big city location... are they favorable for your area??

probably time to divest ..

and if you do .... when you dig them up.. lets see what the roots look like ... im wondering if severe circling roots from being potted to long might have been an issue ....

or if you want to pull one out.. just to look.. we could opine .. [and if it pulls out easily. we probably have the answer...]

also.. how do you water.. and when .. etc ... soil type ... and any other info besides its list of problems.. might help us... help you

welcome to the forums..

ken

Actually they all look terrible especially in the first photo - something is completely off with the situation. And for anybody here to be able to make useful suggestions you are going to have to provide a lot more detail about how your trees have been handled and what the environmental conditions are now. With it perhaps still being necessary even then to have somebody in your local area come and examine your planting and discuss it with you in person.

In the meantime discontinue the chemical applications unless or until you have a confirmed diagnosis of specific syndromes being present. Ones where use of certain appropriate chemicals is recommended.

Were they planted in the raised bed, or was the bed constructed around and over them?

The one trunk I can see clearly looks to be planted too deep.

tj

Thanks all! Jacksonville, FL is the location. I have multiple other Italian Cypress around the house that are still doing great. I tried clearing mulch and soil from around the crowns but had no improvement. As I said, I had an arborist come out and consult early on, his verdict being blight. How the heck do I treat that?? Weirdly, there's still new growth on these guys and they are about 16 feet high, so I hate to not continue attempting a rescue. There is sunken wall behind them for the pool infrastructure, but I was under the impression these had a tap root rather than relying on spread. Pool install then planted trees, then built wall. Again, thank for input!

Also, if any help, it appears the trunks have splits in certain areas and oozing sap. Normal?

I suspect the problem is the approx 8” of soil added after they were planted. If you have others in the yard doing well, and not subjected to being buried, that’s a big clue. Trees do not want to have the root flare buried. I do not know if you can save them at this point, as I’ve no experience with this particular tree.

I had an arborist come out and consult early on, his verdict being blight. How the heck do I treat that?

Ask the arborist what to do about what he thinks is happening - that should be part of the package, same as if you had talked to a vet who came out to look at an ailing farm animal. If you do not already have a written report from the arborist (or your own notes) giving you a name for a specific blight that you can use to look up more about its management.

All trees except certain kinds native to desert areas concentrate the majority of their roots in the soil just below the surface. Because this is where most of the air is. With anchorage roots of a type that might get called "tap roots" being a specialized version that makes up only a very small portion of the complete root system.

In addition to your concern about their root systems fitting within your planters over the long term there is the fact that these trees are genetically programmed to produce a top like the one shown below whenever they can:

UFEI - California Big Trees (calpoly.edu)

Aw, man! Those sick and suffering Italian Cypress are making me feel so sad. This is one of my favorite trees.

I am about to plant some of these for the first time. You, cassiedale, have more experience that I do since you're growing them. But from what I learned Italian Cypress prefer dry arid sunny locations. Florida may get too much rain. I lived in Seattle and desperately wanted to plant Italian Cypress in our garden. But I was discouraged from doing so because on average, Seattle gets about 37" inches of rain per year. I just looked up the average rainfall for Jacksonville, FL and you get, on average, a whopping 50" of rain per year. So that's quite a bit more.

It might not be an issue of too much water but the constant wetness could also result in a fungal blight that can take hold of these trees during wet weather conditions. Again, I am only looking up info now to try and help. I found this out by checking out this link:

Blight on Italian Cypress

I recently moved to the Palm Springs area and from what I learned Italian Cypress seem to do very well here in the desert. I can see them planted all over. Their fastigiate towering shape can be seen all around and are 40-60ft tall. I love them. I was hoping to plant 18 of the Tiny Tower "Monshel" version very soon. These only grow to about 25ft tall.

I hope you get to the bottom of what's going on and that you are able to save them.

Did the arborist even check depth of planting ?

He/she is a blight

Toss these , start over ,,plant shallow

once a plant is in decline , it's not worth the hassle

believe me , ron

Thanks so much to everyone for taking your time and giving me feedback. It's all been very helpful and very appreciated!