no plant holds its leaves forever..

most conifers lose there needles in 1 to 3 years ..

they shed the oldest. interior needles as the canopy expands and shades them out ...

since you have to dig in there .. to find this.. i suspect that is what it is..

there is a conifer forum.. for future reference...

on your other post.. was that a potted plant. before you planted it in the ground??

ken

I can't imagine an Italian cypress being happy or thriving in Alabama!! These are Mediterranean in origin so best in areas with mild and damp winters but warm, dry (like zero humidity!!) summers.

Growing them in containers is also tricky. They need a fast draining, non-retentive soil media and minimal watering.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5, thank you for easing my mind! It's the first time I take care of trees/conifers and I'm not used to them, so I'm slowly learning. We were actually planning to plant these big ones on the ground, but since the small ones are having issues, we were scared they weren't going to like it, so we're keeping them potted in the meantime.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9), do you think they won't survive at all? We have seen them around town, but maybe they're just too hard to maintain. Just wondering if it's possible.

Thank you both!