have for all plants

Thank you, I'll definitely give that a whirl.

 

[RJG2]

Thank you, I'll definitely give that a whirl.

Don't be too quick to use what he suggested.

First, spider mites are not a listed pest for that product.

Second, if you actually had spider mites, you would need a miticide, not insecticide. Bioadvanced does have a mite specific product, and there are other products that also do a good job (Neem oil for example).

 

[Jlybnz]

Don't be too quick to use what he suggested.

First, spider mites are not a listed pest for that product.

Second, if you actually had spider mites, you would need a miticide, not insecticide. Bioadvanced does have a mite specific product, and there are other products that also do a good job (Neem oil for example).

Great advice, thank you. I have had good luck with Neem Oil actually. I went out to look at it today and see nothing on the branches and the one large section of the tree remains green. It is so perplexing.

 

[Patience is an Art]

It’s been a month. I’m wondering if your tree is still putting out new green? Did the other trees also put out new growth? Just curious…